Girolamo Colonna (23 March 1604 – 4 September 1666) 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 ...

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 member of the noble

Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...

Biography

Colonna was born at Orsogna into the

and his extended family included members of various 17th-century Italian royal and noble houses. His father was

Filippo I Colonna Filippo Colonna (1578 – 11 April 1639), Prince of Paliano, was an Italian nobleman, who was the head of the Colonna family of Rome and the hereditary Gran Connestabile at the court of Naples. Biography He was born in Rome. A nephew of Carlo ...

, Prince of Paliano and his mother was Lucrezia Tomacelli. His sister,

Anna Colonna Anna Colonna (1601–1658) was an Italian noblewoman of the Colonna and Barberini families. She was also the Princess of Paliano. Early life Colonna was born in 1601; the daughter of Filippo Colonna, Prince of Paliano, and Lucrezia Tomacell ...

, married

Taddeo Barberini Taddeo Barberini (1603–1647) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Barberini who became Prince of Palestrina and Gonfalonier of the Church; commander of the Papal Army. He was a nephew of Pope Urban VIII and brother of Cardinals Frances ...

, brother of cardinals Francesco Barberini and

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts an ...

(Antonio the Younger).Worldroots - Barberini
Colonna was uncle to the children of his sister and brother-in-law,

Maffeo Barberini Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

, Cardinal Carlo Barberini and

Lucrezia Barberini Lucrezia Barberini (24 October 1628 – 24 August 1699) was an Italian nobility, Italian noblewoman and, by marriage, Duchess of Modena. Born into the Barberini family, she was the last wife of Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena. Biography ...

who married

Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena Francesco I d'Este (6 September 1610 – 14 October 1658) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1629 until his death. The eldest son of Alfonso III d'Este, he became reigning duke after his father's abdication. Biography The pestilence of 1630–16 ...

. He was elevated to cardinal on 30 August 1627 by

Barberini The House of Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban palace ...

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

(the uncle of his brother-in-law Taddeo) at the insistence of his sister, Anna.''Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals'' by

John Bargrave John Bargrave (1610 – 11 May 1680), was an English author and collector and a canon of Canterbury Cathedral.''Under the Sign: John Bargrave as Collector, Traveler, and Witness'' by Stephen Bann, Michigan, 1995 Early life Bargrave was born in K ...

, edited by

James Craigie Robertson James Craigie Robertson (1813 – 9 July 1882) was a Scottish Anglican churchman, canon of Canterbury Cathedral, and author of a ''History of the Christian Church''. Life Robertson was born at Aberdeen, where his father was a merchant; his mothe ...

(reprint; 2009) After the death of Pope Urban, he participated in the Papal conclave of 1644 that elected

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 ...

. He was Archpriest of the patriarchal

Lateran basilica 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 ...

and Legate ''a latere'' for the opening and closing of the

Holy Door A Holy Door ( la, Porta Sancta) is traditionally an entrance portal located within the Papal major basilicas in Rome. The doors are normally sealed by mortar and cement from the inside so that they cannot be opened. They are ceremoniously ope ...

in the patriarchal Lateran basilica in the

Holy Year A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In ''Leviticus'', a Jubilee (biblical), jubilee year ( he, יובל ''yūḇāl'') is mentioned to occur every 50th year; during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, deb ...

of 1650. He took part in the conclave of 1655 that elected Pope Alexander VII. Pope Innocent X appointed him as Ambassador of 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 ...

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 ...

. He was called to Spain by King Philip IV and appointed as a counselor on state and military affairs. He celebrated the wedding between

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

and

Infanta Margarita Margaret Theresa of Spain ( es, link=no, Margarita Teresa, german: link=no, Margarete Theresia; 12 July 1651 – 12 March 1673) was, by marriage to Leopold I, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and B ...

of Spain (daughter of Philip IV) and as legate accompanied her to Germany. He was accompanied to Spain by

Jules Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

(then 17 years old; later elevated to Cardinal himself). Mazarin later assisted Colonna's brother-in-law Taddeo and his brothers when they went into exile during the short schism between the

and the

Pamphili The House of Pamphili (often with the final ''long i'' orthography, Pamphilj) was one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, the Pamphili family line merged w ...

. King Philip IV died in 1665 and Colonna assisted in the provision of

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...

. At the death of the King, Colonna returned to his native Italy but died on 4 September 1666 at the Dominican convent in Finale Marina, near

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 ...

. Letters from Milan and Genoa, dated 15 January 1667, verified the news. After six years, his remains were moved to Rome and buried in the chapel of his family in the patriarchal Lateran basilica.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonna, Girolamo 1604 births 1666 deaths People from the Province of Chieti Girolamo Cardinal 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII Diplomats of the Holy See