Pietro Boetto was born in
Vigone to Antonio and Caterina (née Anghilano) Boetto. One of two brothers and three sisters, he was
confirmed by Bishop
Filippo Chiesa of Pinerolo in 1883. Boetto attended the
diocesan seminary of
Giaveno from 1884 to 1888, when he entered the
Society of Jesus on 1 February. While studying at the
novitiate in
Chieri, he took his first
vows on 8 September 1890. In 1901 he was
ordained to the
subdiaconate (28 July),
diaconate (29 July) and finally
priesthood (by Bishop
Emiliano Manacorda on 30 July). After finishing his studies in
theology in 1902, Boetto then served as a
professor and the
rector of the
Genoese "Istituto Arecco" until 1904. He took his final vows as a Jesuit on 2 February 1906 whilst serving as rector of St. Thomas College in
Cuneo (1905–1907). From 1907 to 1916, he was
procurator of the Jesuit residence in
Turin. Boetto was
provincial of the Jesuit
Province of Turin before going to
Spain to serve as a visitor to the Jesuit Provinces of Aragón (1919–1920) and later of Castilla (1920–1921). He also served as Procurator General of the Society of Jesus (1921–1928), provincial of the
Roman Province (1928–1930), and Assistant to
Italy (1930–1935).
Pope Pius XI created Boetto
Cardinal Deacon of ''
Sant'Angelo in Pescheria'' in the
consistory of 16 December 1935. On 17 March 1938, he was appointed
Archbishop of Genoa. Boetto opted to become a
Cardinal Priest (with the same
titular church), a day after his appointment to Genoa, on 18 March. He received his
episcopal consecration on the following 24 April 1938 from
Cardinal Gennaro Pignatelli di Belmonte, with Archbishops Giuseppe Migone and Giovanni Vallega serving as
co-consecrators, in the
church of
Sant'Ignazio. Boetto was one of the
cardinal electors who participated in the
1939 papal conclave, which selected
Pope Pius XII. During
World War II, he was a staunch defender of Genoa and its citizens. He protested against the shelling of the city by
British warships, claiming God would assure the triumph of Italy. On 8 December 1945, Genoa awarded its Cardinal with citizenship after he urged all
Axis forces near the city into surrender. Boetto died from a
heart attack at 1:30 a.m. in his
archiepiscopal residence, at age 74. His
Requiem Mass was celebrated five days later, on 4 February 1946, by Bishop Pasquale Righetti at
San Lorenzo Cathedral; Bishop
Giuseppe Siri, the
auxiliary of Genoa, delivered the
funeral oration. Boetto was finally buried in the
crypt near the main
altar of that same cathedral of Genoa. In 2016, Yad Vashem awarded him the honour of 'Righteous Among the Nations.{{cite web|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/pdf-drupal/italy.pdf ==References==