The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484)
Consistory of November 15, 1483 (VII)


(29) 1. CONTI, Giovanni (1414-1493)

Birth. 1414, Rome. Of the Roman family of Valmontone. Son of Grateo Conti; the name of the mother is unknown, but she certainly belonged to the circle of noble Roman families with which the Counti were usually related. He was called the Cardinal Conti. His family gave the Church Popes Innocent III, Gregory IX, Alexander IV and Innocent XIII. Nephew of Cardinal Lucido Conti (1411). Uncle of Cardinal Francesco Conti (1517). Other cardinals of the family were Giovanni dei conti di Segni (1200); Ottaviano dei conti di Segni (1205); Carlo Conti (1604); Giannicolò Conti (1664); and Bernardo Maria Conti, O.S.B.Cas. (1721). He is also listed as Giovanni III Conti.

Education. (No information found).

Sacred orders. Apostolic subdeacon.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Conza, January 26, 1455; resigned the see on October 1, 1484 in favor of his nephew Niccolò. Consecrated (no information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 15, 1483 in the patriarchal Vatican basilica; received the title of Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo on November 15, 1483; and the red hat on November 19, 1483. Participated in the conclave of 1484, which elected Pope Innocent VIII; he was of the party of the Orsinis, who wanted him elected to the papacy in spite of his advanced age. On October 18, 1485, he received in commendam the deaconry of S. Adriano; retained the deaconry until March 9, 1489. Opted for the title of S. Vitale on March 9, 1489. Participated in the conclave of 1492, which elected Pope Alexander VI; he supported the election of the new Pope Alexander VI but very quickly opposed him.

Death. October 20, 1493, Rome, of the plague. His body was transferred to the church of S. Maria in Aracoeli, Rome, and buried without any pomp because of the epidemic; eleven of his servants died in the following fourteen days after the cardinal's death.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 221; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1630, II, col. 1266; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 160; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 19, 52, 64, 65, 66 and 134.

Webgraphy. Biography by Alfred A. Strnad, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 28 (1983), Treccani; his arms, Araldica Vaticana.

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(30) 2. BOURDEILLES, O.F.M.Obs., Hélie de (ca. 1413-1484)

Birth. Ca. 1413 (1), castle of Agonac, diocese of Périgueux, France. He was the fifth son of the royal sénéschal of Périgord, Arnaud de Bourdeille, and Jeanne de Chamberlhac. He was called the Cardinal of Tours.

Education. Entered the Order of the Friars Minor Observant (Franciscans) in Périgueux, Franciscan province of Aquitaine, in 1423. Studied at the Franciscan studium of Périgueux (theology); and at the University of Toulouse, where he obtained a doctorate in theology.

Priesthood. Ordained, probably when he was twenty-one or twenty-two years old (no further information found). Professor of theology at the Franciscan convent of Mirepoix; later at the convent of Limoges; he ministered in Pamiers, Carcassonne, Montréal, Castelnaudary and Tolouse. In spite of his opposition, but at the request of Pope Eugenius IV and the wishes of the cathedral chapter, he was elevated to the episcopate at 24.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Périgueux, November 18, 1437; with dispensation for not having yet reached the canonical age; fourth bishop of that name. Went to visit the pope and attended the Councils of Ferrara and Florence. Consecrated by Cardinal Niccola Albergati, O.Carth., bishop of Bologna and future blessed, on Easter day 1438; he was enthroned on August 3, 1447. He was imprisoned for some time by the English and was freed thanks to the archbishop of Bordeaux; attended with the archbishop the assembly of the États Généreaux celebrated in Bourges in 1452 he protested against the Pragmatic Sanction of July 7, 1438, which limited the authority of the pope over the church within France. Asked by King Charles VII of France to join a committee charged with studying the process of rehabiliation of Jeanne d'Arc; he presented in 1453 or 1454 his Considération sur la Pucelle de France, a plea for her canonization. Attended the assembly of the États Généreaux celebrated Tours in 1468 and his participation was very much appreciated. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Tours, May 16, 1468; took possession the following December 23. In 1468, he raised his voice in favor of Cardinal Jean Balue, who had been imprisoned by the king of France. He became counselor and confessor of King Louis XI of France.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 15, 1483 celebrated in the patriarchal Vatican basilica; he was absent; received the title of S. Lucia in Silice, deaconry elevated pro illa vice to title on November 15, 1483; the pope sent him the red hat, which he never used because of humility. He was considered in Rome a saint observant of his religious order. He was a friend of Francesco di Paola, future saint. He was the author of several treatises on the authority of the pope; and the concordat concerning the ecclesiastical benefices in France, among other subjects. He founded Collège de Saint-Astier, near Périgueaux.

Death. Monday July 5, 1484, at noon, after having received the Holy Sacraments, in Artannes, near Tours, in "odor of sanctity". His body was dressed with the Franciscan habit and the episcopal ornaments, and taked to the parish church of Artannes, where the a solemn office for the dead was sung; then it was taken to the church of Saint-Saveur, at the border with Cher, for the night; the following day it was brought to Tours, through the gate of Saint-Simple, and buried at the right of the main altar of the metropolitan cathedral of Saint-Gatien, after a solemn funeral celebrated in that same church. The news of his death reached Rome on July 19, 1484; a solemn funeral took place in the papal chapel in Rome on July 26, 1484; Pope Sixtus IV died fifteen days later.

Sainthood. After miracles were said to have occurred in his tomb, the diocese of Périgueaux opened the process of canonization but he has not been canonized. He is listed among the blessed in the Franciscan martyrology; his feast is on July 5th. In 1748, his tomb was opened and examined by three canons of the cathedral chapter, and they found out that parts of the remains, vestments and some of the sacred objects that had been buried with the body in 1484 were missing.

Bibliography. Berton, Charles. Dictionnaire des cardinaux, contenant des notions générales sur le cardinalat, la nomenclature complète ..., des cardinaux de tous les temps et de tous les pays ... les détails biographiques essentiels sur tous les cardinaux ... de longues études sur les cardinaux célèbre ... Paris : J.-P. Migne, 1857 ; Facsimile edition. Farnborough ; Gregg, 1969, col. 588-589; Betti, Umberto. I cardinali dell'Ordine dei Frati Minori. Presentazione di P. Alberto Ghinato, O.F.M. Roma : Edizioni Francescane, 1963. (Orizzonti Francescani, 5), p. 57; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 221-224; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1630, II, col. 1267 and 1274; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 160-161; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 47, 66, 215 and 258; Poüan, B.-Th. Le saint cardinal Hélie de Bourdeille, des Frères Mineurs, Évêque de Périgueux, Archevêque de Tours. 2 vols. Neuville-sous-Montreuil : Imp. Notre Dame des Prés, 1900. Vol.I. Mèmoire historique.--Vol.II. Preuves et éclaircissements; Sérent, Antoine de. L'un des premiers glorificateurs de Jeanne d'Arc, le saint Cardinal Hélie de Bourdeille, Franciscain. Besançon : [s.n.], 1956. Note: "Extrait de 'La Croix de Lorraine."

Webgraphy. Biography by Nicholas Weber, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; biography, in English, Maarten van der Heijden and Bert Roest; catalog of the bishops of Périgueux, Wikipedia.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933, p. 160; his second biography in English, linked above, says that he was born ca. 1410; Betti, I cardinali dell'Ordine dei Frati Minori, p. 57, says that he was born between 1410 and 1413; Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, II, 215, says that he had to receive a dispensation to be promoted to the episcopate in 1437 because he was three years short of the canonical, which was 27; therefore, according to this, he must have been born in 1413; Berton, Charles. Dictionnaire des cardinaux, col. 588, says that he was named bishop of Périgueux in 1447 at 24 years of age, therefore, according to this source, he must have been born in 1423.

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(31) 3. MARGARIT I PAU, Juan (ca. 1422-1484)

Birth. Ca. 1422 (1), Gerona (2), Spain. Of an aristocratic family of the second order, coming from the military state. He was the fourth of the five sons of Joan Margarit. The other brothers were Bernat, Berenguer, Jaume and Francesc. He also had sisters. His last name is also listed as Moles de Margarit (3). He was called the Cardinal of Gerona or Girona. His first name is also listed as Joan; and as Johanne.

