Luigi Centoz (2 April 1883 – 27 October 1969), also known as Louis Centoz,[a] was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who spent more than five decades in the diplomatic service of the Holy See, either in Rome or serving in offices abroad. He became an archbishop in 1932 and served as an Apostolic Nuncio from then until 1962. He was Vice Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church from 1962 to 1969.
On 19 February 1940, Pope Pius XII appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania.[5] He was expelled from Lithuania on 24 August after the Soviet invasion and returned to Rome.[2] There he led a new Vatican commission considering how to counter Soviet Communism and held "long conferences" with the Pope.[6]
On 3 December 1941, Pope Pius appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica.[7] Hostilities prevented him from taking up those posts and he remained in Rome for the duration of World War II. He worked instead at the Secretariat on relief for prisoners of war and displaced persons.[citation needed]
In 1946 he donated a building in his home town for use as a nursery school and childhood education center. It is named for him.[1]
He finally reached Central America in February 1946. His role in Nicaragua ended with the appointment of his successor on 4 October 1948.[8] He resigned the two other posts on 26 April 1952 and returned to Rome.
His half-century in the diplomatic service ended on 5 July 1962, when Pope John XXIII named him Vice Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.[10] His term as Vice Camerlengo ended with the appointment of his successor, Vittorio Bartoccetti, on 24 March 1969.[11]
Centoz retired to his home town.[1] He died on 27 October 1969.[12]
^ abDunn, Dennis J. (1973). "Stalinism and the Catholic Church during the Era of World War II". The Catholic Historical Review. 59 (3): 404–28, esp. 410. JSTOR25019367.
