Camillo Mazzella (10 February 1833 – 26 March 1900) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Mazzella was born at

Vitulano Vitulano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 50 km northeast of Naples and about 12 km northwest of Benevento. Vitulano borders the following municipalities: Campoli ...

, near

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

. He and his siblings were first tutored at home. Three of his brothers entered religious life."Cardinal Mazzella", Woodstock Letters, Volume XV, Number 3, 1 November 1886
/ref> His twin brother, Ernesto, later became

Archbishop of Bari The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto ( la, Archidioecesis Barensis-Bituntina) is Metropolitan Latin rite archbishopric in the administrative Bari province, Puglia ( Apulia) region, southeastern Italy (the 'Heel'), created in 1986, when ...

. Mazzella entered the ecclesiastical seminary of Benevento when about eleven years of age, completed his classical, philosophical, and theological studies before his twenty-fourth year, and was ordained priest in September 1855, a dispensation as he was under canonical age having been granted by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

.Brosnahan, Timothy. "Camillo Mazzella." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 25 September 2022 For two years after his ordination he remained at Vitulano, attending to the duties of canon in the parish church, a position he held from his family. Resigning this office he entered the Society of Jesus, 4 September 1857. After spending a year in the novitiate, he was sent to teach philosophy first, at the Seminary of Andria, in

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and then at the College of Cosenza, in

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. When the Jesuits were expelled from Naples in 1860, he went to teach

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at Fourvières (Lyon, France), and in 1867 at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

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In 1869, he was the founder and one of the first professors at Woodstock theological college,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where he was Prefect of Studies. In 1875, he served a Visitor to the Jesuit Mission in New Mexico. Mazzella became a naturalized American citizen. In 1878, he was called to Rome to teach at the

Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, and later became president of the Academy of Saint Thomas. He was very involved with

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

's promotion of Thomistic Philosophy. In June 1886 he was named cardinal-deacon of

Sant'Adriano al Foro Sant'Adriano al Foro was a church in Rome, formerly in the Curia Julia in the '' Forum Romanum'' and a cardinal-deaconry (a titular church for a Cardinal-deacon). The church The Church of Sant'Adriano al Foro (Italian for St. (H)Adrian at ...

. Even as a cardinal, Mazzella maintained his identity as a Jesuit, spending his summers at the novitiate in Naples. On 1897, he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina. Mazzella served at various times as prefect of a number of Curial Congregations, and as Cardinal-Protector of several religious institutes. Mazzella was conservative and an

Ultramontanist Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by th ...

and likely contributed to the drafting of ''

Testem benevolentiae nostrae ''Testem benevolentiae nostrae'' is an apostolic letter written by Pope Leo XIII to Cardinal James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, dated January 22, 1899. In it, the pope addressed a heresy that he called Americanism and expressed his concern th ...

'', Pope Leo's 1899 letter to

James Cardinal Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...

cautioning him about the dangers of Americanism. He was likewise opposed to Darwin's theory of evolution. He died in

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.Obit, ''The Messenger of the Sacred Heart of Jesus'', Volume 35, p. 587
/ref>

Works

* ''De gratia Christi'' (1874) * ''De Deo creante'' (1880) * ''De Religione et Ecclesia'' (1880)

References

* 1833 births 1900 deaths People from the Province of Benevento 19th-century Italian Jesuits 19th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII Georgetown University faculty Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians Jesuit cardinals {{Italy-RC-cardinal-stub