The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Pope Urban VIII (1623-1644)
Consistory of October 7, 1624 (II)

(2) 1. BARBERINI, seniore, O.F.M.Cap., Antonio (1569-1646)

Birth. 1569, Florence. Youngest son of Antonio Barberini and Camilla Barbadori. Brother of Pope Urban VIII. Uncle of Cardinals Francesco Barberini, O.S.Io.Hieros., seniore (1623) and Cardinal Antonio Barberini, iuniore, O.S.Io.Hieros. (1627). Grand-uncle of Cardinal Carlo Barberini (1653). Great-grand-uncle of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, iuniore (1690). After an unhappy juvenile experience in the world, he decided to enter the religious life.

Education. Joined the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchins, 1592; changed his baptismal name, Marcello, to Antonio. Did his novitiate in Cortona; (no further educational information found).

Priesthood. Ordained (no further information found). Guardian of the convent of San Gimignano, Florence. Called to Rome by his brother the new pope in 1623, traveled at night and by foot accompanied only by other friars of his order.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of October 7, 1624, with dispensation for having a nephew in the Sacred College of Cardinals; received the red hat and the title of S. Onofrio, November 13, 1624. In the absence of his nephew Cardinal Antonio, acted as secretary of State and cared for the affairs concerning the government of the Church.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Senigaglia, January 26, 1625. Consecrated, Sunday February 2, 1625, private chapel of His Holiness, Vatican palace, by Cardinal Laudivio Zacchia, bishop of Montefiascone e Corneto, assisted by Antonio Diaz, bishop of Caserta, and by Lorenzo Azzolini, bishop of Ripatransone. In August 1626, presided over the general chapter of his order in the convent of S. Maria in Aracoeli, Rome. The pope ordered him to stay in Rome and govern his diocese through vicars general. Named prefect of the S.C. of Bishops and Regulars before June 14, 1628; resigned the post in December 1633. Resigned the government of the diocese of Senigaglia before December 11, 1628. Secretary of the Supreme S.C. of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, 1629; resigned the post, 1633. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, January 19, 1632 to February 16, 1632. Grand penitentiary, October 3, 1633 until his death. Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, December 13, 1633, when his nephew Cardinal Francesco resigned the post; occupied it until his death. Prefect of the S.C. of the Residence of Bishops from March 28, 1635 until his death. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, January 7, 1636 to January 12, 1637. Pro-vicar general of Rome, 1636-1640. Pro-prefect of the S.C. of Bishops and Regulars from 1636 until 1643, during the absence of Cardinal Marzio Ginetti. Opted for the title of S. Pietro in Vincoli, September 7, 1637. Continued to be known as the cardinal of S. Onofrio. Opted for the title of S. Maria in Trastevere, May 26, 1642. Lived quietly and privately as a religious and because of that was not involved in the collapse of his family that followed at the death of Pope Urban VIII. Participated in the conclave of 1644, which elected Pope Innocent X.

Death. September 11, 1646, near 9 a.m., in the Barberini palace, Rome. Exposed and buried in the Capuchin church of the SS. Concezione, Rome, which he founded (1).

Bibliography. I Barberini e la cultura Europea del seicento : atti del convego internazionale Palazzo Barberini alle Quattro Fontane, 7-11 dicembre 2004. Per cura di Lorenza Mochi Onori ... [et al.]. Roma : De Luca Editori D' Arte, 2007. Note: Papers from the International Conference on Barberini and the European Culture of the 17th Century, held at the Palazzo Barberini, December 7-11, 2004; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, VI, 243-246; Combaluzier, Fernand. "Sacres épiscopaux à Rome de 1565 à 1662. Analyse intégrale du Ms. «Miscellanea XIII, 33» des Archives Vaticanes." Sacris Eruduri, XVIII (1967-1968), p. 205-206; Isnello, Domenico da. Il convento della santissima concezione de' padri cappuccini in piazza Barberini di Roma. Viterbo : Unione, 1923.

Webgraphy. Biography by Alberto Merola, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 6 (1964), Treccani; his portrait, bust and biography, in English, Wikipedia; his engraving by Matthäusand Merian, Antiquariat Hille, Berlin; his engraving, The Fitzwilliam Museum University of Cambridge, England; his tomb, church of the SS. Concezione, Rome, shown by Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M.Cap., archbishop of Boston; his epitaph, in that church; his engravings, arms and portraits, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is the text of his epitaph, kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta:

HIC
IACET
PVLVIS
CINIS
ET
NIHIL

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(3) 2. MAGALOTTI, Lorenzo (1584-1637)

Birth. January 1, 1584, Florence. Son of Vincenzo Magalotti, Florentine senator, and Clarice Capponi. Brother in law of Pope Urban VIII (his sister Costanza was married to Carlo Barberini, brother of the pope and father of Cardinals Francesco and Antonio). Uncle of Cardinals Francesco Barberini, seniore (1623), Antonio Barberini, iuniore, O.S.Io.Hieros. (1627) and Francesco Maria Macchiavelli (1641).

