Francesco Ricci Paracciani (8 June 1830 – 9 March 1894) was an Italian priest of the
Catholic Church, who spent his career in the service of the papal household and in the
Roman Curia.
Biography
Francesco Ricci Paracciani was born in Rome on 8 June 1830 into a family of the Tuscan nobility.
His relatives included Cardinals
Niccola Paracciani Clarelli (1799–1872), his second cousin, and
Salvatore Nobili Vitelleschi (1818–1875), his cousin. Throughout his Vatican career, he spent several months of the year at his family's property in
Montepulciano.
He entered the papal service shortly after being ordained a priest, following a career path suited a member of the nobility. He joined the papal household as a privy chamberlain and held positions of increasing administrative responsibility and ceremonial distinction, including canon of the chapter of
St. Peter's Basilica. He became master of papal audiences on 24 March 1868 and
prefect of the Pontifical Household on 1 October 1875.
The cardinals at the
1878 papal conclave
The 1878 papal conclave, which resulted from the death of Pope Pius IX on 7 February 1878, met from 18 to 20 February. The conclave followed the longest reign of any other pope since Saint Peter. It was the first election of a pope who would not ...
gave him responsibility for the administrative affairs of the conclave by electing him as its governor.
Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal on 13 December 1880, reserving his name ''in pectore'' and announcing his elevation publicly on 27 March 1882. He received his red
galero and was assigned the deaconry of
Santa Maria in Portico
Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico (''Santa Maria in Portico di Campitelli'') is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the narrow Piazza di Campitelli in Rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy. The church is served by the Clerics Re ...
on 30 March 1882.
He became Grand Prior of the
Sovereign Order of Jerusalem[ on 4 March 1885. He opted for the order of cardinal priests and was given the title of San Pancrazio on 1 June 1891. He was named secretary of memorandums on 26 January 1892.
He was appointed archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica on 6 October 1892 and, as is customary, was prefect of the Fabric of Saint Peter.
Throughout his career he promoted nights schools to provide training for artisans and workmen. He led the Commission for Evening Schools.][
He died in Rome on 9 March 1894.]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci Paracciani, Francesco
1830 births
1894 deaths
Clergy from Rome
Officials of the Roman Curia
Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII
19th-century Italian cardinals