The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary (original) (raw)

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church Biographical Dictionary Pope Innocent XII (1691-1700) Consistory of November 14, 1699 (III)

(21) 1. RADULOVICH, Niccolò (1627-1702)

Birth. 1627, Polignano (1). Of German ancestry. His father was the marquis of Polignano. His last name is also listed as Radolovico.

Education. Obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law.

Early life. Governor of several cities in the papal states. Commissary of Health. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace. Received the minor orders, January 14, 1659; subdiaconate, February 2, 1659; diaconate, February 9, 1659.

Priesthood. Ordained, February 16, 1659.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Chieti, March 10, 1659. Consecrated, March 16, 1659, church of S. Ignazio, Rome, by Cardinal Marcantonio Franciotti. During the pontificate of Pope Innocent XII (1691-1700), he was secretary of the S.C. of the Apostolic Visit, and later, secretary of the S.C. of Bishops and Regulars.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 14, 1699; received the red hat and the title of S. Bartolomeo all'Isola, February 3, 1700. Participated in the conclave of 1700, which elected Pope Clement XI.

Death. October 27, 1702, at 11:30 a.m., in his Roman palace. Exposed in the church of S. Marcello, Rome, where the funeral took place on October 29, 1702, and buried, temporarily, in one of the chapels of that church (2).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 61-63.

(1) Some sources indicate that he was born in Ragusi or in Naples.
(2) This is according to Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, V, 21, following Ughellio's Italia Sacra. Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, VIII, 63, indicates that he was buried in the middle of the his titular church, S. Bartolomeo all'Isola, sotto una rozza lapida, in cui si legge il solo suo nomne.

(22) 2. ARCHINTO, Giuseppe (1651-1712)

Birth. May 7, 1651 (1), Milan. Of a patrician family. Fourth of the fourteen children of Senator Carlo Archinto, count of Tanata, and Caterina Arese. The other siblings were Anna, Margherita, Filippo, Lodovico, Lucrezia and eight children who died in infancy or very young. Grand-uncle of Cardinal Alberico Archinto (1756). Great-grand-uncle of Cardinal Giovanni Archinto (1776). His last name is also listed as Archinti.

Education. Studied at the Jesuit school of Brera, Milan, where he received the ecclesiastical habit; at Seminario Romano, Rome from 1665, where he studied philosophy and theology; continued his formation at the Jesuit University of Ingolstadt for two years; then, spent one year in Vienna with his brother Ludovico, who was a military in the imperial army of imperiale under Raimondo Montecuccoli; from Vienna, for three years, he visited Germany, Hungary, most of the Northwestern countries of Europe, finishing in Denmark; then, he studied at the University of Pavia, where he earned a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, in 1675. He published Oratio de Spiritus Sancti Adventu in Rome in 1674. He was admitted to Collegio degli avvocati of Milan in 1676.

Early life. At the request of Cardinal Livio Odescalchi and of Pope Innocent XI, he went to Rome, where he began his ecclesiastical career with the office of protonotary apostolic participantium on August 22, 1679. Vice-legate in Bologna, August 22, 1679 until 1685. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, 1683. Abobt commendatario of S. Giovanni Battista di Vertemate, diocese of Como; and of S. Giovanni delle Vigne, diocese of Lodi.

Priesthood. Ordained (no information found) (2).

Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Tessalonica, March 18, 1686. Consecrated, March 31, 1686, at the church of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome, by Cardinal Flavio Chigi, bishop of Albano. Nuncio in Tuscany, April 22 (3), 1686 until December 1689. Nuncio in Venice, December 15 (4), 1689. Nuncio in Spain, January 13, 1696 (5) until August 1700. During the crisis of succession to the Spanish throne, he found himself in the middle of the political intrigues between the proponents of the Hapsburgs and the Bourbons. Following the directives of the papal policy and deftly maneuvering between the "cliques", he managed to keep the confidence of King Carlos II and have thus a considerable weight in the decision of the king in favor of a prince of the house of Bourbon. Transferred to the metropolitan see of Milan, May 18, 1699; he was granted the pallium on March 14, 1701.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 14, 1699. Participated in the conclave of 1700, which elected Pope Clement XI; he had to leave because of illness on November 22, 1700, and did not vote in the election that took place the next day. Received the red hat on January 11, 1701; and the title of S. Prisca, March 14, 1701. He entered the archdiocese of Milan in July 1701. Legate a latere to the wedding of King Philip V of Spain and Maria Luisa Gabriella di Savoia on August 8, 1701; about his legation he wrote Relatio Legationis a Latere, qua Philippum V. Hispamarum & Indiarum Regem Nicaeae in Provinciam, cum Sabaudiae Ducis filia matrimonio iunxit. As archbishop of Milan, he gave particular attention to the pastoral and administrative conditions of the archdiocese, overseeing especially the activities of the clergy and regulating the use of ecclesiastical pensions. He devoted himself to charitable works and, in addition to the foundation of a convent of Trinitarians next to the church of S. Maria di Monteforte, because of his devotion to S. Filippo Neri and S. Carlo Borromeo, he gave considerable financial aid to the Congregation of the Oblates of Milan. Concerned in protecting ecclesiastical discipline, he ordered the Confraternite laicall dei disciplini, in 1702, to follow a more strict observance of the rules. He oversaw the compilation and publication of liturgical books, and personally supervised the printing of the Breviary of Cardinal Caccia and, in 1712, he made a reprint in Milan of Missale Ambrosianum. On September 24. 1706, the Austro-Piedmontese troops made their solemn entry into Milan, under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy; Cardinal Archinto was forced, in his capacity as archbishop, to officially participate in the solemn ceremonies. This marked the beginning of a policy of mutual cooperation between the new government and the ecclesiastical authorities (6).

Death. April 9, 1712, at 1 a.m., Milan. Exposed in the metropolitan cathedral of Milan; and buried next to the tomb of Archbishop Filippo Archinto, one of his predecessors, in the chapel of S. Caterina da Siena, in that cathedral (7).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 63-64; Cazzani, Eugenio. Vescovi e arcivescovi di Milano. Nuova ed./ a cura di Angelo Majo, 2. ed. Milano : Massimo : NED, 1996. Note: Originally published 1955, now enlarged and updated, p. 246-248; Karttunen, Liisi. Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes de 1650 à 1800. Genève : E. Chaulmontet, 1912, p. 232; Majo, Angelo. Storia della chiesa ambrosiana. 5 vols. 2nd ed. Milano : NED, 1983-1986, III, 81 and 92-96; Marcora, Carlo. "Archinti, Giuseppe (1651-1712). Dizionario della Chiesa ambrosiana. 6 v. Milano : NED, 1987-1993, I, 204; Moroni, Gaetano. Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni. 103 vols. in 53. Venezia : Tipografia Emiliana, 1840-1861, III, 277; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen V (1667-1730). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1952, pp. 21, 50, 263 and 377; Weber, Christoph and Becker, Michael. Genealogien zur Papstgeschichte. 6 v. Stuttgart : Anton Hiersemann, 1999-2002. (Päpste und Papsttum, Bd. 29, 1-6), I, 57; Weber, Christoph. Legati e governatori dello Stato Pontificio : 1550-1809. Roma : Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, Ufficio centrale per i beni archivistici, 1994. (Pubblicazioni degli archivi di Stato. Sussidi; 7) pp. 157 and 462.

Webgraphy. Biography by Elvira Gencarelli, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 3 (1961), Trecanni; biography, in French, Dictionnaire Historique de la Suisse; his engraving by Giuseppe Passari and Robert van Audenaerde, Antiquariat Hille, Berlin; his portrait and engravings, Araldica Vaticana; Serie cronologica dei vescovi di Milano (III-XXI secolo), in Italian, archdiocese of Milan.

