Francesco Segna S.T.D. (31 August 1836 - 4 January 1911) 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

Roman 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 ...

and Archivist of the Holy Roman Church. Francesco Segna was born in

Poggio Ginolfo Poggio is an Italian word meaning "knoll". It may refer to: Places France * Poggio-di-Nazza, Haute-Corse, Corsica * Poggio-di-Venaco, Haute-Corse, Corsica *Poggio-d'Oletta, Haute-Corse, Corsica * Poggio-Marinaccio, Haute-Corse, Corsica *Poggio-Me ...

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 ...

. He was of a noble and rich family. He was educated at the Jesuit school, Tivoli and later at the

Roman Seminary , type = Major seminary , established = , founder = Pope Pius IV , parent = Diocese of Rome , religious_affiliation = Catholic Church , rector = Gabriele Fara ...

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 ...

where he earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and at the

La Sapienza University The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

where he received a doctorate in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Priesthood

He was ordained to the priesthood on 20 December 1860. He was appointed as

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of dogma at the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum of S. Apollinare in 1869. He served as a canonist of the

Apostolic Penitentiary The Apostolic Penitentiary (), formerly called the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia and is one of the three ordinary tribunals of the Apostolic See. The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribu ...

. While in Rome he was also

undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

of the

Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs The Section for Relations with States or Second Section of the Secretariat of State is the body within the Roman Curia charged with dealing with matters that involve relations with civil governments. It has been part of the Vatican Secretariat o ...

from 1881. He was created

Domestic prelate of His Holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...

of the nunciature in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1884 and was promoted to be the

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

in 1887. After he service in Spain he returned to Rome to become an auditor of the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota ( la, Tribunal Apostolicum Rotae Romanae), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin-r ...

in 1888. He returned to the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs to become its secretary (in effect its chief official as the Pope held the title of Prefect) on 13 July 1891.

Cardinalate

He was created and Cardinal-Deacon 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 ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in the consistory of 18 May 1894. He resigned his post at the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs the same day and was appointed Archivist of the Holy Roman Church on 4 July 1896. He was a cardinal elector in the conclave of 1903 that elected

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

. He was Cardinal protodeacon (that is the longest serving Cardinal-Deacon). He was appointed as Prefect of the

Congregation of the Index The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidde ...

on 13 January 1908 holding the post until his death in 1911. {{DEFAULTSORT:Segna, Francesco 1836 births 1911 deaths Italian archivists 19th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII Protodeacons 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops 20th-century Italian cardinals