Francesco Ravizza (1616–22 May 1675) was an Italian

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal The Apostolic Nunciature to the Republic of Portugal is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. For ...

from 1670 to 1673.

Life

Francesco Ravizza was born to a humble family in

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

in 1616. In that town he worked in the sewing shops of his parents, but soon he moved 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 ...

seeking his fortune. In Rome he succeeded to enter in the service of

Olimpia Maidalchini Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj (26 May 1591 – 27 September 1657), (also spelled Pamphili and known as Olimpia Pamphili), was the sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X (Pamphili). She was perceived by her contemporaries as having influence regarding pap ...

, the powerful sister-in-law of reigning

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 January ...

. At the death of Innocent X, Ravizza participated to the 1655 papal conclave as secretary of Cardinal Carlo Gualterio; in that conclave Ravizza used in secret to send notes out of the conclave to Olimpia Maidalchini: for this reason he was arrested and passed some time in prison till he was forgiven by the new

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

. Under the new Pope, Ravizza became personal secretary of the cardinal nephew Flavio Chigi. On 28 November 1661 he was appointed as

referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe. Pre-modern history The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byzan ...

of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace (which made him a prelate). On 31 December 1662 he entered in Chapter of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. In 1664 Ravizza went with cardinal Flavio Chigi in his extraordinary legation in France. On July 14, 1665 he was appointed, succeeding Domenico Salvetti, prefect of the

Vatican Secret Archives , seal = Seal of the Vatican Secret Archives.svg , seal_width = 200 , seal_caption = Former seal of the Vatican Apostolic Archive , logo = , formed = , jurisdiction = , headquarters = Cortile del Belvedere, Vatican City , coordinates ...

, an office that he never actually practiced. On February 17, 1666 he became secretary of the powerful

Sacra Consulta The Sacred Congregation of the Consulta or ''Sacra Consulta'' was a dicastery of the Roman Curia. It was set up as a 'special commission' by pope Paul IV in 1559 and officialised on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V in the papal bull ''Immensa Aete ...

, the most important administrative tribunal of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, a post that he held until February 22, 1668. On 19 March 1667, shortly before the death of the Pope, he was appointed titular Bishop of Sidon. The

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

followed on 20 March in

by the hands of Cardinal Neri Corsini. During the 1667 papal conclave Ravizza schemed in favour of cardinal Angelo Celsi and during the 1669-70 papal conclave he played a hidden, but key role in supporting the Spanish faction, being however stopped by cardinal

Jean François Paul de Gondi Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz (20 September 1613 – 24 August 1679) was a French churchman, writer of memoirs, and agitator in the Fronde. The Florentine banking and noble Gondi family had been introduced into France by Cather ...

. The

Treaty of Lisbon (1668) The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain that was concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668 with the mediation of England in which Spain recognised the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Bra ...

allowed the Pope to restore the ecclesiastic jurisdiction in Portugal, previously placed in hold due to the conflict between the

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...

and the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

: in 1659 had died the last bishop in Portugal. On 12 August 1670 Francesco Ravizza was nominated

. He reached

Lisboa Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

on 4 May 1671 after had passed in Paris to obtain the support of France in negotiating with the prince-regent

Peter II of Portugal ''Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed "the Pacific", was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own accession. He was the fifth a ...

. In Lisboa Ravizza performed many episcopal consecrations in order to re-establish a hierarchy there, but he found difficulties to re-establish also the ecclesiastic tribunals. He finished this diplomatic assignment on April 12, 1673, when he was replaced by the future Cardinal Marcello Durazzo. Back in Rome Ravizza was appointed secretary of

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. He died in Rome on 22 May 1675 and was buried in the Sacristy of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican. A short book ascribed to the anti-Catholic

Gregorio Leti Gregorio Leti (29 May 1630 – 9 June 1701) was an Italian historian and satirist from Milan, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Abbe Gualdi, L'abbé Gualdi, or Gualdus known for his works about the Catholic Church, especially the papa ...

describes Ravizza as a man full of plots and tricks.

Episcopal succession

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravizza, Francesco 1616 births 1675 deaths People from Orvieto 17th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Apostolic Nuncios to Portugal