(1) This is according to Dictionnaire Historique de la Suisse, linked above; and to his biography in Italian by Gencarelli, also linked above. Marcora, "Archinti, Giuseppe (1651-1712), Dizionario della Chiesa ambrosiana, I, 204; Zedler, Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste; and Karttunen, Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes de 1650 à 1800, p. 232, give April 17, 1657 as his date of birth. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, V, 377, says that he circa 34 years old when elected to the episcopate in 1686, and on p. 21, it indicates that he was 62 years old when he died in 1712. Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, VIII, 64, indicates that he died when he was 61 in 1712. Antiquariat Hille, the site of his engraving, linked above, indicates that he was born in 1657.
(2) Dictionnaire Historique de la Suisse, also linked above, indicates that he was ordained to the priesthood in 1665, which is clearly erroneous because he would have been only 14 years old.
(3) This is according to Ritzler, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, V, 377; Karttunen, Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes de 1650 à 1800, p. 232, indicates that he was named on April 9, 1686.
(4) This is according to Ritzler, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, V, 377; Karttunen, Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes de 1650 à 1800, p. 232, indicates that he was named on November 26, 1689.
(5) This is according to Ritzler, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, V, 377; Karttunen, Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes de 1650 à 1800, p. 232, indicates that he was named on December 24, 1695.
(6) The cardinal sought to avoid strong disagreements on the occasion of the publication, in 1708, of the edicts of Charles of Habsburg, who ordered the seizure of ecclesiastical benefices; he also urged, in January of the same year, the clergy and the archdiocese to contribute to an extraordinary donation of 200,000 scudi, requested by Prince Eugenio, governor of Milan, to meet the costs of war; and, in October 1711, in order to give the government the ability to continue the war, yhe cardinal granted a contribution of 110,000 scudi, which all the churches depent from Milan would have to pay in proportional parts.
(7) This is the text of the inscription on his vault, kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta:

JOSEPH TIT. S. PRISCAE PRESB. CARD. LEGATUS DE LATERE EX ARCHINTA FAMILIA SECUNDUS MEDIOL. ARCHIEP. VITA FUNCTUS V. ID. APR. MDCCXII AETATIS SUAE ANN. LXI CORPUS PROPE AVOS SPEM IN PRECE VESTRA

(23) 3. SANTACROCE, Andrea (1655-1712)

Birth. November 22, 1655, Rome. Of a noble and ancient family. Son of Scipione Santacroce and Ottavia Corsini. Great-grand-nephew of Cardinal Prospero Santacroce (1565). Grand-nephew of Cardinal Antonio Santacroce (1629). Nephew of Cardinal Marcello Santacroce (1652). His last name is also listed as Santa Croce.

Education. La Sapienza University, Rome (doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law).

Early life. Received the clerical tonsure. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace. Governor of Tivoli, 16821686. Vice-legate in Bologna, February 1, 1686; occupied the post until 1689.

Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Seleucia, with dispensation for not having yet received the sacred orders, December 12, 1689. Assistant at the Pontifical Throne, December 18, 1689. Nuncio in Poland, January 7, 1690. Granted faculties to receive the episcopal consecration from any Catholic bishop. Consecrated, April 16, 1690, basilica Santa Maria in Porto, Ravenna, by Cardinal Domenico Maria Corsi, bishop of Rimini, papal legate, assisted by Giovanni Rasponi, bishop of Forli, and by Giovanni Francesco Riccamonti, bishop of Cervia. Nuncio in Austria, February 17, 1696.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 14, 1699; received the red hat and the title of S. Maria del Popolo, March 30, 1700. Participated in the conclave of 1700, which elected Pope Clement XI. Transferred to the see of Viterbo e Toscanella, January 24, 1701. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, February 21, 1707 until February 27, 1708.

Death. May 10, 1712, Rome. Exposed and buried in S. Maria in Publicolis, Rome, the church of his family.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 64-65; Finch, Urban. Die Luzerner Nuntiatur 1586-1873 : Zur Behördengeschichte und Quellenkunde der päpstlichen Diplomatie in der Schweiz. Luzern ; Stuttgart : Rex Verlag, 1997. (Collectanea Archivi Vaticani ; Bd. 40) (Luzerner Historische Veröffentlichungen ; Bd. 32); Squicciarini, Donato. Nunzi apostolici a Vienna. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998, p. 149-151; Weber, Christoph. Legati e governatori dello Stato Pontificio : 1550-1809. Roma : Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, Ufficio centrale per i beni archivistici, 1994. (Pubblicazioni degli archivi di Stato. Sussidi; 7), pp. 157, 405 and 891-892.

