A cardinal who navigated 20th-century upheavals under 4 popes

At the twilight of the 19th century, an Italian couple from Piedmont emigrated to the Principality of Monaco in search of work. On June 15, 1897, their son, Antonio Riberi, was born on Monégasque soil. He grew up in the pious atmosphere of the principality under the reign of Prince Albert I.

During his youth, his parents were very busy with work, so they often sent him back to their hometown of Limone Piemonte, a municipality in Piedmont, Italy. There, his grandparents took care of him.

"A migrant has two homelands: the one where he was born and the one that gives him his daily bread; therefore, he is inclined to appreciate, thank, and value his second homeland," stated his biographer, Giovanni Giorgi Demaria, in an article published by the Consolata Missionaries' magazine.

Born into a family where faith was central, young Antonio decided to enter the seminary in Cuneo and was ordained a priest in 1922. However, he didn't stay in his native Piedmont for long. His bishop sent him to Rome to join the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the famous "school of nuncios."

While studying at the institution, he met Father Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI. He would become "his lifelong friend and advisor," Demaria said.

After graduating in 1925, he began an extraordinary diplomatic career, starting as a secretary at the nunciature in Bolivia. At the time, the country was experiencing severe political and economic instability. In 1930, he left a country in the midst of a revolution—and it wouldn't be the last time.

He was then sent to Ireland. The country, which had been independent since 1919, was emerging from a long conflict with the British Crown and a severe economic crisis sparked by the Great Depression in the United States.

Father Riberi stayed on the Emerald Isle until 1934. At just 37 years old, he was ordained an archbishop and appointed as the Apostolic Delegate to British Africa, covering modern-day Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

In Africa, Archbishop Riberi proved to be a hands-on papal envoy, actively supporting missionaries and local populations by getting involved directly. He bought land and cultivated coffee, cotton, and tobacco, which he then sold on international markets. This generated enough income to fund the missions' operations, build schools, and train the local clergy.

His efforts eventually paid off. In 1939, he facilitated the ordination of the first modern African bishop, Bishop Joseph Kiwanuka of Uganda.

World War II interrupted his time in Africa. Because he held an Italian passport, the British administration viewed him as an enemy and asked the Pope to recall him, which happened in 1940.

Returning to Pope Pius XII at the Vatican during an incredibly delicate period, Archbishop Riberi was assigned to the Pontifical Relief Commission. This organization was created to help Italian populations devastated by the war.

In 1946, Pope Pius XII decided to make him the first nuncio to Nanjing, the capital of China. At the time, the country was led by nationalist President Chiang Kai-shek and was in the middle of a civil war against Mao Zedong's communist forces.

The brilliant diplomat already spoke some Chinese when he arrived and quickly became very active once again. Though he sometimes had difficult relations with Chiang Kai-shek, he didn't hesitate to criticize the lack of agrarian reform, the rampant corruption, and the failure to respect the new 1946 Constitution, which guaranteed fundamental rights to the population.

The Chinese episcopate was still young, with the first local bishops ordained in 1926, and many missionaries were working in the country under precarious conditions. To help them, Archbishop Riberi set up a legal department to regularize their status with the authorities, especially regarding the land owned by the Church.

However, his efforts were soon cut short by the advance of Mao Zedong's armies, who eventually captured the capital city of Nanjing on April 21, 1949.

While all the other diplomats fled, Archbishop Riberi chose to stay so he wouldn't abandon the Chinese Catholic faithful. He tried to meet with communist leaders to negotiate the Church's right to continue its activities. He also pushed Pope Pius XII to recognize the communist government, though his efforts were ultimately in vain.

However, the Pope did agree not to officially recognize Taiwan—where Chiang Kai-shek had taken refuge—because Archbishop Riberi was still trying to broker a deal.

The communists' response, however, was exceptionally harsh. The Catholic Church was authorized under the Guangyuan Manifesto signed in December 1950, but it was forced to sever all ties with Rome. This marked the birth of a Chinese national church.

Although Archbishop Riberi managed to make contact with Zhou Enlai, the second-in-command of the Communist Party, his proposals to reverse the agreement were dismissed. In Beijing, his zeal became a source of irritation. He was eventually arrested and subjected to "an interrogation of 10 to 12 consecutive hours," his biographer said.

Finally, on September 4, 1951, he was expelled from China. He had been accused of being an ally of Chiang Kai-shek, organizing the fight against the communists, and promoting the Legion of Mary—an organization he had been linked to since his time in Ireland.

He arrived in Hong Kong, where he stayed for a year before moving to Taiwan. There, he successfully restored relations with Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China, which had been suspended for three years. He remained in Taiwan until 1959, when he was called back to Rome.

On January 25 of that year, Pope John XXIII surprised the Roman Curia by announcing his plans to open the Second Vatican Council. Archbishop Riberi, however, wouldn't experience these major events from the inside. Instead, he was sent straight to Dublin as a nuncio. He held this position for two years before being appointed to the same role in Spain.

At the time, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco had the privilege of choosing the terna (a list of three candidates) for future bishops, much to the Holy See's dismay. Archbishop Riberi worked with great skill to secure good candidates from Franco.

In 1963, his longtime friend Cardinal Montini was elected pope, taking the name Pope Paul VI. Four years later, Archbishop Riberi was created a cardinal. Rumors even began to circulate in Rome that he could become the next Secretary of State.

Shortly after the consistory, the new porporato (cardinal) traveled to Monaco and then to Limone Piemonte, where he was celebrated. He then returned to Rome, where he died suddenly on December 16, 1967.

In Monaco, Prince Rainier III offered to bury him in his family vault. Ultimately, however, Cardinal Riberi's last wish was respected, and he was laid to rest in the town of his ancestors: Limone Piemonte.