rendered humanitarian services to the wounded and assumed care for orphaned children throughout World War I and was later decorated with the Croce di Cavaliere della Corona d'Italia for his actions. It was while serving as a bishop in Padua that he would restore 50 parishes that were damaged during the war. Episcopate In mid-1923 he was appointed as the Bishop of Padua and he received his episcopal consecration on the following 12 August from Bishop Ferdinando Rodolfi in the Vicenza Cathedral with Bishops Andrea Longhin and Apollonio Maggio serving as the co-consecrators. He was enthroned in his new diocese on the following 7 October at an installation Mass. Dalla Costa was later named as the Archbishop of Florence on 19 December 1931 and for five months in 1932 served as the apostolic administrator for his old Padua diocese. He was enthroned in his new archdiocese in 1932. Cardinalate Pope Pius XI created Dalla Costa as the Cardinal-Priest of San Marco on 13 March 1933. He received the red hat and his titular church on 16 March. Dalla Costa was a staunch anti-communist and anti-fascist; when Adolf Hitler visited Florence in 1938 he took the dramatic decision (despite great external pressure) to close all the doors and windows of the episcopal palace and refused to participate in the celebrations. He railed against the Italian Racial Laws deeming them an affront to human rights and dignities. He was one of the cardinal electors in the 1939 papal conclave (at which he received some votes as he was also a "papabile" candidate) that selected Pope Pius XII. He was considered to be papabile due to his pastoral sensitivities and due to the fact that he was considered a non-political prelate. Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani - who had voted for Pacelli (later Pius XII) - said Dalla Costa would have been elected as pope if the cardinals had wanted "an angel" rather than a diplomat. There were some sources suggesting that Pacelli himself had voted for either Dalla Costa or Federico Tedeschini. But others suggested that his candidature did not gain traction since he was deemed too anti-fascist (which could have been problematic) and was deemed to be cold and aloof. During World War II and the Holocaust he became known for helping to save thousands of Italians from execution under the Fascist regime. He encouraged his priests to save Jewish people from