Education. Studied law at the University of Perugia; and at the University of Pisa he earned a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law.

Early life. After the death of his father, he moved to Rome in 1608 and went to work in the Roman Curia. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, 1609-1621. Vice-legate in Bologna, August 22, 1612 until 1614, during the legation of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, future Pope Urban VIII. Governor of Montalto, March 4, 1616. Vice-legate in Viterbo, 1618. Governor of Ascoli, February 23, 1620 until 1621. During the pontificate of Pope Gregory XV, he was commisary general of the Papal State. Relator and later secretary of the S.C. of the Sacred Consulta, May to August, 1623. Commissary of the Annona, December 1621. Commissary of Cascia, 1621. In the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII, secretary of letters to the princes. Secretary of State, September 1623 to May 1628.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of October 7, 1624; received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Maria in Aquiro, November 13, 1624. Opted for the order of priests, retaining the deaconry of S. Maria in Aquiro, pro illa vice title, December 16, 1624. Opted for the title of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo, February 28, 1628.

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Ferrara, May 5, 1628. Consecrated, May 7, 1628, in the chapel of the Quirinal Palace (Palazzo Montecavallo), Rome, by Volpiano Volpi, archbishop-bishop of Novara, assisted by Lorenzo Azzolini, bishop of Ripatransone, and by Celse Giuliano Zani, bishop of Città della Pieve. He celebrated a Diocesan Synod in Ferrara in June 1637.

Death. September 19, 1637, Ferrara. Exposed and buried in the cathedral of Ferrara, in a tomb near the stair to the organ. Later, his remains were reburied in front of the altar of S. Lorenzo with a tombstone with only his name, and when a new floor was installed in the cathedral, the tombstone was by mistake placed on the tomb of Cardinal Francesco Maria Macchiavelli, in front of the altar of the Circoncisione di Nostro Signore.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, VI, 246-248.

Webgraphy. Biography by Stefano Tabacchi, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 67 (2006), Treccani; his prosopography, in German, Requiem Datenbank; engravings and arms, Araldica Vaticana.

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(4) 3. BORGHESE, Pietro Maria (1599-1642)

Birth. 1599, Siena. Of a patrician family. Second of the three children of Curzio Borghesi, a lawyer, and Silvia Saraceni. The other siblings were Pierfrancesco and Ortensia. Nephew of a cousin of Pope Paul V (1605-1621). He inherited the fortune of Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese (1605). His first name is also listed as Pier Maria.

Education. Studied at the University of Siena, where he earned a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law.

Early life. Did not receive any favors from his grand-uncle the pope. Went to Rome with his father after the death of Pope Paul V in 1605 to paticipate in his funeral. The new Pope Urban VIII wished to confer a cardinalate upon the Borghese family, from which he had received his, and thus the pope promoted Pietro Maria Borghese.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of October 7, 1624, with dispensation for not having yet received the sacred orders; received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Giorgio in Velabro, November 13, 1624. Abbot commendatario of three rich abbeys. Opted for the deaconry of S. Maria in Cosmedin, August 24, 1626. Opted for the title of S. Crisogono, pro illa vice deaconry, December 19, 1633. Since 1638, protector of the Republic of Genoa (in practice a representative before the Holy See).

Death. June 15, 1642, after 14 days of illness, in his Roman palace. Buried in the tomb of his ancestor in the Borghese Chapel, patriarchal Liberian basilica, Rome.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, VI, 248-249; Gauchat, Patritium. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1935; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, IV, 41, 19 and 52; Weber, Christoph and Becker, Michael. Genealogien zur Papstgeschichte. 6 v. Stuttgart : Anton Hiersemann, 1999-2002. (Päpste und Papsttum, Bd. 29, 1-6), I, 126.

Webgraphy. Biography by Gaspare De Caro, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 12 (1971), Treccani; his portrait by Pietro da Cortona (Pietro Berrettini), The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America; his engraving, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University, England; his engravings, portrait and arms, Araldica Vaticana; his genealogy, III-2-2, Worldroots.

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