(4) 1. BANDITI, Theat., Francesco Maria (1706-1796)
Birth. September 8, 1706, Rimini (1). From a noble family. Son of Count Francesco Banditi and Colomba Leonardelli.
Education. Initial studies in the local schools of Rimini, where he had as condisciple Lorenzo Ganganelli, future Pope Clement XIV. Entered the Order of the Clerics Regular Theatine in Rimini in 1722; professed, December 19, 1723; studied philosophy in Rimini; and theology in Casa di S. Michele, Florence.
Priesthood. Ordained, August 14, 1729, Florence. Named sub-master of novices in Florence, and then, occupied the chair of canon law, also in Florence. For many years, he maintained a friendship and correspondence with the celebrated physician Giovanni Bianchi of Rimini (Janus Plancus), chief physician to the pope; as well as with Ludovico Antonio Muratori, historian and leading scholar of his age. Transferred to Rimini, he spent most of his religious life in the house "S. Antonio da Padova"; in 1755, a notable collector of books, he restored the library of the house, providing it with an abundance of new books and entrusting the decoration to the painter Felix Angelini, from Rimini; he was superior of the house from 1756 to 1759; and 1765 to 1767. In 1756, he was also named visitor of the houses of that Theatine province. He was an acclaimed speaker, who preached in the principal cities of Italy; his merit was to have reacted strongly against style of the sixteenth century. He participated in several general chapters of his order and presided over the one celebrated in 1759. He was a member of the Ecclesiastical Academy of Rimini, founded by Cardinal Luigi Valente Gonzaga; in his introduction to the academy, on January 4, 1762, he delivered an address on the origin of the divine office, because he was passionate about the historical and liturgical sciences; later, when he was already a cardinal, Father Anton Francesco Vezzosi devoted his great work on the Theatine writers, I scritori de' chierici regolari detti Teatini, to him. In the general chapter of 1768, held in Rome, he was elected superior general on April 27; among the acts of relevance of the period of his government were the edition of Institutiones theologicae antiquorum Patrum by Giuseppe Maria Tomasi, Theat., future cardinal and saint, curated by Father Vezzosi (Rome 1769); there was also the decree of beatification from the S.C. of Rites, dated March 17, 1771, of the Venerable Paolo Burali d'Arezzo, cardinal and archbishop of Naples; and the circular letter, dated July 27, 1770, which he sent to the houses of the order concerning the Theatine missions of Goa. Once Father Banditi completed the triennium of his generalship, in May 1771, he returned to Rimini as a simple religious. Named episcopal examiner, March 20, 1772.
Episcopate. Elected bishop of Corneto e Montefiascone, March 30, 1772. Consecrated, April 5, 1772, Rome, by Cardinal Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicini. He took personal care of the seminary, where, at his invitation, taught the illustrious philosopher and mathematician Tommaso Tamagna. He was the spiritual director and supporter of Mother Maria Crocifissa di Gesù, foundress of the Passionist nuns, who, on May 20, 1772, together with her first ten companions, did the religious profession in the hands of Bishop Banditi, who at that time, was in contact with Paolo della Croce, future saint, and with the major superiors of the Passionists. He refurbished the civil hospital with the adjoining see of the Confraternity of Mercy, and awarded the rank of the collegiate to the church of S. Maria Assunta, as recalled by a marble plaque posted by the chapter in his honor. Resigned the government of the diocese, May 26, 1775; he was apostolic administrator from May 28 to December 1775. Promoted to the metropolitan see of Benevento, May 29, 1775.
