Timeline of the Life of Guglielmo (William) Giaquinta

  • June 25, 1914 – Born in Noto, Sicily. June 25th is also his feast day.
  • June 26, 1914 – Baptized in St. Michael’s Church.
  • June 28, 1914 – Birth was registered with the names of Guglielmo, Paolo and Salvatore.
  • 1925 – William’s family had moved to Rome, Italy, two years earlier. He joins them when he is eleven years old.
  • December 15, 1927 – Enters the Minor Seminary, St. Apollinare, in Rome. Here he realizes his vocation to the priesthood and continues his formation in the Major Seminary of St. John Lateran.
  • March 18, 1939 – Ordained a priest.
  • March 19, 1939 – Celebrates his First Mass in the Church of St. Helen in Rome.
  • 1939 to 1942 – Continues his studies at the Pontifical Juridical Institute.
  • June 1942 to November 1949 – Appointed assistant pastor at the church of Madonna dei Monti (Our Lady of the Mountains).

Appointed Spiritual Director of Catholic Youth Action.

Becomes known for his special gift of spiritual direction and for the many hours he spent in the confessional.

  • 1943 – Earns a degree in Canon Law “cum laude ab utroque.”
  • 1945 to 1955 – Serves as Judicial Vicar in the Vicariate of Rome.
  • 1946 – Appointed Diocesan Spiritual Assistant of Women’s Catholic Action.
  • 1947 – Founds the Pro Sanctity Movement as a means to spread the Call to Holiness.
  • 1949 to 1968 – Appointed Rector of the Church of La Madonna di Loreto (Our Lady of Loreto) at the Roman Forum.
  • May 1, 1950 – Founds the Institute of the Apostolic Oblates, a Secular Institute for Women.
  • 1950 to 1962 – Establishes Pro Sanctity Centers and Bethanies (houses of fraternal life for the Apostolic Oblates) in Catania, Palermo, Pescara, Imperia, and Brescia in Italy.
  • 1955 to 1961 – Serves as Substitute of Vicariate and Director of the Discipline Office.
  • 1961 to 1968 – Serves as General Secretary of the Vicariate.
  • 1962 – Founds the Apostolic Sodales, a Secular Institute for Diocesan Priests.
  • May 24, 1962 – Travels to the United States where he establishes Pro Sanctity Centers in Los Angeles, California; Brooklyn, New York; and later in Omaha, Nebraska.
  • 1965 – Establishes a Pro Sanctity Center in Bruxelles, Belgium.
  • September 24, 1968 – Nominated by Pope Paul VI as Titular Bishop of Carini and Apostolic Administrator of Tivoli in Italy.
  • November 1, 1968 – Ordained as Bishop of Tivoli by Cardinal Angelo Dell’Acqua, General Vicar of the Holy Father.
  • November 17, 1968 – Installed as Bishop of Tivoli.
  • 1969 – Participates in a Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of the European Nations on “The Priest in a Changing World.”

Founds the Organization of Social Brotherhood.

  • 1970 – Attends First International Congress on “Distribution of the Clergy in the World.”

Elected President of the Commission for the Clergy.

  • 1971 – Establishes Pro Sanctity Centers in Gozo and Malta.
  • 1972 – Promotes research on the “Condition of the Clergy.”

Appointed Ordinary of Tivoli.

Founds the Social Animators, an ecclesial organization for men.

  • May 7, 1975 – Establishes a Pro Sanctity Center in Kottayam, South India.
  • May 1, 1983 – Publishes Duc in Altum, presenting the life of the Diocesan Community and its Bishop, His Excellency Msgr. William Giaquinta: 1968-1983.
  • 1983 to 1986 – He is ill, but continues to serve his diocese.
  • November 1, 1986 – His health worsens causing him to present his resignation as Bishop of Tivoli.
  • June 25, 1987 – Pope John Paul II accepts his resignation.
  • 1987 to 1994 – Assists and leads all branches of the Pro Sanctity Family.

Timeline – page 2

  • June 15, 1994 – Dies in Rome, a few days before his 80th birthday.
  • June 18, 1994 – Burial Mass is celebrated in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, rather than the Cathedral of Tivoli where he was Bishop Emeritus, because “…St. John Lateran, mother of all Churches which embraces them all, is a symbol of the Church of Rome in which Bishop Giaquinta, coming from his native Sicily, was canonically incarnated. He gave himself totally to the Church of Rome…” (Vice-Vicar of the Vicariate of Rome)
  • December 12, 1995 – Prayer for the glorification of Bishop Giaquinta is approved by the Vicariate of Rome.
  • 2003 – Approaching the Tenth Anniversary of his death, a petition to open the cause for the beatification and canonization of Bishop William Giaquinta, is presented to the Diocese of Rome.

Adapted from a Presentation given at

Pro Sanctity’s First Midwest Regional

Convention in Omaha, NE – July 26. 1998

by Franca Salvo

Timeline – page 3