Education. Studied civil and canon law at the University of Bologna; obtained a doctorate in utroque iure in 1443. He was also very knowledgeable in theology, humanities and oceanography.

Early life. He was destined to the priesthood since his infancy. Cleric of Gerona. Canon of the cathedral chapter of Gerona in 1434. Accompanied his uncle, Bishop Bernardo de Pau of Gerona, to the Council of Basilea in March 1437; he resided at Collegio San Clemente, Bologna; he was charged, in that same year, by the governor of Bologna to arbitrate between two groups of students of the collegio who were disputing the election of the rector. Archdeacon of Selva, diocese of Gerona, September 2, 1441. When he finished studying in Bologna in 1443, his aspiration was to enter the papal court in Rome but he did not succeed in spite of the recommendation of King Alfonso V. He returned to Gerona in July 1443 and his uncle the bishop named him vicar general of the diocese of Gerona. As procurator of his uncle, he took part in the Corts of Barcelona of 1446-1448. Named, during the pontificate of Pope Eugenius IV, provost of the Augustinian monastery of San Martín Ça Costa, in Gerona; he resigned the post during the pontificate of Pope Nicholas V. Named sacristan major of Gerona. Went to Rome in 1448. Named procurator of the king of Naples in Rome on September 14, 1449. Cleric of the Apostolic Chamber, January 3, 1450; took the oath, October 5, 1450. Ambassador of King Juan II of Castilla.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Elne, March 23, 1453. Consecrated (no information found). Returned to Catalonia and participated in the Corts of Barcelona from 1454 to 1458. Sent to Naples by King Alfonso V of Aragón and Naples around 1455 for important affairs. Ambassador of his successor, King Joan II of Aragón, before Pope Pius II, whom he followed to the Congress of Mantua in 1459. King Joan II recommended him for the cardinalate in a letter of January 12, 1461 to the pope. Pope Pius II named him nuncio for the crown of Aragón in 1461 with a double mission: to try to reconcile King Joan II and his son Carles, prince of Viana; and to promote the crusade against the Muslims and in favor of the kingdom of Cyprus and its dethroned monarch; he did not succeed in either one of the missions. Returned to Catalonia and remained at the side of King Joan II during the civil war between the latter and the Generalitat, defender of the cause of Prince Carles de Viana; took active part in some battles, such as in the defense and protection of Queen Joana Enríquez, wife of Joan II, and Prince Ferran, the heir, during the siege of the Força of Gerona in 1462; the civil war ended in 1472; in that same year, the king had unsuccessfully requested the promotion to the cardinalate of Bishop Margarit; he was named royal counselor and had an intense political activity in Aragón until the death of King Joan II in 1479 in Barcelona. Transferred to the see of Gerona on September 23, 1461; enthroned on February 18, 1462; occupied the see until his death. Chancellor of Aragón during the reigns of King Joan II and Ferran (Fernando "el Católico"). He performed several diplomatic missions for King Ferran II; the cardinal went to Italy in 1481 to dissuade the Venetians from continuing their relations with the Turks; the mission was difficult and was not satisfactorily concluded until the end of 1482; he had a famous address before the Venetian Senate on May 10, 1481, which was published in Rome on July 1; he visited several times Naples, Venice and Rome; he had the inestimable help of Jurist Bartomeu de Verí. In November 1482, the peace between Pope Sixtus IV and Alfons of Calabria was signed; and a month later; the peace between the pope and King Ferdinando of Naples was also signed. The pope was about to abandon the cause of the Venetians and he attributed to the intervention of Ferran of Aragón and Isabel of Castilla and their ambassador, Bishop Margarit, the success of the mission and the peace and tranquility of Italy. In gratitude, the pope promoted the bishop to the cardinalate; King Ferran of Aragón had been trying to obtain the promotion since 1478.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 15, 1483 celebrated in the patriarchal Vatican basilica; received the title of S. Vitale on November 15, 1483; and the red hat on November 19, 1483. Opted for the title of S. Balbina, March 17, 1484. Participated in the conclave of 1484, which elected Pope Innocent VIII. Named legate in Campanga by the new Pope Innocent VIII; died before taking possession of the post. He wrote a history of Spain in ten volumes that was printed by Sancho Nebrija in Granada in 1545. He was one of the most important representatives of Humanism in Catalonia (4). He left several addresses in Catalan in the Corts of Barcelona, and others in Latin like the one before the Venetian Senate, as well as several important works in history, theology and apologetics (5).

