Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte (19 November 1730 – 5 February 1803) was an Italian

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 ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Biography

Prince Don Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte was born on 19 November 1730 in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the son of Princess Donna Anna Francesca, Princess of Belmonte in her own right and 1st Princess of the Holy Roman Empire (since 1726) by marriage. She was daughter and heiress of the 5th Prince, and as such was a Grandee of Spain 1st Class, 5th Duchess of

Acerenza Acerenza ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. History With its strategic position above sea-level, Acerenza has been sacked by a series of invaders. The town, then kno ...

, 8th Marchioness of

Galatone Galatone (Griko: translit. ) is a town and ''comune'' located in Salento, in the province of Lecce (Apulia, southern Italy), the former seat of the Marquess of Galatone. It is one of the most populous towns of the province where the Greek dialec ...

, 5th Countess of

Copertino Copertino (; historical en, Cupertino, italic=yes; scn, label=Salentino, Cupirtinu ), also known in English as Cupertino, is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. History Following Charles of ...

, 7th Baroness of

Badolato Badolato is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. As of 2013 Badolato had an estimated population of 3,152. Territory The village of Badolato is from Catanzaro on Calabria's Ionian coast. Situat ...

, Signore di

Veglie Veglie ( Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. Veglie is west of Lecce and east of the sea, the Gulf of Taranto. It is bounded by the ''comuni'' of Campi Salentina, Ca ...

Leverano Leverano (Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the southeastern part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It is bounded by the ''comuni'' of Arnesano, Carmiano, Copertino, Nardò and Veglie. History Leverano w ...

, San Cosimo etc. Prince Don Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte's father was Prince Don (Giuseppe) Antonio Pignatelli y Aymerich, who was also 2nd Marquess of San Vicente and 3rd Marquess of Argençola, and General of the Imperial Cavalry. He was General Commander of the Austrian Army at the

Battle of Bitonto The Battle of Bitonto (25 May 1734) was a Spanish victory over Austrian forces near Bitonto in the Kingdom of Naples (in southern Italy) in the War of Polish Succession. The battle ended organized Austrian resistance outside a small number of f ...

in 1734, during the

War of Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their ...

, and was created a

Knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Knights of the Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th Century !Year of Induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , ...

(Ritter des Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) in 1735, a Knight of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...

(Orden de Santiago) and a Knight of the Illustrious Royal

Order of St. Januarius ) , clasps = , post-nominals = , established = 3 July 1738 , first_award = , last_award = , founder = Charles VII of Naples , head_title = Grand Master , head = Disputed:Prince P ...

(L'Insigne Reale Ordine di San Gennaro) (both in 1765). Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte's aunt on his father's side, Doña Marianna, Countess of Althann, was lady in waiting to the

Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

, consort of

Emperor Charles VI , house = Habsburg , spouse = , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date ...

and the mother of

Empress Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

. Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte was ordained priest as a member of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence (The

Theatines The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...

), as Father Domenico Pignatelli on 22 September 1753. He was appointed Lector of Sacred Canons in the House of Studies of SS. Apostoli, Naples, on 12 December 1755. Thereafter he was appointed, variously, Secretary to the Superior General, Superior of SS. Apostoli, Procurator General, and Co-Adjustor to Father Antonio Francesco Vezzosi, the Superior General of the Theatine Order, on 31 May 1774. He was himself appointed Superior General on 22 April 1777. He was appointed as Examiner of those appointed to Ecclesiastical Chairs. In his Episcopate, he was elected

Bishop of Caserta The Diocese of Caserta ( la, Dioecesis Casertana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples.Pontifical Throne on 25 February 1782. He was subsequently consecrated Bishop on 3 March 1782 in Rome, at the church of San Silvestro al Monte, by Cardinal Innocenzo Conti, Secretary of the

Chancery of Apostolic Briefs The Secretariat of State (Latin: ''Secretaria Status''; Italian: ''Segreteria di Stato'') is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State ...

, who was assisted in the ceremony by Girolamo Volpi,

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Neocesarea, and by François de Pierre de Bernis, Titular Bishop of Apollonia, Vicar General of

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

. Bishop Domenico was General of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence (The

). He was promoted to the Metropolitan See of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

and

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

on 29 March 1802, and received the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

on the same day. He was

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, 1802-1803 (styled as 'President of the Kingdom and Captain General'), during the brief reign of King Ferdinand IV. He was created a Cardinal Priest in the consistory of 9 August 1802, and received the red biretta on 5 December 1802, in the chapel of the Seminary of Palermo. He was created a cardinal in place of Paulo Luis Silva, assessor of the

Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...

, who had been created and reserved

In pectore ''In pectore'' (Latin for "in the breast/heart") is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals wit ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of 23 February 1801 and died before his name was published. Cardinal Domenico was

Grand Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be low ...

of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

, and held the rank of Knight Grand Cross of that Order. He was Knighted in the Illustrious Royal

(L'Insigne Reale Ordine di San Gennaro). Cardinal Domenico died of gout before receiving the red hat and title of his cardinalate, and was buried in the church of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence (The

), in

References

; Additional sources *LeBlanc, Jean, Dictionnaire biographique des cardinaux du XIXe siècle : contribution à l'histoire du Sacré Collège sous les potificats de Pie VII, Léon XII, Pie VIII, Grégoire XVI, Pie IX et Léon XIII, 1800–1903. Montréal : Wilson & Lafleur, 2007. *Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen VI (1730–1799). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1958, p. 152 *Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen VII (1800–1846). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1968, pp. 8 and 298. {{DEFAULTSORT:Belmonte, Domenico Pignatelli di 1730 births 1803 deaths 18th-century Neapolitan people 19th-century Italian cardinals Bishops of Caserta Viceroys of Sicily Knights of the Golden Fleece 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops House of Pignatelli Cardinals created by Pope Pius VII