The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Pope Innocent IX (1591)
Consistory of December 18, 1591 (I)


(1) 1. SEGA, Filippo (1537-1596)

Birth. August 22, 1537, Bologna. Of a noble family originally from Ravenna, related to Pope Gregorio XIII. Son of Giovanni Andrea Sega. Uncle of Cardinal Girolamo Agucchi (1604), son of his sister Isabella.

Education. Studied at the University of Bologna, where he obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, on September 26, 1560.

Early life. Protonotary apostolic. Governor of Cesena, September 20, 1566. Governor of Forlì, January 24, 1569. Governor of Imola, March 3, 1571. Governor of Romagna, December 15, 1572. Governor of Marche, January 1, 1575. Auditor of Sacred Consulta.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Episcopate. Elected bishop of Ripatransone, May 20, 1575. Consecrated, June 29, 1575, cathedral of Osimo, by Gabriele del Monte, bishop of Iesi, assisted by Vincenzo de Lucchi, bishop of Ancona, and by Cornelio Firmani, bishop of Osimo. Sent to Flanders on a special mission before Juan de Austria, 1577. Nuncio extraordinary in Flanders, Nuncio in Spain, July 8, 1577 until April 30, 1581; during his nunciature supported Pope Gregory XIII's plan to attack England. Transferred to the see of Piacenza, October 3, 1578. Sent to Spain on special mission to negotiate the formation of a league against the Turks. Nuncio in Austria, January 18, 1586 until May 28, 1587. Accompanied Cardinal Enrico Caetani, legate a latere to France in 1589, after the assassination of King Henri III.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1591. Legate a latere to France, 1591-1592 (1); performed the functions of nuncio April 15, 1592 until March 12, 1594. Did not participate in the conclave of 1592, which elected Pope Clement VIII. Received the red hat and the title of S. Onofrio (2), December 5, 1594. President of the Congregatio Germanica, 1595. He was one of the fiercest adversaries of Teresa of Ávila, future saint.

Death. May 29, 1596. Buried in his title, S. Onofrio, on the left side of the chapel del Crocifisso (3) (4). His sepulchral monument was designed by Domenico Zampieri, called Domenichino.

Bibliography. Biaudet, Henry. Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes jusqu'en 1648. Helsinki ; Suomalainen tiedeakatemia, 1910, pp. 151, 164 and 286; Campi, Pietro Maria Dell'historia ecclesiastica di Piacenza. 3 vols. Piacenza : TipLeCo, 1995. Facs. repr. of the 1651 ed., p. 48; Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, V, pp. 314-315; 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, cols. 1853-1854; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1935; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, III, 55, 75, 76, 275 and 285; Squicciarini, Donato. Nunzi apostolici a Vienna. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998, pp.81-83; 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. 197, 265, 270, 286, 364, 906-907.

Webgraphy. Biography by Vincenzo Lavenia, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 91 (2018), Treccani; his tomb in S. Onofrio, Rome, Requiem Datenbank; his arms, engraving and portrait, Araldica Vaticana; commemorative stone, secolo XVI (1596), bottega emiliana, regione ecclesiastica Emilia Romagna, diocesi Piacenza-Bobbio, Beni Ecclesiastici in web (BeWeB); his biography in La Chiesa di S. Onofrio e le sue tradizioni: religiose storiche artistiche e literarie esposte da Giuseppe Caterbi. Roma, dalla Tipografia Forense, 1858, p. 128-131, Google Books.