Death. November 21, 1484, Rome, of kidney stones. His remains were taken seven hours later, under a torrential rain, to the church of S. Maria del Popolo and buried there. The funeral was celebrated on December 11, 1484. He had built a chapel in the cathedral of Gerona where he wanted to be buried but that never took place.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 224; El cardenal Margarit i l'Europa quatrecentista : actes del Simposi internacional, Universitat de Girona, 14-17 de novembre de 2006. A cura de Mariàngela Vilallonga, Eulàlia Miralles, David Prats. Roma : L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2008. (Hispania antigua. Serie histórica ; 3); Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1630, II, cols. 1267 and 1312; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 161; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 19, 47-48, 65, 150 and 159; Fita y Colomé, Fidel. El Gerundense, Cardenal Obispo de Gerona D. Juan Margarit. Discurso. 2d ed. Madrid : imp. de F. Maroto é hijos, 1879. Responsibility: y la España primitiva by Fidel Fita y Colomé with response by Eduardo Saavedra, leídos ante la Real Academia de la Historia en la recepción pública del R.P. Fidel Fita y Colomé; Goñi Gaztambide, José. "Margarit, Juan." Diccionario de historia eclesiástica de España. 4 vols and Supplement. Dirigido por Quintín Aldea Vaquero, Tomás Marín Martínez, José Vives Gatell. Madrid : Instituto Enrique Flórez, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1972-1975; Suplemento (1987), Sup., 462-466; Grahit y Papell, Emilio. El Cardenal Margarit. Gerona [Spain] : Imp. del Hospicio provincial, 1885. (Catalanes ilustres); Lucero Comas, Lluís. Joan Margarit, un cardenal gironí del Renaixement. Girona : Universitat de Girona, 2006. Link to external web site http://www.raco.cat/index.php/RevistaGirona/article/view/96326. Source of Data: Revista de Girona; 2006, No.: 238; 60-61; Mirambell i Belloc, Enric. Bibliografia i bibliofília del cardenal Margarit. Girona : Universitat de Girona, 2006. Link to external web site http://www.raco.cat/index.php/RevistaGirona/article/view/96329. Source of Data: Revista de Girona; 2006: Núm.: 238; 74-77; Mirambell i Belloc, Enric. Un memorial del Cardenal Margarit. Girona : Universitat de Girona, 1974. Link to external web site http://www.raco.cat/index.php/AnnalsGironins/article/view/53813. Source of Data: Annals de l'Institut d'Estudis Gironins 1974: Vol.: 22; Sobrequés Vidal, Santiago. Documentos relativos a la familia Margarit : ensayo de reconstrucción del arbol genealógico del "Cardenal gerundense". Gerona : Instituto de Estudios Gerundenses, 1958. Note: Separata de: Anales del Instituto de Estudios Gerundenses, v. XII, 1958, p. 245-299; Tate, Robert Brian. Joan Margarit i Pau, cardenal i bisbe de Girona : la seva vida i les seves obres. Barcelona : Curial, 1976. (Biblioteca de cultura catalana ; 18). Responsibility: per Robert B. Tate ; traduit de l'anglais per Teresa Lloret.

Webgraphy. Biography, in English, Enciclopèdia Catalana; post-office cancelling stamp commemorating the 5th centennial of his death, todocoleccion.

