Italian cardinal; held numerous Curial posts; distinguished lawyer; substitute secretary of state and secretary of the cipher; secretary of the Congr. for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. Berardi had been married with a child; entered priestly studies on the premature death of his wife and child.  His legal expertise came to the attention of Cardinals Lambruschini and Mattei who asked him to join the judiciary.
 
LS - Letter Signed; one page; 14 July 1871. Addressed to Mons. le Chevalier Augustin Sauron, Avignon. Reads:  Monsieur le Chevalier, In accordance with the wish you expressed to me in your letter of the 1st of this month, I have hastened to lay the petition enclosed therein at the Holy Father's feet. His Holiness has deigned to receive it with kindness, and also with his blessing to all the editors of the Catholic newspaper you mentioned to me. I don't want to conceal from you now that it will be very difficult to obtain a pontifical letter, as the large number of similar addresses requires a very special measure. I thank you for your keen interest in my health, and I appreciate the sentiments you have honored me with. In the anxieties of the present, we must entrust everything to Providence. Please accept Mons. Chevalier, the assurance of my devotion, with which I am your most devoted servant J. C. Bernardi Rome 14, July 1871 
 
Monsieur Le Chevalier Augustin Sauron - Avignon