GALANO, CLEMENTE

Theatine missionary, theologian, and Orientalist; b. Sorrento; d. Leopolis, May 14, 1666. He was professed at Holy Apostles Monastery, Naples, Feb. 25, 1628, and in 1636 appointed to the Georgian missions to reunite the Armenian Church with Rome. His negotiations with the Armenian patriarch, Ciriac of Erivan, ended short of success, cut off by the patriarch's death. In addition to his spiritual activities, Galano opened a college in Constantinople, publishing there his Armenian grammar and logic. He was forced to leave for Rome with his followers in 1645 because of the violent opposition of the newly elected Patriarch David. His group, made up of disciples and dignitaries converted from the Greek-Armenian Church, was warmly received by Pope Urban VIII. Shortly afterward, Galano was appointed professor of the Armenians in the college De Propaganda Fide, staffed by Theatines since 1641. In 1663 the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith sent Galano and Louis Pidou to Poland to work toward reunion with the Church of Rome among the Polish-Armenians. They opened an Armenian college in Leopolis. On the eve of success, death overtook Galano, but Pidou completed the work and saw the end of the schism.

Bibliography: f. a. vezzosi, Scrittori dei chierici regolari detti teatini, 2 v. (Rome 1780). a. palmieri, Dictionnaire de théology catholique 6:1023–25. h. hurter, Nomenclator literarius theologiae catholicae 6 v. (Innsbruck 1903–13) 4:118–119. f. andreu, Enciclopedia cattolica ed. p. paschini et al. (Rome, 1949–54) 5:1853.

[a. sagrera]