(1) This is according to Tate, Joan Margarit i Pau, cardenal i bisbe de Girona, p. 21; and his biography in English, linked above. Goñi, "Margarit, Juan." Diccionario de historia eclesiástica de España, Sup., 462, says that he was born ca. 1421. "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933, p. 161, says that the cardinal was born ca. 1404.
(2) Some sources say that he may have been born in San Gregori, small locality near Gerona.
(3) According to "Margarit, Juan." Diccionario de historia eclesiástica de España, III, 462-466, the last name "Moles" that authors attribute to the cardinal from the 17th century, was originated in the fact that Giulio Moles, a Neapolitan descendant of his, erected a monument in his memory and in the inscription, he included that last name as one of the cardinal's.
(4) His contemporary, Vespasiano da Bisticci, author of Vite di uomini illustri del secolo XV, described the cardinal as a "dottissimo e in iure canonico e civile, ed ha notizia universale di teologia e di filosofia, e degli studi di umanità e di storia; è grandissimo cosmografo e universalmente d'ogni cosa ha notizia".
(5) Among them these four are the most salient ones: De origine regum Hispaniae et Gotorum: a very brief work which explained the time of the Visigothic invasions and the relations between the Gohtic kings and the Catalan-Aragonese crown; it was written between 1458 and 1460; Templum Domini: a treatise written during the first years of the Catalan Civil War (1462-1472), with the purpose of demonstrating that the places of worship had to be respected and the the power of the king was a concession from God, and the the kings had to be controlled in their acts by a person from the ecclesiastical state; Corona regum: this work was a moral guide for the good monarch, dedicated to Prince Ferran, future Catholic King, it was written around 1469, the year of the prince's marriage to Isabel of Castilla; it reflected the Renaissancetis ideals of the education of the youth; and Paralipomenon Hispaniae libri decem: this "obra magna" was started when he was sixty years old and remained unfinished and incomplete because of the death of the author in 1484; his intention was to write a history of Spain from the origins to the fall of the Roman Empire.

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(32) 4. SCHIAFFINATI, Giovanni Giacomo (1451-1497)

Birth. September 10, 1451, Milan. Son of Tonello Schiaffinati, Milanese noble. He had three brothers, Gabriele, who was bishop of Gap and assisted Giovanni as administrator of the spiritual and temporal affairs of Parma; Filippo and Andrea. His first name is also listed as Jacopo; and his last name as Sclafenati; as Sclafinato; and as Sclafenatus. He was called Cardinal Parmense.

Education.(No information found).

Early life. Chamberlain of Pope Sixtus IV. Auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota. Archpriest of the basilica of Ss. Celso e Giuliano, Rome. Canon of the chapter of the patriarchal Vatican basilica. Elected on July 3, 1480, cleric and secretary of the Sacred College of Cardinals in replacement of Stefano Burelli, assassinated shortly before, and took the oath on the same evening before Cardinal Giovanni Battista Zeno, camerlengo of the Sacred College. Grand provost of the cathedral chapter of Saint Lambert in Liège; he resigned the post in 1485. Prefect of Castello Sant'Angelo.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Parma, December 30, 1482; occupied the see until his death. Consecrated (no information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of November 15, 1483 celebrated in the patriarchal Vatican basilica; received the title of S. Stefano in Monte Celio on November 15, 1483; received the red hat on November 19, 1483. Participated in the conclave of 1484, which elected Pope Innocent VIII. Opted for the title of S. Cecilia, November 17, 1484; retained the title of S. Stefano in Monte Celio in commendam until his death. Abbot commendatario of S. Leonardo di Siponto from 1485. Arrived in Rome from Genoa, ahead of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, on November 12, 1486. In 1487, he went to Roma, and was one of the subscribers of a bull of Pope Sixtus IV; he also was present at the exequies of Queen Carlotta of Cyprus. He decreed, with a public statute, signed also by the clergy and the city commune, that the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary be celebrated with devout pomp; Parma was one of the first cities that solemnized that feast. Participated in the conclave of 1492, which elected Pope Alexander VI. Received from the new Pope Alexander VI rich benefices, as he had promised him during the conclave; he was named abbot commendatario of the Cistercian monastery Ripolta on August 26, 1492. On January 26, 1493, he resigned the commendam of the monastery of S. Nazario in Novara and obtained the commendam of the monastery of S. Dionigio in Milan. On March 10, 1494, he resigned the commendam of the monastery of San Pedro, diocese of Porto, Portugal. Went to Orvieto with the pope on May 27, 1495 because of the advance of a French army toward Rome; they returned to Rome on the following June 27. He was in Rome in December of that same year during the flood of the river Tiber.

