Giorgio La Pira, TOSD (Raimondo in religious life; 9 January 1904 – 5 November 1977) was an Italian Catholic politician who served as the Mayor of Florence. He also served as a deputy for Christian Democracy and participated in the assembly that wrote the Italian Constitution following World War II. In his public and private life he was a tireless champion of peace and human rights who worked for the betterment of the poor and disenfranchised. La Pira belonged to the Third Order of Saint Dominic. From 1934 until his death he lived in the San Marco complex.
La Pira was a staunch advocate for peace and made several trips to the East to places such as China and the Soviet Union which were sometimes deemed to be controversial in the Cold War era. Those trips were undertaken to discuss peace ventures and ends to conflict with La Pira also prioritizing ecumenism as a reason for visiting Moscow where he often met with members of the Russian Orthodox Church. La Pira's cause for sainthood opened in the 1980s and he was a Servant of God. He became titled as Venerable on 5 July 2018 when Pope Francis confirmed that he had lived a life of heroic virtue.
Life
Education
Giorgio La Pira was born on 9 January 1904 in Pozzallo, Ragusa, Sicily, to a Sicilian packing-house worker. He was the first of six children born to Gaetano La Pira (27 August 1870 – 1937) and Angela Occhipinti (24 June 1876 – 1943). He was baptized on the following 7 February with his maternal uncle Luigi (1880-1973) as his godfather. His maternal aunt was Settimia Machi Bartolini (1888-1945). His siblings were: Salvatore (1905-1975) Giuseppina Angelino (1908-1990) Giovannino (1912-2003) Maria Cristina (1913-1980) Ernesto (1915-)
One close friend was Salvatore Quasimodo who was a future Nobel prize-winner for literature and another friend was Giuseppe Lazzati. He often read Dante Aligheri as well as Plato and Saint Thomas More. La Pira attended the Giacinto Pandolfi school from 1909 to 1913 as part of his education and entered the Antonello Technical-Commercial College from 1914 until 1917. Throughout 1921 he worked alongside his maternal uncle Luigi so as to contribute towards keeping himself in school. His Catholic upbringing and in particular the teachings of Saint Francis of Assisi had a vital role in shaping his political and philosophical beliefs. He saw all that he did and each position he took as an expression of his spiritual beliefs. In 1922 he studied for his high school examination where he obtained his diploma in Palermo. It was at this time that he often visited the home of Federico Rampolla who helped him prepare for his final exam in Latin and Greek. It was also where he met Federico's cardinal brother Mariano. It was in 1924 that he experienced a profound religious calling that would forever set the pattern for his life. He studied accounting in Messina (from 1914 to 1922) and received a law degree from the Florence college in 1925. He became professor of Roman Law there in 1933 and his openness helped him achieve a cordial relationship with his students.
World War II
On the eve of World War II he founded the review Principi (in English, Principles) which promoted human rights and criticized Fascism in an open manner. During the war he continued his outspoken campaign against the fascists. After Italian police raided his offices on 29 September 1943 La Pira escaped to Siena and then to Rome. On 30 September the governorship of the Vatican issued him with an identification as a staff member of the L'Osservatore Romano so as to keep him safe. He returned to Florence in September 1944. His activism against fascism became even greater once Benito Mussolini passed the racial laws. At a National Congress held in Assisi in 1942 he spoke in praise of "the peace that constructs" and of "the love that rebuilds". La Pira also rejected the criticisms of Luigi Sturzo on an alleged economic statism.