Biography

He was born 11 May 1823; died 6 May 1887. He was a native of San Remo

Sanremo

Sanremo or San Remo is a city with about 57,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. Founded in Roman times, the city is best known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as the Sanremo Music Festival...

, where his father was president of the Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

, and there he studied the classics and philosophy, after which he entered the seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 of Ventimiglia

Ventimiglia

Ventimiglia is a city and comune in Liguria, northern Italy, in the province of Imperia. It is located southwest of Genoa by rail, and 7 km from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia River, which divides the town into two parts...

; in 1845, he obtained the doctorate at the University of Genoa

University of Genoa

The University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy.Located in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, the university was founded in 1471. It currently has about 40,000 students, 1,800 teaching and research staff and about 1,580 administrative staff.- Campus :The University of Genoa is...

 and was received into the Royal Academy of Superga, where he remained until 1849.

Already in 1848, in company with Mgr. Moreno, Bishop of Ivrea, Guglielmo Audisio

Guglielmo Audisio

Guglielmo Audisio was an Italian Catholic priest and writer.-Life:He was professor of sacred eloquence in the episcopal seminary of Bra, appointed presiding officer of the Academy of Superga by King Charles Albert, but was expelled from this office because he was opposed to the Piedmontese...

 and the Marquis Birago, he had established the daily paper "L'Armonia", which soon had other distinguished contributors; among them, Rosmini

Rosmini

Rosmini can refer to:* Antonio Rosmini-Serbati - Roman Catholic Priest and Philosopher* Rosmini College - New Zealand Integrated single-sex boys secondary school...

 and Marquis Gustavo, brother of Cavour; the managing editor, however, and the soul of the publication, was Margotti, whose writings combined soundness of philosophy and of theological doctrine with rare purity of style, while his ready ability for reply and the brilliancy of his polemics made him feared by the sects and by the Sardinian government, which at that moment, in furtherance of its policy of territorial expansion, had entered upon a course of legislation that was hostile to the Church and at variance with the wishes of a great majority of the people.

As a result, Margotti underwent frequent trials, and was often subjected to fines and to other impositions; and in 1859, Cavour suppressed the "L'Armonia". This publication was replaced by "Il Piemonte"; but when the period of agitation passed, "L'Armonia" reappeared; its name was changed, however, conformably with the wish of Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

, on the twenty-fifth of December, 1863, after which date it was called "L'Unità Cattolica". On the other hand, Margotti continued to be the object of attacks and of plots and at Turin, an attempt was made upon his life; but nothing intimidated him; while his journalistic proficiency was eulogized by the "British Review" in its issue for August, 1865.

For a long time, the opinion of Margotti on questions of Catholic interest had the force of oracle for Italian Catholics; and if he was not the author of the axiom "nè eletti, nè elettori" — "be neither elector nor elected" — he, more effectually than any one else, presented its truth to the Catholics, to convince them that, in the face of revolutionary triumphs, it was idle to hope for a successful reaction through parliament; in which he was in accordance with the views of Pius IX, who, in 1868, said to Margotti that Catholics should not go to the ballot-box: "Non si vada alle urne". He was foreign to all sense of personal aggrandizement; Pius IX, referring to this fact, once said "Margotti never asked me for anything: he was right for any dignity that I could have conferred upon him wouid have been inferior to his merits".

By his will Margotti left nearly 100,000 lire for charitable purposes.

Besides the articles in "L'Unità", Margotti wrote "Il processo di Nepomuceno Nuytz, prof. di Diritto Canonico nella Università di Torino" (1851); "Considerazioni sulla separazione dello Stato dalla Chiesa in Piemonte" (1855); "Le vittorie della Chiesa nei primi anni del Pontificato di Pio IX (1857); "Memorie per la storia dei nostri tempi" (1863, 6 volumes); "Le consolazioni del S. P. Pio IX" (1863); "Pio IX e il suo episcopato nelle diocesi di Spoleto e d'Imola" (1877).

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