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 on 25 March 1509 to a patrician family, the son of Anselmo Dandini and Giovanna Muratini. He graduated from the University of Bologna 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 to negotiate peace and to agree on the celebration of a general council, June 1543 to May 1544. He was appointed bishop of Caserta, (14 November 1545), then bishop of Imola (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, 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 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 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, 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