José Gottardi Cristelli

José Gottardi Cristelli SDB ( born September 21, 1923 in Faida di Pene, Trento; † 7 March 2005 in Montevideo, Uruguay ) was an Italian religious priest, missionary and a Roman Catholic archbishop.

Life

His family emigrated to Uruguay when he was six years old. He later appeared as a missionary in the Congregation of the Salesians of Don Bosco. On October 15, 1950 he was ordained a priest in Rosario.

Within the religious community he was provincial in Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

Pope Paul VI. appointed him on March 1, 1972 Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of Mercedes, connected to the titular of Bellicastrum. The episcopal ordination took place on 30 April of the same year. On May 22, 1975, he was transferred as Auxiliary Bishop to Montevideo. There he was appointed on 5 June 1985, the fifth Archbishop by Pope John Paul II.

Gottardi was chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Uruguay. During the years of the dictatorship (1973-1985), he fought for the return to democracy.

On 4 December 1998, the Pope accepted his resignation, his Salesian brother Nicolás Cotugno Fanizzi followed him. He died of cancer.