Cardinalate. Created cardinal and reserved in pectore in the consistory of July 17, 1775; published in the consistory of November 13, 1775; received the red hat on November 16, 1775; and the title of S. Crisogono, December 18, 1775. Assigned to the SS. CC. of Bishops and Regulars, Ecclesiastical Immunity, Rites and Sacred Indulgences and Relics. On January 7, 1776, he left for Benevento. In that same year, he conducted the preaching of Lent and Advent; and called for a mission with twenty missionaries. Tireless in his pastoral zeal, in a little over a year, he had administered twenty four thousand confirmations. He sent to the library of S. Silvestro al Quirinale precious editions, including the works of Pope Benedict XIV. For the members of the cathedral chapter of Benevento, he obtained from the Holy See the distinction of the domestic prelature. He completed and finalized the building of the Institute of the Ursulines, the hospital of S. Gaetano Thiene; and the church of S. Maria della Verità. He was called the cardinal of the porpora rattoppata (patched purple).
Death. January 27, 1796, Benevento (2). Exposed and buried in the metropolitan cathedral of Beneveto.
Bibliography. Grassi, Ferdinando. I pastori della cattedra beneventana. Benevento : Tipografia Auxiliatrix, 1969. Responsibility: Ferdinando Grassi in collaborazione per l'iconografia e l'araldica con L. Ingaldi; Moroni, Gaetano. Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni. 103 vols. in 53. Venezia : Tipografia Emiliana, 1840-1861, IV, 92; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi. Volumen VI (1730-1799). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1968, pp. 31, 43, 121 and 295.
Webgraphy. Biography by Enzo Pozzato, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 5 (1963), Treccani; his portrait and biography, in Italian, Wikipedia; his engraving, portraits, arms and biographical data, in Italian, Araldica Vaticana; his portrait, secolo XVIII (1772-1775), scuola romana, regione ecclesiastica Lazio, diocesi Civitavecchia-Tarquinia, Beni Ecclesiastici in web (BeWeB); his portrait, secolo XVIII (1700-1799), regione ecclesiastica Emilia Romagna, diocesi Parma, Beni Ecclesiastici in web (BeWeB); his portrait, secolo XVIII (1700-1799), ambito veronese, regione ecclesiastica Triveneto, diocesi Verona, Beni Ecclesiastici in web (BeWeB); his portrait, secolo XVIII (1700-1799), ambito campano, regione ecclesiastica Campania, diocesi Benevento, Beni Ecclesiastici in web (BeWeB); his tomb, Requiem Datenbank.
(1) This is according to Ritzler, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi, VI, 295; and Andreu, in his biography in Italian, linked above. Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, IV, 92, says that he was born on September 9, 1706.
(2) This is according to Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, IV, 92; and Ritzler, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi, VI, 31 and 43. Andreu, in his biography in Italian, linked above, says that he died on January 26, 1796.
(5) 2. BONCOMPAGNI-LUDOVISI, Ignazio (1743-1790)
Birth. June 18, 1743, Rome (1). Seventh of the nine children of Gaetano Boncompagni, prince of Piombino and duke of Sora, and Laura Chigi, of the princes of Farnese. The other siblings were Maria Teresa, Marianna, Maddalena, Antonio II, Girolamo, Francesco, Eleonora and Ippolita. His baptismal name was Ignazio Gaetano. His condition as a second son destined him to the ecclesiastical career, in which the traditional fortunes of the rest of his family in the Roman Curia, since the time of Pope Gregory XIII, his relative, would guarantee his success and honors. He is also listed as Ignazio Boncompagni.
Education. Studied at La Sapienza University, Rome, where he earned a doctorate in law in 1765.
Early life. In May 1754, Pope Benedict XIV gave him all the benefices of the patronage that the Boncompagni Ludovisi exercised in the dioceses of Aquino and Sora, vacant since the resignation in that year of its titular, Cardinal Pier Luigi Carafa. Named archimandrite of the monastery of S. Adriano, diocese of Rossano; and abbot commendatario of S. Maria di Giosefat, diocese of Cosenza, by a bull of Pope Clement XIII dated April 27, 1763. Privy chamberlain of His Holiness in 1765. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, December 12, 1765. Vice-legate in Bologna, city of origin of the Boncompagni family, November 19, 1766; pro-legate, January-November 1768, until the arrival of Legate Lazzaro Opizio Pallavicini; pro-legate again from February to November 1769, during the conclave that elected Pope Clement XIV and the arrival of Legate Antonio Branciforte Colonna; and again, October 1774 to February 1775, during the conclave that elected Pope Pius VI. In 1767, he was named apostolic delegate of the Commission for the Waters of the three legations of Bologna, Ferrara and Romagna; the post constituted one of the major concerns of the administration of the Papal States; as water commissioner, he undertook the systematization of the course of the river Po; and as legate in Bologna, he undertook a survey that would provide the basis for a new tax system based on land ownership, which earned him the opposition of the landed aristocracy, and eventually blocked the reform; when he was named secretary of State, Cardinal Boncompagni requested to continue as apostolic delegate of the commission and the pope granted his wish by an apostolic brief dated August 26, 1785.
