Born in the Roman Catholic archdiocese of L'Aquila, Italy, he was ordained a priest in Rome in 1936 and worked there until 1960.
In 1960 he was consecrated a bishop by Pope John XXIII and named nuncio to Germany.He remained in this post until 1975 when Pope Paul VI named him to head the Congregation for the Causes of Saints,and became a Cardinal in the consistory of 1976.
He retired from the Curia in 1980 and reached the age limit for voting in papal elections in 1983; he was well enough to be received by Pope John Paul II on his 100th birthday in 2003.