Cristoforo Numai (died 23 March 1528) was an Italian

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

, who became minister general of the Friars Minor and a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Life

A nativ eof

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via E ...

, his date of birth is uncertain. In his youth he studied at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and, after joining the Friars Minor, was sent to complete his studies at Paris. In 1507 he was elected vicar provincial of his order at Bologna, in 1514 vicar general of the Cismontane Franciscan families, and in 1517 he became minister general of the whole order of Friars Minor. Less than a month later he was raised, in spite of his protests, to the cardinalate by

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

, who in presence of the

Sacred College The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

paid a splendid tribute to Christopher's great learning and prudence and to his still greater holiness of life. In 1520 he became

Bishop of Alatri The former Italian Catholic diocese of Alatri existed until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Anagni-Alatri.

''(in Latin)'' and

Bishop of Isernia The Italian Catholic diocese of Isernia-Venafro ( la, Dioecesis Aeserniensis-Venafrensis) in Molise, is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano. In 1852 the historic diocese of Isernia was combined with the diocese of Venafro, to form ...

in Italy, and in 1526

Bishop of Riez The former French Catholic diocese of Riez existed at least from fifth century Gaul to the French Revolution. Its see was at Riez, in the modern department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. History According to an unsupported tradition, the establishm ...

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. He subsequently fulfilled the office of

Apostolic legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

to the King of France, and later became

Apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

and commissary for the construction of the

Vatican Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

, being then invested with the temporal dominion of

Bertinoro Bertinoro () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna (Italy). It is located on hill Mount Cesubeo, in Romagna, a few kilometers from the Via Emilia. History There are remains of a settlement dating from the Iron ...

. During the

Sack of Rome (1527) The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of the city on 6 May 1527 by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the League of Cognac. Despite not being ordered to storm the city, with ...

by the soldiers of the

Duke of Bourbon Duke of Bourbon (french: Duc de Bourbon) is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of B ...

, Christopher suffered many hardships and insults, on account of which he received letters of condolence from

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

, and

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

of England. He took refuge in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

, but died the next year as a consequence of the inflicted injuries. His remains were transferred back from Ancona to Rome, and placed in the Church of Ara Coeli.

Works

Besides an ''Exhortatio ad Galliarum regem Franciscum I in Turcas'' and a number of letters addressed to that king and the other rulers concerning the liberation of Clement VII, Christopher is said by

Luke Wadding Luke Wadding, O.F.M. (16 October 158818 November 1657), was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian. Life Early life Wadding was born on 16 October 1588 in Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia ...

and others to have written several treatises on theological and ascetical questions, all of which appear to have perished during the sacking of Rome.

References

Sources

* **

, Annales Minorum ad annum 1517, XVI, nn. xxiv and xxxv **

Sbaralea Giovanni or Gian Giacinto Sbaraglia (1687–1764), otherwise Joannes Hyacinthus Sbaralea, was a historian of the Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Ch ...

, Supplementum, Pt. I (1908), 207 ** Picconi, Cenni biografice sugli uomini illustri della francescana provincia di Bologna, I (1894), 380. {{DEFAULTSORT:Numai, Cristoforo 1528 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals Franciscan cardinals Franciscan bishops Bishops of Riez Year of birth unknown Ministers General of the Order of Friars Minor People from Forlì