Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Cicala (1510–1570) was an Italian Roman Catholic

bishop 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 ...

and

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

Giovanni Battista Cicala was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

on 6 June 1510, the son of Edoardo Cicala. His family was related to the Cybo and Doria families. He studied under his relative

Odoardo Cicala Odoardo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Odoardo Barri (1844–1920), the pseudonym of Edward Slater *Odoardo Beccari (1843–1920), Italian naturalist, discovered the titan arum in Sumatra in 1878 *Odoardo Borrani (1833–19 ...

, who later became Bishop of Sagona. Cicala moved to

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, where he was named Referendary of the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...

. On 2 September 1535 he was appointed an

abbreviator An Abbreviator (plural "Abbreviators" in English and "Abbreviatores" in Latin) or Breviator was a writer of the Apostolic Chancery, Papal Chancery who adumbrated and prepared in correct form Papal bulls, Papal brief, briefs, and papal consistory, co ...

of apostolic letters. From 8 March 1540 until 1551 he was an auditor of the

Apostolic Camera The Apostolic Camera ( la, Camera Apostolica), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the Stat ...

. On 5 December 1543 he was named administrator of the see of Albenga, while retaining the office of auditor. He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

as a

on 21 December 1543 in the Sistine Chapel. On 13 January 1547 he arrived at the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of 20 November 1551. He received the

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and the titular church of San Clemente on 4 December 1551. On 13 March 1553 he was named

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

Campagna Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the v ...

. He resigned the administration of Albenga on 30 March 1554, in favor of his nephew Carlo Cicala. He was administrator of the see of Mariana from 30 March 1554 until 13 September 1560, when he resigned in favor of his nephew Nicola Cicala. He was a participant in the papal conclave of April 1555 that elected

Pope Marcellus II Pope Marcellus II ( it, Marcello II; 6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was a Papalini Catholic prelate who served as head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 April 1555 until h ...

; the papal conclave of May 1555 that elected

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...

; and the papal conclave of 1559 that elected

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

. With Cardinals

Giovanni Michele Saraceni Giovanni Michele Saraceni (1 December 1498 – 27 April 1568) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Saraceni was born in Naples and was a relative of Cardinal Fabio Mignatelli. He was the archbishop of Acerenza and Matera fr ...

and

Gianbernardino Scotti Gianbernardino Scotti (died 1568) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Gianbernardino Scotti was born in Magliano Sabina ca. 1478, the son of a noble family that had lived there for 400 years. He was an expert in Greek ...

, he was charged with resolving a dispute between the Canons Regular of the Lateran and the

Benedictines , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

, resolving the issue in favor of the former. He was administrator of the see of Sagona from 1565 to 1567. He opted for the titular church of

Sant'Agata dei Goti Sant'Agata dei Goti is a church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the martyr Agatha of Sicily. It is the ''diaconia'' assigned to Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. (It became ''pro hac vice'' title in 2021 ...

on 7 November 1565. He participated in the papal conclave of 1565-66 that elected

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

. In 1567, he replaced Cardinal Michele Bonelli as the man in charge of examining the cause for the

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

of Diego di San Nicola. On 30 April 1568 he opted for the order of cardinal bishops, receiving the suburbicarian see of Sabina. He died in Rome on 8 April 1570. He was buried in

Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...

Biography

References

Further reading