Fausto Poli (17 February 1581 – 7 October 1653) was a Roman Catholic

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

and Cardinal.

Biography

Born in Usigni in

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, as a young man he went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and was soon noticed by Maffeo Barberini, a cleric of the Apostolic Chamber and a fellow Umbrian from nearby

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

, soon to become Pope under the name of

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As p ...

. In 1632 he was made Majordomo and Prefect of the Lateran palace, in which posts he was responsible for supervising church and court ceremonies. On 25 Jul 1633, he was consecrated

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 ...

Amasia Amasia may refer to the following places: * Amasya, a city in Northern Turkey ** Amasya Province, which contains the city ** Amasea (titular see), the former Metropolitan Archbishopric with see there, now a Latin Catholic titular see * Amasia, Sh ...

''in partibus'' by Antonio Marcello Barberini (seniore),

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Sant'Onofrio, with

Giovanni della Robbia image:Saint Sebastian Della Robbia Louvre InvML96.jpg, 250px, ''Saint Sebastian'', Musée du Louvre, Paris. Giovanni della Robbia (1469–1529) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, mostly in ceramics. Biography Giovanni della Robbia was the son o ...

Bishop of Bertinoro The Italian Catholic diocese of Bertinoro existed from 1360 to 1986. In that year it was merged with the diocese of Forlì to create the diocese of Forlì-Bertinoro. (for Chronology of Bishops) (for Chronology of Bishops) History Bertinoro is ...

, and Benedetto Landi, Bishop Emeritus of Fossombrone, serving as co-consecrators. As private secretary to Pope Urban, among his most valuable services was that of purchasing old works of art, or commissioning new works, for that inveterate collector; among the artists he encouraged was Claude Lorrain. He was rewarded toward the end of Urban's pontificate by being raised to the purple as Cardinal-Priest of

San Crisogono San Crisogono is a church in Rome (rione Trastevere) dedicated to the martyr Saint Chrysogonus. It was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, and was probably built in the 4th century under Pope Sylvester I (314–335). T ...

on 31 August 1643. He was appointed

Bishop of Orvieto The Diocese of Orvieto-Todi ( la, Dioecesis Urbevetana-Tudertina) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. It was created in 1986 when the historical Diocese of Orvieto was united to the Dioc ...

in 1644. He participated in the Papal conclave of 1644 which elected Urban's successor,

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...

Saint Rita

Throughout his life, he remained very devoted to his home town and region. In addition to beautifying Usigni, he was instrumental in developing iron mines in the area, and he was also so greatly devoted to

Rita of Cascia Rita of Cascia, born Margherita Lotti (1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. After Rita's husband died, she joined an Augustinian community of religious sisters, whe ...

(beatified by Urban in 1627), adorning her church in that town and promoting her cult, that he is often considered to have been the main force in establishing her present cult and popularity. The second edition (1652) of Girolamo de Ghetti's ''Breve Racconto della Vita e Miracoli della B. Rita da Cascia'' is dedicated to him.

Death and burial

Poli died in Orvieto in 1653; he was buried according to his wishes in the Chapel of the Guardian Angel in his titular church of

References

External links

The Usigni pages
of Thayer's Gazetteer of Umbria contain further information on Cardinal Poli
Tomb and bust in S. Crisogono
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poli, Fausto 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII Bishops of Orvieto 1581 births 1653 deaths Italian art collectors People from the Province of Perugia 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops