Francesco di Paola Villadecani (22 February 1780 – 13 June 1861) was 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 ...

of the

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 ...

who was

Archbishop of Messina The Archdiocese of Messina ( la, Archidioecesis Messanensis-Liparensis-Sanctae Luciae) was founded as the Diocese of Messina but was raised to the level of an archdiocese on 30 September 1986 with the merging with the former Diocese of Lipari ( ...

from 1823 to 1861. He was born on 22 February 1780 in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

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

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 ...

. In 1820 he was named titular bishop of

Orthosias in Caria Orthosia ( grc, Ὀρθωσία) was a town of ancient Caria, inhabited during Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine times. It was not far from Alabanda, on the left bank of the Maeander River, and apparently on or near a hill of the same name. Near t ...

. On 25 April 1823 he was elected Archbishop of Messina and his appointment was confirmed on 17 November.

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

elevated him to the rank of cardinal in the consistory of 27 January 1843, assigning him as Cardinal Priest to

Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio The Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio e(d) Alessio is a basilica, rectory church served by the Somaschans, and titular church for a cardinal-priest on the Aventine Hill in the third prefecture of central Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Bonifa ...

. In 1857 he was appointed apostolic administrator sede plena in the person of Theatine Giuseppe Maria Papardo the pack, Titular Bishop of Sinope. He died in Messina on 13 June 1861 at the age of 81 and was buried in the Cathedral of Messina, where his tomb can still be seen.

References

19th-century Italian cardinals 1780 births 1861 deaths Archbishops of Messina Cardinals created by Pope Gregory XVI 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops {{Italy-RC-cardinal-stub