Girolamo Dandini (1509 – 4 December 1559) 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 ...

and the first to serve as

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

in the Roman Curia. By the time of Pope Innocent X (1644–1655), the secretary of state was always a cardinal, and Pope Innocent XII (1691–1700) abolished the office of cardinal nephew in 1692.

Biography

Dandini was born in

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

on 25 March 1509 to a patrician family, the son of Anselmo Dandini and Giovanna Muratini. He graduated from the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

with a degree ''

utroque iuris A doctor of both laws, from the Latin ''doctor utriusque juris'', or ''juris utriusque doctor'', or ''doctor juris utriusque'' ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD a ...

'' in both canon and civil law. He went to Rome and became secretary to

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

, who appointed him

Protonotary apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

. He was sent as

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...

to the court of

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

to negotiate peace and to agree on the celebration of a general council, June 1543 to May 1544. He was appointed

bishop of Caserta The Diocese of Caserta ( la, Dioecesis Casertana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples.bishop of Imola The Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola ( la, Diocesis Imolensis) is a territory in Romagna, northern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bologna.

(17 May 1546), where he was abbot ''

in commendam In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

'' of San Firmino. He renounced the see in favour of his nephew,

Anastasio Umberto Dandini Anastasio Umberto Dandini, O.S.B. was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Imola (1552–1558). ''(in Latin)'' Biography Anastasio Umberto Dandini was ordained a priest in the Order of Saint Benedict. On 11 May 1552, he was appointe ...

, who died unexpectedly in 1558, whereupon Cesare Dandini took up the see once more and held it until his death the following year. in the meantime he was again nuncio in France, charged with opposing royal support of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

at the court of the new king, Henri II, July 1546 to September 1547. As legate to

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

he negotiated the continuation of 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 ...

and obtained assistance for the war of Parma and Mirandola. He was named to the lucrative post of commissary general of the papal army. Dandini was created cardinal by

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 ...

, in the consistory of 20 November 1551, and was made cardinal-secretary of state, to fill the post of the incompetent cardinal-nephew Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte. He participated in the Conclaves of 1555; in the Conclave of 1559 he had to retire from the conclave of 1559 because of illness and died in his palazzo near the Church of San Marcello, where he is buried.

References

External links and additional sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dandini, Girolamo 16th-century Italian cardinals 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Caserta Bishops of Imola 1509 births 1559 deaths Cardinal Secretaries of State