Webgraphy. Prosopographie, in German; his tomb in the church of S. Maria in Publicolis, Rome.

(24) 4. ASTE, Marcello d' (1657-1709)

Birth. July 21 (or May 9), 1657, Aversa (1). Of the noble Roman family of the barons d'Asti. His last name is also listed as Di Asti.

Education. Studied at La Sapienza University, Rome, where he earned a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law.

Early life. Received the minor orders. Judge of the Reverend Fabric of St. Peter's and prefect of the Congregation of S. Ivo, in the pontificate of Pope Innocent XI. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, 1682. Auditor of Pope Alexander VIII. Canon of the chapter of the patriarchal Vatican basilica. Consultor of of the S.C. of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.

Priesthood. Ordained (no information found).

Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Atena, December 10, 1691. Consecrated, January 13, 1692, church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, by Cardinal Galeazzo Marescotti, assisted by Giuseppe Bologna, archbishop of Capua, and by Stefano Giuseppe Menatti, titular archbishop of Cirene, viegerent of Rome and canon of the patriarchal Lateran basilica. Named assistant at the Pontifical Throne, January 15, 1692. Nuncio in Switzerland, January 18, 1692. Secretary of the S.C. of Bishops and Regulars, September 3, 1695. President of Urbino, June 30, 1698.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 14, 1699. Transferred to the see of Ancona, with personal title of archbishop, February 3, 1700. Received the red hat and the title of S. Martino ai Monti, March 30, 1700. Legate in Urbino, May 10, 1700. Participated in the conclave of 1700, which elected Pope Clement XI.

Death. June 11, 1709, at 10 a.m., in the Dominican convent of Bologna where he had gone following the advice of his doctors. Exposed and buried in the church of that convent.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 65-68; Fink, Urban. Die Luzerner Nuntiatur 1586-1873 : Zur Behördengeschichte und Quellenkunde der päpstlichen Diplomatie in der Schweiz. Luzern ; Stuttgart : Rex Verlag, 1997. (Collectanea Archivi Vaticani ; Bd. 40) (Luzerner Historische Veröffentlichungen ; Bd. 32) Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen V (1667-1730). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1952, pp. 21, 49 and 103.

Webgraphy. His engraving by Benoit Frajat.

(1) His parents had sought refuge in Naples from the epidemic that was affecting Rome.

(25) 5. DELFINO, Daniello Marco (1653-1704)

Birth. October 5, 1653, Venice. His last name is also listed as Dolfino. Venetian patrician. Grand-nephew of Cardinal Giovanni Delfino (1604) and nephew of Cardinal Giovanni Delfino (1667).

Education. Obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law).

Priesthood. Ordained (no information found). Conclavist of Cardinal Giovanni Delfino in the conclave of 1691. Privy chamberlain of Pope Innocent XII. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, July 31, 1691. Vice-legate in Avignon, September 24, 1691.

Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Damasco, January 2, 1696. Consecrated, January 29, 1696, at the church of the Jesuits, Avignon, by Louis Aube de Roquemartine, bishop of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, assisted by Jean Jacques d'Obeilh, bishop of Orange, and by Laurent Buti (Buzzi), bishop of Carpentras. Nuncio in France, January 7, 1696. Assistant at the Pontifical Throne, January 10, 1696. Transferred to the see of Brescia, with personal title of archbishop, September 15, 1698.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 14, 1699; received the red hat and the title of S. Susanna, March 30, 1700. Abbot comendatario of Rosazzo, 1700. Participated in the conclave of 1700, which elected Pope Clement XI.

Death. August 5, 1704, at 1 a.m., in the episcopal palace of Brescia. Exposed and buried in the chapel of SS. Sacramento of the cathedral of Brescia.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 68-69.

(26) 6. SPERELLI, Sperello (1639-1710)

Birth. August 15, 1639, Assisi.

Education. Educated by his uncles, Francesco Sperelli, bishop of San Severino and Alessandro Sperelli, bishop of Gubbio; University of Perugia, Perugia (doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, June 4, 1659). Moved to Rome in 1663 and practiced law.