Cardinalate. Created cardinal and reserved in pectore in the consistory of July 17, 1775; published in the consistory of November 13, 1775; received the red hat on November 16, 1775; and the deaconry of S. Maria in Portico Campitelli, December 18, 1775. Prefect of the SS.CC. of the Sacred Consulta; and of Avignon and Loreto. Apostolic delegate for the supervision of the provision of water to the legations of Ferrara, Bologna, and Romandiola. Granted dispensation to continue to be a cardinal without receiving the minor orders, subdiaconate and diaconate. Legate a latere in Bologna, December 15, 1777; reappointed for three years, January 3, 1781; remained in the post until February 8, 1785. Abbot commendatario of S. Bartolomeo (or S. Nicolò de' Bartoli), diocese of Ferrara, November 24, 1778. Abbot commendatario of S. Sofia, archdiocese of Benevento, January 2, 1785. Secretary of State, June 29, 1785 until September 30, 1789, when he had to resign because of poor health. Protector of Collegio Germanico-Ungarico. Protector of the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchin, by apostolic brief of November 29, 1785; and president of its chapter, by apostolic brief of April 18, 1789. Opted for the deaconry of S. Maria ad Martyres, January 29, 1787. Opted for the deaconry of S. Maria in Via Lata, March 30, 1789. Cardinal protodeacon.
Death. August 9, 1790, Bagni di Lucca, where he had retired. Exposed and buried in the archiepiscopal cathedral of Lucca. Transferred privately to his family's tomb in the church of S. Ignazio, Rome, January 26, 1791. Numerous manuscripts of Cardinal Boncompagni dealing with theology, philosophy and law, as well as an Italian version of three books of De Officiis, by Cicero, are preserved in the Secret Vatican Archive and in the Vatican Apostolic Library.
Bibliography. Del Re, Niccolò. La Curia romana : lineamenti storico giuridici. 4th ed. aggiornata ed accresciuta. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998, p. 89; Masetti Zannini, Gian Ludovico. "Il card. Ignazio Boncompagni Ludovisi e gli idraulici bolognesi." Bolletino del Museo del Risorgimento di Bologna, IX (1964), 39-79; Moroni, Gaetano. Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni. 103 vols. in 53. Venezia : Tipografia Emiliana, 1840-1861, VI, 10; Piscitelli, Enzo. "Il Boncompagni Ludovisi segretario di Stato di Pio VI." Studi Romani, VII (1959), 275-286; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi. Volumen VI (1730-1799). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1968, pp. 31, 51 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. 117; 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. 161 and 511.
Webgraphy. Biography by Umberto Coldagelli, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 11 (1969), Treccani; portrait, arms of the Boncompagni, writings and biography, in Italian, Wikipedia; his arms and prosopography, in German, Requiem Datenbank; his genealogy, A3 B7, Genealogy.EU; Boncompagni-Ludovisi Family, in German, Wikipedia; his portrait, Archivio Storico, Università di Bologna; his engraving by Antonio Capellan, Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio, Bologna; his engraving by Antonio Campanella, New York Public Library; his engraving, portraits and arms, Araldica Vaticana; his tomb, Requiem Datenbank.
(1) This is according to Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni, VI, 10; and his biography in Italian, linked above. Ritzler, Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi, VI, 31, says that he was born on January 18, 1743.
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