Priesthood and positions

Pietro La Fontaine was born in 1860 in Viterbo as the second of five sons to Francesco La Fontaine and Maria Bianchini.^[2] His father was from Geneva in origins and had been a soldier in the papal guard turned watchmaker while his mother was the daughter of Giuseppe Bianchini who served as the administrator general of the properties of the Doria-Pamphili-Landi.

His initial education was spent under both the Brothers of the Christian Schools and later the Jesuits before he set himself on the ecclesial path. He began studies for the priesthood in Viterbo in 1874 and was ordained as a priest on 22 December 1883 in the Viterbo Cathedral.^[1] He served as a parish priest until he was made a professor of literature and Sacred Scripture from 1882 to 1905, and also served as a spiritual director from 1893 until his appointment as a rector in 1896.^[2] In 1906 he served briefly as the cathedral canon and as a chaplain at the Gradi jail. Pope Pius X appointed him as the Bishop of Cassano all'Jonio and he received his episcopal consecration on 23 December 1906 in Rome at the Collegio Capranica chapel from Pietro Respighi with Antonio Maria Grasselli and Raffaele Virili serving as the co-consecrators.^[1] On 28 December 1908 an earthquake that had struck Messina and surrounding cities saw him open the doors to the episcopal palace for people to find refuge. He aided the displaced and the wounded and tended to orphaned children.^[2]

Episcopate

In 1908 La Fontaine was appointed as the vicar for the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and in 1909 was appointed as the Apostolic Administrator of San Marco e Brisignano, to oversee the diocese until a replacement bishop was found. He was appointed as the Titular Bishop of Caristo on 1 April 1910, and the same year was called to lead the Congregation of Rites but never held the title "Prefect" since the pope then held that traditional title.

He served as a consulter in a papal commission for the codification of the code of canon law. On 2 April 1910 Pius X named La Fontaine as the vicar for Saint Peter's Basilica, where he would participate in the pope's liturgical reform with a particular focus on the reform of breviaries.^[1]

During World War I he refused to leave his archdiocese even during times of aerial bombardment. In November 1917 came eight hours of bombing which proved to be the fiercest night of Austrian-led attacks. He spent the entire night begging for relief from the Mother of God and vowed he would build a temple in her honor if Venice was spared from further bombings.^[3]

Cardinalate

In 1915 he was appointed and installed as the Patriarch of Venice. Pope Benedict XV elevated him to the cardinalate on 4 December 1916 as the Cardinal-Priest of Santi Nereo ed Achilleo; he received the red hat and title on 7 December. La Fontaine's title was later changed to Cardinal-Priest of Ss. XII Apostoli on 7 March 1921.

Death

La Fontaine died on 9 July 1935 at 10:00am from arteriosclerosis. He had been ill since the beginning of that month and had moved to Treviso hoping to recover.^[1][3] He had suffered from diabetes in his later life. Four archbishops and 12 bishops as well as some regional senators attended his 12 July funeral which ended with him being interred in Lido in a chapel he had commissioned himself. His remains were transferred on 8 July 1959 into the Basilica of Saint Mark in the sarcophagus that was once intended for his future successor Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who had become Pope John XXIII.^[1]