Priesthood. Ordained, February 7, 1663. Auditor of Cardinals Giacomo Franzoni and Felice Rospigliosi.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Terni, January 10, 1684. Consecrated (no information found). Vicegerent of Rome, January 1693 until June 1698. Judge of causes and executor of the decrees of the Apostolic Visit to Rome, February 7, 1693. Assessor of the Supreme S.C. of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, June 16, 1698. Resigned government of the diocese in favor of his brother Cesare Sperelli, December 14, 1698. Consultor of the Supreme S.C. of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal and reserved in pectore in the consistory of November 14, 1699 (1); published in the consistory of November 24, 1699; received the red hat and the title of S. Giovanni a Porta Latina, February 3, 1700. Participated in the conclave of 1700, which elected Pope Clement XI. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, February 27, 1708 until January 28, 1709.

Death. March 22, 1710, at midnight, in his Roman palace in the piazza of S. Maria sopra Minerva. Exposed in the church of S. Maria sopra Minerva, where the funeral took place on March 24, 1710, and buried in that same church (2).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 69-70; Del Re, Niccolò. Il vicegerente del vicariato di Roma. Rome : Istituto di Studi Romani Editore, 1976, p. 62; Vincioli, Giacinto Giuseppe Baldassare. Vita del cardinale Sperello Sperelli. Macerta : apud Michaelem Archangelum Silverstrium Impress., 1715.

(1) According to Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa , VIII, 70, the pope had intended to create him cardinal in the consistory of December 12, 1695. The promotion was postponed because of un'atroce calunnia (a terrible calumny) that imputed him of having participated in the assassination of Ulderico, count del Fiume, known as Fracassa, of which the cardinal was totally innocent.
(2) This is according to Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, V, 22, but Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, VIII, 70, indicates that he was buried in the church of S. Giovanni a Porta Latina, his title, in front of the main altar, under una lapida magnificamente adorna, sopra di cui leggesi una elegante iscrizione.

(27) 7. GABRIELLI, O. Cist., Giovanni Maria (1654-1711)

Birth. January 10, 1654, Città di Castello. His last name is also listed as Gabbrielli.

Education. Entered the Order of Cistercians, at a young age, in the monastery of S. Pudenziana, Rome. (No further educational information found).

Priesthood. Ordained (no information found). Taught philosophy and theology in houses of study of his order for twenty years. Abbot general of the Cistercians. Considered an eminent theologian. Several times declined promotion to the episcopate offered by Pope Innocent XI. Qualificator of the Holy Office and prefect of studies of the Urbanian College of Propaganda Fide, Rome, in the pontificate of Pope Innocent XII (1691-1700).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 14, 1699; received the red hat and the title of S. Pudenziana, February 3, 1700. Participated in the conclave of 1700, which elected Pope Clement XI. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, January 28, 1709 until February 19, 1710.

Death. September 17, 1711, at 2:15 a.m., Caprarola, where he had gone to try to recover from his illnesses. Transferred to Rome, he was buried in the choir of the church of S. Bernardo; later, he was translated to the basilica of S. Sebastiano fuori delle mura, where, between the last two chapels on the left side, is his tomb with a bust in white marble. He had constituted the monks of S. Sebastiano his heirs (1). His internal organs were buried in the church of S. Pudenziana (2).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 70-72.

Webgraphy. His tomb in the church of S. Bernardo alle Terme, Rome, Requiem Datenbank.

(1) This is according to Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, VIII, 71-72. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, V, 21, indicates that he was buried in the church of S. Bernardo in Civittà di Castello; that his entrails were buried in the church of S. Pudenziana, his title; and his heart in the church of S. Sebastiano.
(2) This is the text of the inscription on the marker, kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta:

D O M HIC TVMVLATA IACENT PRÆCORDIA IOAN · MARIÆ GABRIELLII MONACHI S · BERNARDI S · R · E · PRESB · CARDINALIS TITVL · HVIVS ECCLESIӔ OBIIT · DIE · XVII · SEPTE · ANNO · MDCC · XI ӔTATIS · LVIII

Note. Two cardinals were created and reserved in pectore in this consistory but their names were never published.

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