Death. December 9, 1497, Rome. Buried in the cloister of the church of S. Agostino, Rome, where his brother Filippo, knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, built a monument in his memory with a long inscription (1). All his benefices were given by Pope Alexander VI to Cardinal Cesare Borgia.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 224-225; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1630, II, col. 1267 and 1345; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 161-162; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 19, 43, 49, 52, 53, 62 65 and 213.

Webgraphy. Biography, in Italian, Biblioteca, Comune Parma; his tomb in the church of S. Agostino, Requiem Datenbank; his epitaph, Requiem Datenbank; his tomb, Fondazione Marco Besso.

(1) This is the text of the inscription taken from the photograph linked above, Requiem Datenbank:


CHR SAL
IO IACOBO SCLAFENATO MEDIOLAN·DIVI STEPHANI IN CELLO·S·R·E·PBRO
CARDINALI PARMEN:OB INGENIVM·FIDEM·SOLERTIAM CETERASQ:ANIMI
ET CORPORIS DOTES A XISTO·IIII PONT·MAX:INTER PATRES RELATO AC
FORTVNIS VNDECVMQ ORNATO QVEIS PERPETVA MODESTIA INCOM
PARABILIQ:INTEGRITATE GNARITER ANNOS XIIII FVNCTO

PHILIPPVS EQ ORD HIEROSOL·FRATRI CONCORDIALISS:
NATO IIII·EIDVS SET:M CCCCLI·MORTVO·VI·EIDVS DECEMBR:M·III D
MOERENS · B · M · POSVIT.

Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, 1267, transcribed a slighlty different text IOANNI. IACOBO. SCLAFENATO. MEDIOLANEN. DIVI. STEFANI. IN CÆLIO. MONTE. PRESB. CARD. PARMEN. OB. INGENIVM. FIDEM. SOLERTIAM. CÆTERASQVE. ANIMI. ET. CORPORIS. DOTES. A. XYSTO. IV. PONT. MAXIMO. INTER. PATRES. RELATO. AC. FORTVNIIS. VNDECVMQVE. ORNATO. EISQVE. PERPETVA. MODESTIA. INCOMPARBILIQ. GRAVITER. ANN. XIV. FVNCTO. PHILIPPVS. EQVES. ORDINIS. HIEROSOLYMITANI. FRATRI. CONCORDISS. NATO. IV, EID. SEPT. MCDL. MORTVO. VI. EIDVS. DECEMB. MCDXCVI. MORENS. B. M. P.
His epitaph, from Datenbank, transcribed above, says that the year of his birth was MCDLI and that the year of his death was M.IIID.

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(33) 5. ORSINI, Giovanni Battista (before 1450-1503)

Birth. Before 1450, Rome. Third of the eight children of Lorenzo Orsini, signore of Monte Rotondo, and Clarice Orsini, sister of Cardinal Latino Orsini (1448). The other siblings were Giulio, Orso, Giordano, Giustiniana, Paolo, Giovanna and Isabella. Cousin of Cardinal Cosma Orsini, O.S.B. (1480). He is also listed as Jean-Baptiste des Ursins. The family gave the Church several popes and cardinals: Celestine III (1191-1198); Nicholas III (1277-1280); Benedict XIII (1724-1730); Matteo Orsini (1262); Latino Malabranca Orsini, O.P. (1278); Giordano Orsini (1278); Napoleone Orsini (1288); Giovanni Gaetano Orsini (1316); Matteo Orsini, O.P. (1327); Rinaldo Orsini (1350); Giacomo Orsini (1371); Poncello Orsini (1378); Tommaso Orsini (1383?); Giordano Orsini, iuniore (1405); Latino Orsini (1448); Franciotto Orsini (1517); Flavio Orsini (1565); Alessandro Orsini (1615); Virginio Orsini, O.S.Io.Hieros. (1641); and Domenico Orsini d'Aragona (1743).

Education. (No information found).

