Giulio Bevilacqua was born in Isola della Scala to a family of merchants. He studied at the University of Louvain in Belgium and the seminary in Brescia, and later entered the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. The Oratorian priest was made an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State for his protection against Fascist threats in 1926; he also did pastoral work in Rome during this time. He returned to Brescia in 1933 and, during World War II, served as a chaplain again to the Italian Navy. The Cardinal died in Brescia, at age 83. He is buried in the church of Santa Maria della Pace.