The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730)
Consistory of September 11, 1724 (I)
Celebrated in Rome


(1) 1. ALTIERI, iuniore, Giambattista (1673-1740)

Birth. August 6 (or 3), 1673, Rome. Son of Gaspare Paluzzi Altieri and Laura Altieri. His first name is also listed as Giovanni Battista. Grand-nephew of Pope Clement X. Brother of Cardinal Lorenzo Altieri (1690). Nephew of Cardinal Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni (1664). Uncle of Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Altieri (1777).

Education. Studied at La Sapienza University, Rome (doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, March 22, 1703).

Early life. Vice-legate in Urbino, June 6, 1702 until 1706. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, June 14, 1703. Cleric of the Apostolic Chamber, May 31, 1706, for almost twenty years; later, its dean. President delle Ripe, 1712-1713. President of the Archives, January 1715. President delle Strade, 1717-1724. Received the minor orders, June 6, 1724.

Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Tiro, with dispensation for not having received the major orders, June 12, 1724. Received the subdiaconate, June 24, 1724; and the diaconate, June 30, 1724.

Priesthood. Ordained, July 12, 1724. Consecrated, July 16, 1724, in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace of the Quirinale, Rome, by Pope Benedict XIII, assisted by Giovanni Francesco Nicolai, O.F.M.Ref., titular archbishop of Mira, and by Niccolò Maria Lercari, titular archbishop of Nazianzo, secretary of the S.C. Consistorial. In the same ceremony was consecrated Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, future cardinal and Pope Benedict XIV.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of September 11, 1724. Granted dispensation for having a brother in the Sacred College of Cardinals, September 11, 1724. Received the red hat and the title of S. Matteo in Via Merulana, November 20, 1724. Participated in the conclave of 1730, which elected Pope Clement XII. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, March 3, 1732 until January 19, 1733. Opted for the order of bishops and the suburbicarian see of Palestrina, January 26, 1739. Participated in the conclave of 1740, which elected Pope Benedict XIV; he died during its celebration.

Death. March 12, 1740, Rome, galiardo colpo d' appoplessia mentre si ritrovava allo scrutinio, during the conclave; he had suffered another apoplexy three years earlier. Exposed and buried in the church of S. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, in the chapel of his family. He left his inheritance to the church of S. Caterina de' Funari, of which he had been the protector.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 201-202; Notizie per l'anno 1736. Rome : Nella Stamperia del Chracas, presso S. Marco al Corso, 1736, p. 179; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi. Volumen V (1667-1730). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1952, pp. 35, 49 and 397; 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. 40 and 55-56; Weber, Christoph and Becker, Michael. Genealogien zur Papstgeschichte. 6 v. Stuttgart : Anton Hiersemann, 1999-2002. (Päpste und Papsttum, Bd. 29, 1-6), I, 43; Weber, Christoph. Legati e governatori dello Stato Pontificio (1550-1809). Rome : Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali. Ufficio centrale per i beni archivistici, 1994. (Pubblicazioni degli archivi di Stato; Sussidi, 7), pp. 419 and 453.

Webgraphy. His engraving, arms and biography, in Italian, Wikipedia; his engraving, Araldica Vaticana; his tomb, Requiem Datenbank.

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(2) 2. FALCONIERI, Alessandro (1657-1734)

Birth. February 8, 1657, Rome. Son of Marquis Paolo Francesco Falconieri and Vittoria del Bufalo. Grand-nephew of Cardinal Lelio Falconieri (1643). Relative of Cardinal Chiarissimo Falconieri Mellini (1838). His last name is also listed as Falconerius.

Education. (No information found).

Early life. Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, November 11, 1691. Relator of the S.C. of Good Government, 1691. Relator of the S.C. of the Sacred Consulta and vicar of the patriarchal Liberian basilica, November 1695. President of the Apostolic Chamber, November 22, 1697. President of the Apostolic Chamber; November 22, 1697; later, cleric, December 11, 1701. Commissioned to rid the province of Lazio of assassini e banditi, 1702; accomplished his mission very rapidly. In 1706, he declined the nunciature in Poland. Auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota, October 1706; on February 26, 1707, he argued with much applause his solemn Conclusioni in the Palace of the Chancellery; took possession on March 28, 1707; its dean, 1723. Governor of Rome and vice-camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, retaining his auditorship, June 23, 1717 until September 11, 1724.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of September 11, 1724; received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Maria della Scala, November 20, 1724. Protector of the Kingdom of Scotland, February 27, 1727. Participated in the conclave of 1730, which elected Pope Clement XII.

Death. January 26, 1734, near 6 p.m., Rome. Exposed in the church of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome, where the funeral took place on January 28; and buried in that same church, to the right of the main altar, under the mausoleum of Cardinal Lelio Falconieri, in an urn of black marble with an epitaph that he had composed.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. 9 vols. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1794, VIII, 201-202; Del Re, Niccolò. Monsignor governatore di Roma. Rome : Istituto di Studi Romani Editore, 1972, pp. 112-113; Notizie per l'anno 1732. Rome : Nella Stamperia del Chracas, presso S. Marco al Corso, 1732, p. 190; Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recientoris Aevi. Volumen V (1667-1730). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1952, pp. 35 and 54; Seidler, Sabrina M.; Weber, Christoph. Päpste und Kardinäle in der Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts (1730-1777) : das biographische Werk des Patriziers von Lucca Bartolomeo Antonio Talenti. Frankfurt am Main ; New York : Peter Lang, 2007. (Beiträge zur Kirchen- und Kulturgeschichte, Bd. 18), p. 180-181; Weber, Christoph and Becker, Michael. Genealogien zur Papstgeschichte. 6 v. Stuttgart : Anton Hiersemann, 1999-2002. (Päpste und Papsttum, Bd. 29, 1-6), I, 391; Weber, Christoph. Legati e governatori dello Stato Pontificio (1550-1809). Rome : Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali. Ufficio centrale per i beni archivistici, 1994. (Pubblicazioni degli archivi di Stato; Sussidi, 7), pp. 361, 655-656.

Webgraphy. Biography by Matteo Sanfilippo, in Italian, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 44 (1994), Treccani; his tomb, church of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome, Requiem Datenbank; his engraving by Martin Bernigeroth, Antiquariat Hille, Berlin; engravings, Araldica Vaticana.

(1) This is the text of his epitaph, taken from Seidler, Päpste und Kardinäle in der Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts (1730-1777), p. 181:

D.    O.    M.
SPE COELUM TENENS
VIVUS ADHUC
RECOGITATIONE HIC JACET
UBI CUM DEO PLACUERIT
JACEBIT CORPORE
ALEXANDER S. MARIAE DE SCALA
DIAC. CARD. FALCONERIUS
QUI NOVISSIMA MEDITANDO
DILEXIT JUSTITIAM
ET ODIO HABUIT INIQUITATES
OB. DIE XXVI. JANUARIJ MDCCXXXIV.
AET. SUAE ANN. LXXVII.

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