Early life. Cleric of the Apostolic Chamber. Auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota. Canon of the chapter of the patriarchal Vatican basilica. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of S. Salvatore Maggiore, diocese of Arezzo, August 8, 1477; in his favor, his uncle Cardinal Latino Orsini resigned from it. Protonotary apostolic.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of November 15, 1483, with the deaconry of S. Maria in Domnica; received the red hat on November 19, 1483. Participated in the conclave of 1484, which elected Pope Innocent VIII. Named legate in the Marche Anconitana, September 22, 1484; left Rome on December 22 of that year; received a letter from the pope of January 22, 1485 asking him to activate that territory against the Turks. In 1486, because of the conflict between the Orsinis and the pope, he went to Rome from Monte Rotondo to negotiate their reconciliation; he left shortly after. Opted for the deaconry of S. Maria Nuova in October 1488 or on March 23, 1489.

Episcopate. Administrator of the metropolitan see of Tarento, November 5, 1490 until September 24, 1498. On August 3, 1492, he received Cardinal Maffeo Gherardi, O.S.B.Cam., patriarch of Venice, in Rome and took him to the sacristy of St. Peter's basilica, where the Sacred College of Cardinals was meeting during the sede vacante. Participated in the conclave of 1492, which elected Pope Alexander VI. Named by the new Pope Alexander VI legate in Marche Anconitana, Massa Trebaria and Ascoli on August 31, 1492. Obtained the commendam of the see of Cartagena, August 31, 1492; resigned, March 27, 1493. Opted for the order of cardinal priests and the title of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, February 27, 1493.

Priesthood. Ordained, March 12, 1493, in his titular church. He abstained from visiting King Charles VIII of France when he was in Rome on December 31, 1494 and went, with the pope, to Castello Sant'Angelo on January 7, 1495. Elected camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals on January 21, 1495; he was absent from Rome for a few days in March 1495. Accompanied the pope to Orvieto on May 27, 1495 when a French army was approaching Rome; they returned the following June 27. He was named archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica, Rome, in September 1498. He left Rome for Milan on September 23, 1499 as legate before the king of France; he returned to Rome on November 16 of that year. On May 22, 1500, he resigned the commendam of the Benedictine monastery of S. Lorenzo in Aversa, in favor of his nephew Aldobrandini di Pitigliano. Left his legation of Marche Anconitana on July 29, 1500 and was named legate in Bologna. On July 12, 1502, he asked for an audience with the pope to request permission to leave for Milan to meet the king of France; he did not obtain permission but still left the following evening; attended, in the proximity of the lake of Trasimène, a reunion of the chiefs of bands of the Orsinis conspiring against Cesare Borgia; no agreement was reached among them; returned to Rome; he was called to the Vatican by Pope Alexander VI on January 3, 1503; he was arrested by orders of the pope, who had, until then, favored him in everything; the cardinal was taken to Tor di Nona, and later to Castello Sant'Angelo; his palace and all his possessions were confiscated; all the places owned by the Orsinis were delivered to Cesare Borgia; he fell ill in prison and after twelve days, died.

Death. February 22, 1503, Rome, probably poisoned, it was said by some pamphlets at the time, by order of Pope Alexander VI. Buried in the church of S. Salvatore in Lauro, Rome, located in front of Castello Sant'Angelo (1).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, III, 25; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1630, II, col. 1268 and 1346; "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933. Paris : Maison de la Bonne Presse, 1933, p. 162; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi. Volumen II (1431-1503). Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1914; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, pp. 19, 48, 50, 51, 5254, 55, 56, 63, 67, 119 and 246.

Webgraphy. Biography by Kristjan Toomaspoeg, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 79 (2013), Treccani; The Orsini family and cardinals by Johann Peter Kirsch, in English, The Catholic Encyclopedia; his portrait, tomb, arms and biographical information, in English, Wikipedia; his genealogy, A4 D1 E4 F2 G3, Libro d'Oro della Nobilità Mediterranea.

(1) This is according to "Essai de liste générale des cardinaux. VII. Les cardinaux de la fin du XVe siècle". Annuaire Pontifical Catholique 1933, p. 162; and Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, III, 25, which adds that perhaps he was buried in the patriarchal Vatican basilica; Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm, II, col. 1346, says that he was buried in the Vatican basilica.

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