Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci Fund

The Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci Fund is a collection of old books and periodicals belonging to Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci, which was donated to the João Paulo II University Library of Universidade Católica Portuguesa in November 2007 by the Apostolic Nunciature. It occupied a room on the first floor and a gallery of the Apostolic Nunciature in Lisbon, which was vacated to make way for a room where Pope Benedict XVI stayed overnight during his apostolic visit to Portugal in 2010.

Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci (1885-1966) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation of the Council in the Roman Curia from 1954 until his death in 1966. Before that, however, he served as Apostolic Nuncio in Portugal from 1934 to 1954, receiving the cardinal's hat from Pope Pius XII in 1953.

The collection corresponding to the Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci Fund consists of around 3,600 volumes, covering various subjects, including Theology, History, History of Portugal, Ecclesiastical History, Canon Law, Literature and Encyclopedias. The oldest edition in this collection dates back to 1601, while the most recent was printed in 1972.

The collection is currently being inventoried and technically processed. For more information contact biblioteca.lisboa@ucp.pt.