Vincenzo Gioberti

Vincenzo Gioberti (; 5 April 180126 October 1852) was an Italian Catholic priest, philosopher, publicist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Sardinia from 1848 to 1849. He was a prominent spokesman for liberal Catholicism.

Biography Gioberti was born in Turin, Italy. When very young he lost his parents, and at the age of sixteen was admitted among the clerics of the court. He studied theology at the University of Turin, and obtained his doctorate there.

He was educated by the fathers of the Oratory with a view to the priesthood and ordained in 1825. In 1828, he made a journey through Lombardy, and became friendly with Alessandro Manzoni.

Gioberti was noticed by the king and made one of his chaplains. His popularity and private influence were reasons enough for the court party to mark him for exile: he was not one of them, and could not be relied upon. Knowing this, he resigned his office in 1833, but was suddenly arrested on a charge of conspiracy. Shortly after, he was imprisoned for four months and was banished without a trial. Gioberti first went to Paris, and a year later, to Brussels where he remained until 1845. In Brussels, he taught philosophy and assisted a friend in the work of a private school. He found time to write many works of philosophical importance, with special reference to his country and its position. Something of Gioberti's early optimism lived on among the liberal aristocrats and Catholic intellectuals such as Antonio Rosmini, Cesare Balbo, and Massimo d'Azeglio who afterwards turned to support the national aspirations of Piedmont's liberal monarchy.

The Jesuits, however, closed round the pope more firmly after his return to Rome, and in the end, Gioberti's writings were placed on the Index. The remainder of his works, especially La Filosofia della Rivelazione and Prolologia, give his mature views on many points.