(1) His mission was to obtain the election of a Catholic sovereign given that King Henri IV had been excommunicated in 1585 by Pope Sixtus V and, therefore, deprived of the kingdom of Navarre and excluded from the accession to the French crown. On July 25, 1593, Henri abjured Protestantism and was absolved of the canonical censure by the French bishops. The Holy See could not accept that absolution because it was reserved to the pope. The legate left Paris on March 12, 1594, before the king entered the city. He returned definitively to Rome where he was solemnly received by 37 cardinals. Cardinal Sega favored a complete reconciliation with Henri IV. It took place on September 17, 1595.
(2) The deaconry of S. Onofrio, erected by Pope Leo X in 1517, was elevated to title by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.
(3) This is his epitaph taken from Campi, Dell'historia ecclesiastica di Piacenza, II, 48 :

D.    O.    M.
PHILIPPO SEGAE
BONONIENSIS
S.R.E. PRAESBITERO CARDINALI PLACENTINO
AMPLISSIMIS SEDIS APOSTOLICAE MUNERIBUS
TRIGINTA AMPLIUS ANNOS IN OMNIBUS
FERE CHRISTIANI ORBIS PARTIBUS
EGREGIE FUNCTO
AB INNOCENTIO IX IN COLLEGIUM CARDINALIUM
COOPTATO
GALLICA DEMUM LEGATIONE SUB CLEMENTE VIII
TURBULENTISS. REGNI TEMPORIBUS PERACTA
ILLUSTREM DIU SPECTATAE PRUDENTIAE
ET PROBITATIS LAUDEM ADEPTO.
IN CATHOLICA RELIGIONE, PONTIFICIAQUE
DIGNITATE PROPUGNANDA ACERRIMO.
HYERONIMUS AGUCCHIUS
UTRIUSQUE SIGNATURAE REFERENDARIUS
EX TESTAMENTO HAERES
AVUNCULO OPTIMO
P. C.
OBIIT DIE XXIX. MAII. M.D.XC.VI.
VIXIT ANNOS LVIII. MENS. IX. D. VIII.

(4) This is the text of the inscription on his vault, kindly provided by Mr. Eman Bonnici, from Malta:
D · O · M
OSSA
PHILIPPI SEGÆ
CARD · PLACEN ·

Cool Archive

(2) 2. FACCHINETTI DE NUCE, iuniore, Giovanni Antonio (1575-1606)

Birth. March 10, 1575, Bologna. Of a patrician family. Son of Senator Cesare Facchinetti, first marquis of Vianino, and Giovanna Sampieri. Uncle of Cardinal Cesare Facchinetti (1643). Grand-nephew of Pope Innocent IX (1591), on his mother's side. His last name is also listed as Faccinetti della Noce; and as Facchinetti only.

Education. Studied under his grand-uncle because from a young age his parents staccarlo dai libri, distanced him from books (1).

Early life. Abbot commendatario of San Filareto di Seminara and of Santa Maria dei Molocchi di Seminara, 1575. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature. Promoted to the cardinalate when he was 16 years old.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of December 18, 1591. Castellano of Castle Sant'Angelo, 1591. Elected general of the 500 troops for the custody of the conclave, December 30, 1591. Participated in the conclave of 1592, which elected Pope Clement VIII. Promoted to the order of cardinal priests, with dispensation for not having yet reached the canonical age; received the red hat and the title of Ss. Quattro Coronati, March 4, 1592. Participated in the second conclave of 1605, which elected Pope Leo XI. Participated in the first conclave of 1605, which elected Pope Paul V. Protonotary apostolic, 1606. Auditor of the Sacred Consulta, 1606.

Death. May 18, 1606, Rome. Buried in the Carmelite church of S. Maria della Scala, Rome.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, V, pp. 314-315; 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. 1854-1855; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1935; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, III, 55 and 62; Katterbach, Bruno. Referendarii utriusque Signaturae a Martino V ad Clementem IX et Praelati Signaturae Supplicationum a Martino V ad Leonem XIII. Città del Vaticano 1931. (Studi e Testi 55), 216 and 244; 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), p. 654.

Webgraphy. Portrait and biography, in Italian, Wikipedia; his arms, portrait and biography, in Italian, Cathopedia, l'enciclopedia cattolica; his arms and portrait, Araldica Vaticana; his prosopography, in German, Requiem Datenbank; his tomb, Requiem Datenbank; Il ritratto ritrovato del cardinale Antonio Facchinetti di Guido Reni by Raffaella Morselli, Academia.edu.

(1) Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa, V, 324.

Top Consistories Catalogs Home

©1998-2023 Salvador Miranda.