Italian cardinal; papal diplomat; archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church.
 
TLS – Typewritten Letter Signed, one page, 1967, as Pro-Nuncio to Cameroon, Equatorial Africa. written to the episcopacy of Cameroon. Reads: As of December 29, 1966 the Sacred Congregation of Rites and the Council for the application in Constitution on the sacred liturgy have made public, by mutual agreement, a significant statement. Attached is the full text of the document please take careful attention.
 
Poggi held several important diplomatic posts: nuncio in Central Africa; went on to serve as secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. In the 1960s he was given a critical role by Blessed Paul VI in his “ostpolitik” which aimed to improve Vatican relations with the Communist-ruled nations of the Warsaw Pact. This role reached its greatest importance early in the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II when Poggi, owing to his knowledge of Polish politics, was sent first to Warsaw and then to the Kremlin to negotiate with Moscow. He later visited Prague.
 
After his work in the Eastern Bloc, Poggi became the papal nuncio to Italy and in this role was able to remain close to the center of Church operations under Pope John Paul I. In 1992, Poggi became Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church.