where he said to people: "We have chosen a pope that you will like". It had been said that Dalla Costa voted for Roncalli in the conclave. Dalla Costa ordained the two future cardinals Domenico Bartolucci (1939) and Silvano Piovanelli (1947) as priests. Death Dalla Costa died from lung complications in Florence during the morning on 22 December 1961 and is buried in the Duomo di Firenze. He was the oldest member of the College of Cardinals at his death. Beatification process The cause for Dalla Costa's canonization opened on 26 January 1981 under Pope John Paul II after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued the edict of "nihil obstat" (nothing against the cause) and titled him as a Servant of God. On 22 December 1981 the diocesan phase for the cause opened and closed sometime later. This investigation was held in the Florence archdiocese and the C.C.S. later validated this investigation on 19 November 1993 before receiving the Positio dossier from the postulation in 2007. This dossier was an extensive collation of documents and testimonies collected throughout the diocesan process. The board of theologians assented to the continuation of the cause after investigating the dossier in their meeting held on 29 November 2016 while the cardinal and bishop members of the C.C.S. also approved it later on 2 May 2017. Dalla Costa was named as Venerable on 4 May 2017 after Pope Francis confirmed that the late cardinal had lived a model Christian life of heroic virtue. Recognition In November 2012 it was announced that Dalla Costa had been named on the previous 29 February as a "Righteous Among the Nations" after Yad Vashem in Jerusalem determined that he had done the most - at risk to himself - to save Jews from the horror of the Nazi Holocaust (or the Shoah) during the period before and during the war. References Bibliography Casini, Tito (1972). Elia Dalla Costa : vita e magistero. Firenze: Libreria editrice fiorentina. Pallanti, Giovanni (2012). Elia Dalla Costa. Il Cardinale della carità e del coraggio. Cinisello Balsamo: Edizioni San Paolo. Villani, Giulio (1974). Il vescovo Elia Dalla Costa. Per una storia da fare. Firenze: Vallecchi. External links Venerabile Elia Dalla Costa The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church Hagiography Circle Catholic Hierarchy Yad Vashem 1872 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 20th-century venerated Christians Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI Bishops