Gasparri, Pietro

Gasparri, Pietro (pyĕ`trō gäspär`rē), 1852–1934, Italian churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He taught canon law at the Catholic Institute in Paris (1879–98) and was apostolic delegate thereafter in South America. After his return he was asked by Pope Pius X to direct the great codification of the canon law, and he was created a cardinal in 1907. In 1914, just after the outbreak of World War I, Pope Benedict XV made Cardinal Gasparri papal secretary of state. Pius XI retained his services, which he brought to a culmination in the Lateran Treaty of 1929, ending the Roman question, establishing an agreement between Italy and the papacy, and setting up Vatican City. He retired in 1930 and was succeeded by his pupil, Eugenio Pacelli, who later became pope as Pius XII. Gasparri is the author of a widely used catechism.