The Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italian for "Catholic University of the Sacred Heart") is a privately-owned Catholic university founded in 1921. Its main campus is located in Milan, Italy with satellite campuses in Brescia, Piacenza, Cremona, Rome, and Campobasso. The Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore is the biggest private university in Europe and the biggest and one of the most distinguished Catholic universities in the world. In 1919 Father Agostino Gemelli, Ludovico Necchi, Francesco Olgiati, Armida Barelli, and Ernesto Lombardo, founded the university. In 1920, after overcoming a number of obstacles and difficulties, the Istituto Giuseppe Toniolo di Studi Superiori was founded (The Institution is the founder as well as the warrantor for the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore). On June 24 of that year the Istituto was legally recognized with a Decree signed by the Minister of Education, Benedetto Croce; at the same time, the Pope Benedict XV officially recognized the University's ecclesiastical status.