Francesco Pignatelli (6 February 1652 – 15 December 1734) 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 ...

Biography

Born at

Senise Senise is a town in the province of Potenza, Basilicata, southern Italy. It is near Monte Cotugno Lake, one of the largest artificial basins in Europe. Twin towns * Busto Garolfo Busto Garolfo ( Lombard: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in th ...

, in the

province of Potenza The Province of Potenza ( it, Provincia di Potenza; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There a ...

, he entered the order of

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 ...

in 1665 (at the age of 13). On 27 September 1684, after being nominated by

King Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War of ...

, he was elected

archbishop of Taranto The Archdiocese of Taranto ( la, Archidioecesis Tarentina) is a metropolitan Roman Catholic diocese in southern Italy, on a bay in the Gulf of Taranto.

. He was recruited by Pope Clement XI to be

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 or ...

to Poland, where he attempted to work on the schism between Catholics and ''Ruthenians'' (Ukrainians and Polish).Nuova enciclopedia italiana
page 432. On 19 February 1703 he was transferred to the metropolitan see of Naples and occupied it until his death. Although he was nephew of

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

(1691–1700), he was created cardinal only by his successor

Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

on 17 December 1703. As cardinal he was awarded the titular priest for the church of

Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano Santi is used as: People with the surname * Brenden Santi (born 1993), Australian-Italian rugby league player * Domenico Santi (1621–1694), also known as il Mengazzino, Italian painter * Emanuele Santi, Italian economist and political scientist ...

(11 February 1704 – 26 April 1719),

bishop of Sabina A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(26 April 1719 – 12 June 1724),

bishop of Frascati The Diocese of Frascati (Lat.: ''Tusculana'') is a suburbicarian see of the Holy Roman Church and a diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, based at Frascati, near Rome. The bishop of Frascati is a Cardinal Bishop; from the Latin name of the are ...

(12 June 1724 – 19 November 1725) and

bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(from 19 November 1725 until his death). In the papal conclave, 1721 Spain vetoed his election to the pontificate. He became

Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establi ...

in June 1726 but declined the promotion to the suburbicarian

see of Ostia e Velletri The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since 11 ...

(proper of the dean) and retained the see of Porto e S. Rufina. He died at

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 ...

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20120221225138/http://www.diocesituscolana.it/cronologia/resfrascati.asp?idx=fp1724 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pignatelli, Francesco People from the Province of Potenza 18th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Cardinal-bishops of Porto Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Archbishops of Naples Deans of the College of Cardinals 1652 births 1734 deaths Apostolic Nuncios to Poland Theatines

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

Theatine bishops