Gaetano de Lai

Gaetano de Lai (July 30, 1853 – October 24, 1928) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as secretary of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation (now the Dicastery for Bishops) from 1908 until his death in 1928. He was named a cardinal by Pope Pius X in 1907.

Biography Gaetano de Lai was born on July 30, 1853, in Malo, then part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. He was the son of Antonio and Maria (née Silvagni) de Lai; he had two sisters, Adelaide and Antonia Pietra. He studied at the seminary of Vicenza from 1867 to 1870, and then at the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum Saint Apollinare from 1870 to 1876.

On April 16, 1876, de Lai was ordained to the priesthood by the Cardinal Vicar, Costantino Patrizi Naro. He then served as a staff member of the Congregation of the Council (now the Dicastery for the Clergy) in the Roman Curia. In 1887, he was charged with the visitation of several dioceses; through this role, he met and formed a lasting friendship with Giuseppe Sarto, then Bishop of Mantua. Following Sarto's election as Pope Pius X in August 1903, de Lai was promoted to secretary of the Congregation of the Council on November 11, 1903. When Pius reorganized the Curia in 1908, de Lai served as president of the commission to implement his reforms.

On November 27, 1911, Pius X elevated de Lai to the rank of Cardinal-Bishop and assigned him to the suburbicarian see of Sabina. When the more progressive Cardinal Giacomo della Chiesa was elected, de Lai demanded that the ballots be examined to verify that della Chiesa had not voted for himself, which would have invalidated his election. Della Chiesa's election was verified and he took the name Benedict XV.

Despite his opposition to della Chiesa in the conclave, de Lai was allowed to remain as head of the Consistorial Congregation but his influence was diminished. In his 1915 motu proprio Seminaria clericorum, Benedict XV removed the oversight of seminaries from the Consistorial Congregation and transferred it to the newly established Congregation of Seminaries and Universities. In 1919, de Lai became vice-dean of the College of Cardinals. However, as Pope Pius XI, Ratti retained both Gasparri and de Lai in their roles.

On the occasion of the 1925 Jubilee, de Lai was charged with the ceremonial opening of the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in December 1924 and its closing a year later. In August 1924, he was named apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Poggio Mirteto, which was later united with his suburbicarian see of Sabina in June 1925.

De Lai fell ill with pneumonia in March 1927 and never fully recovered. He died on October 24, 1928, at the age of 75. He was buried in the Campo Verano cemetery in Rome until 1929, when his remains were transferred to his native Malo.