Arcangelo de' Bianchi (4 October 1516 – 18 January 1580) was an

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cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

."Archangelo Cardinal de’ Bianchi (Blanca), O.P."
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

'' David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016.

Life and church

Arcangelo de' Bianchi was born in

Gambolò Gambolò is a (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan and about northwest of Pavia. Gambolò borders the following municipalities: Borgo San Siro, Mortara, Tromello, Vigevano. S ...

, a village near Vigevano in the Piedmont, the son of Luigi Bianchi and Santina Panizzari. He was from a well-to-do family. At a young age, he entered the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

Vigevano Vigevano (; ) is a (municipality) in the province of Pavia, in the Italian region of Lombardy. A historic art town, it is also renowned for shoemaking and is one of the main centres of Lomellina, a rice-growing agricultural district. Vigevano ...

. He studied at the Monastery of San Domenico in

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, receiving a

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in 1527. After he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...

, he was assigned by his superiors to accompany Fra Michele Ghislieri, the future

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

, in many of his missions as an inquisitor. In 1559, Arcangelo became

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of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the famous Dominican convent in Milan. He became a

Commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

of the

Roman Inquisition The Roman Inquisition, formally , was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of a wide array of crimes according ...

in 1564, just as his patron Cardinal Ghislieri had in 1551. Pius IV made the appointment, in fact, on the recommendation of Cardinal Ghislieri, who had become one of the six cardinals of the Holy Inquisition. On 16 September 1566 he was appointed Bishop of Teano by his friend Michele Ghislieri, who had been elected

earlier in that year. He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

as a bishop in the

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Scipione Rebiba Scipione Rebiba (3 February 1504 – 23 July 1577) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a protégé of Gian Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV. He held a variety of positions in the Church hierarchy, including some of the most sen ...

, titular Latin Patriarch of Constantinople (1565–1573) on 21 September 1566 with Giulio Antonio Santorio,

Archbishop of Santa Severina The archdiocese of Santa Severina was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Calabria, southern Italy, that existed until 1986. In that year it was united into the diocese of Crotone, forming the Archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina.

, and Carlo Grassi, Bishop of Corneto (Tarquinia) e Montefiascone, serving as co-consecrators. Arcangelo Bianchi was Bishop of Teano until September 1575. He resigned the government of his diocese sometime before 18 September 1575. Pope Pius V made him a

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

in the

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of 17 May 1570. He received the

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and the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

of San Cesareo in Palatio on 3 July 1570. The

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

named Cardinal de' Bianchi his

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, as he had been earlier when they were travelling companions. He was present at the pope's death and heard his last

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

. He participated in the papal conclave of 1572 that elected

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

. The new pope made him

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the ''

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''. He died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, at the age of sixty-four. He was buried in the Dominican church of

Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina (, ) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. Santa Sabina is the oldest ex ...

on the Aventine Hill.Vincenzo Forcella, ''Inscrizioni delle chiese di Roma'' VII, p. 306 no. 618 While bishop, he was the principal consecrator of Baldassarre Giustiniani, Bishop of Venosa (1572).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianchi, Arcangelo de 1516 births 1580 deaths Bishops appointed by Pope Pius IV 16th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius V Dominican bishops Dominican cardinals 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops