Pio Laghi

Pio Laghi (21 May 1922 – 11 January 2009) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991. Cardinal Laghi was Pope John Paul II secret emissary to the White House and to several presidents of the United States. He had a particularly close relationship with George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

Biography

Laghi was born in Castiglione di Forlì, Romagna, Italy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 20 April 1946 by Bishop Giuseppe Battaglia. He obtained doctorates in theology (1947) and canon law (1950) from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He entered the Roman Curia, in the Secretariat of State, in 1952, and then served as Secretary of the nunciature in Nicaragua until 1955. Laghi was raised to the rank of Domestic Prelate of His Holiness on 21 December 1965.

Laghi

Laghi is a town and a comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west of SP350. As of 2007 Laghi had an estimated population of 130. Though it is commonly known as the "smallest municipality of Veneto", actually Laghi is ten times the area of the smallest one (Zermeghedo). Rather, Laghi is Veneto's municipality with the "smallest number of inhabitants" and also the one with the lowest density. The municipality consists of a number of small hamlets (contrae in Venetian, or contrade in Italian) scattered over the territory of the town. The name Laghi literally means "lakes" and is related to the fact that the center of the town lies near two small lakes.

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