Girolamo Casanate (historic spelling variations include Casanata and Casanatta) (13 February 1620 in

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 ...

– 3 March 1700 in

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 ...

) 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

His father, Tommaso Casanatta, was a member of the supreme council of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. Girolamo studied law at the university of his native town and practised in the courts for some time. Eventually he gave up the promises of a secular career and entered the service of the Church, in deference to the advice of Cardinal Pamphili whom he had met on a visit to Rome. When that cardinal became pope as

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 ...

, Casanate was made private chamberlain and soon advanced rapidly in the ecclesiastical career, becoming in turn Governor of

Sabina Sabina may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Sabina (region), region and place in Italy, and hence: * the now Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina (-Poggio Mirteto), Italy * Magliano Sabina, city, Italy * Pozzaglia Sabina, city, Italy *Fara Sab ...

Fabriano Fabriano is a town and ''comune'' of Province of Ancona, Ancona province in the Italy, Italian region of the Marche, at Above mean sea level, above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley upstream and southwest of Jesi; and east-northeast of Foss ...

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

, and

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...

. In the last-named city he became a close friend of its bishop, Emilio Altieri, afterwards

Pope Clement X Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at ag ...

. In 1658

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 ...

sent him as inquisitor to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, whence he was shortly recalled to Rome and made prelate of the ''Consulta'' and active member of the courts known as the ''Segnatura di Grazia'' and the ''Segnatura di Giustizia''. He was Consultor of the Congregation of Rites and of

Propaganda 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 ...

, and governor of the

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

that chose the successor of Alexander VII; under

Clement IX Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

he was made assessor of the Holy Office (Congregation of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

). He was appointed secretary of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars by

Clement X Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at ag ...

, and 13 June 1673, was named Cardinal-Deacon of the Title of Santa Maria in Porticu, and later (1686) Cardinal-Priest of the Title of

San Silvestro in Capite The Basilica of Saint Sylvester the First, also known as ( it, San Silvestro in Capite, la, Sancti Silvestri in Capite), is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in Rome dedicated to Pope Sylvester I (d. AD 335). It is located on t ...

. In 1693

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 ...

bestowed on him the office of Librarian of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

(''Bibliotecario di Santa Romana Chiesa''). He held many offices which required profound knowledge of numerous doctrinal, disciplinary, and political questions brought before the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

in the latter half of the seventeenth century. Among them controversies concerning Quietism (

Miguel de Molinos Miguel de Molinos (baptised 29 June 1628 – 29 December 1696) was a Spanish mystic, the chief representative of the religious revival known as Quietism. Biography He was born in 1628 near Muniesa (Teruel), in Aragon, a village around south o ...

, Fénelon,

Madame Guyon Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon (Commonly known as Madame Guyon, ; 13 April 1648 – 9 June 1717) was a French mystic accused of advocating Quietism, which was considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church. Madame Guyon was imprisone ...

); the

Gallican Liberties Gallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarch's or the state's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope. Gallicanism is a rejection of ultramontanism; it has som ...

including Louis XIV 1673 assertion of the right of Régale and his Four Articles of 1682; and the

Chinese Rites controversy The Chinese Rites controversy () was a dispute among Roman Catholic missionaries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the 17th and 18th centuries. The debate discussed whether Chinese ritual practices of honoring fa ...

between the Jesuits and the Dominicans and other orders. On his death-bed he was assisted by two Dominicans, Father

Antonin Cloche Antonin Cloche (1628–1720) was the Master of the Order of Preachers from 1686 to 1720. Early biography Antonin Cloche was from a rich French family. Formation Cloche entered the Dominican Order in the Province of Toulouse. Career Under the ...

the general of the order, and Antoine Massoulié. He was buried in the

Basilica of St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

, though his heart was deposited in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the church of the Dominicans, to whom he was always warmly attached, and who looked on him as their benefactor. Immediately after Casanate's death, Cloche commissioned his tomb in the Lateran basilica from

Pierre Le Gros the Younger Pierre Le Gros (12 April 1666 Paris – 3 May 1719 Rome) was a French sculptor, active almost exclusively in Baroque Rome where he was the pre-eminent sculptor for nearly two decades.Gerhard Bissell, ''Pierre le Gros, 1666–1719'', Reading ...

, which was inaugurated in 1703.

Biblioteca Casanatense

Casanate's chief service to learning, especially

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 ...

, was the ''Biblioteca Casanatense'', founded and endowed by him. During his life he had collected about 25,000 books which he left to Santa Maria sopra Minerva, together with an endowment of 80,000

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''scu ...

for administration and the acquisition of new books. He also provided funds for a college (''theologi casanatenses'') of six Dominicans of different nationalities (Italian, French, Spanish, German, English, Polish) and two professors who would regularly lecture on texts by St.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

, particularly the ''

Summa Theologica The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholasticism, scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all ...

''. To honour his friend, Cloche also had a statue of Cardinal Casanate made by Le Gros which, in 1708, was placed outside the old entrance to the library but shortly later moved into the enlarged reading room.*; Gerhard Schuster, ''Zu Ehren Casanates. Père Cloches Kunstaufträge in der Frühzeit der Biblioteca Casanatense'', in: Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz 35, 1991, p. 323-336.

College of St. Thomas

To foster the study of Greek, Hebrew and Dogmatic Theology, Casanate also endowed 4 chairs of learning at the College of St. Thomas (the future Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'') which was at the times also attached to Santa Maria sopra Minerva.Anales de la sagrada religion de Santo Domingo
by Joseph de Sarabia y Lezana, 1709, p. 30, Accessed 18 Jan., 2015.

References

;Attribution * cites: **Touron, ''Hommes illustres de l'ordre de saint-Dominique'' (1743–49), IV, 534 sqq.;

External links

Biblioteca Casanatense
- home page * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casanate Girolamo 17th-century Italian cardinals 1620 births 1700 deaths Cardinal-bishops of Sabina 17th-century Neapolitan people Clergy from Naples Italian librarians Inquisitors of Malta