Guglielmo Sirleto (or Sirleti) (1514 – 6 October 1585) was an Italian Cardinal and scholar. He was considered the greatest linguist of his age.Andrew Edward Breen, ''A General and Critical Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture'', p. 551. Sirleto was born at

Guardavalle Guardavalle ( Calabrian: ) is a '' comune'' and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is lo ...

near

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in Calabria. The son of a physician, he received an excellent education, made the acquaintance of distinguished scholars at Rome, and became an intimate friend of Cardinal Marcello Cervino, later Pope Marcellus II. He prepared for Cervino, who was President of the

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

in its initial period, extensive reports on all the important questions presented for discussion. After his appointment as custodian of the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

, Sirleto drew up a complete descriptive catalogue of its Greek manuscripts and prepared a new edition of the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

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 pa ...

named him

prothonotary The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

and tutor to two of his nephews. After this pope's death he taught Greek and Hebrew at Rome, numbering

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

among his students. There was talk of making him Pope, but it was considered that the drift of his mind was too much given to letters to permit him to run a strong, practical administration in those troubled times. During the concluding period of the Council of Trent, he was, although he continued to reside at Rome, the adviser of the cardinal-legates. He was himself created cardinal in 1565 at the request of

, became

Bishop of San Marco The Italian Catholic Diocese of San Marco Argentano-Scalea, in Cosenza, Calabria, has existed as the diocese of San Marco since at least 1171, when the name of Bishop Ruben appears in a document. It is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cos ...

in Calabria in 1566, and Bishop of Squillace in 1568. An order of the papal secretary of state, however, enjoined his residence at Rome, where he was named, in 1570, librarian of the

. This he enriched with many valuable texts on Greek, Latin and Oriental subjects. His influence was paramount in the execution of the scientific undertakings decreed by the Council of Trent. He collaborated in the publication of the

Roman Catechism The Roman Catechism or Catechism of the Council of Trent is a compendium of Catholic doctrine commissioned during the Counter-Reformation by the Council of Trent, to expound doctrine and to improve the theological understanding of the clergy. ...

, presided over the Commissions for the reform of Roman Breviary and

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...

, and directed the work of the new edition of the ''

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

''. Highly appreciative of Greek culture, he entertained all friendly relations with the East and encouraged all efforts tending to ecclesiastical reunion. His learning was such that he was reported to discourse in his sleep in Greek and Latin. Latino Latini declared in a letter to

Andreas Masius Andreas Masius (or Maes) (30 November 1514 – 7 April 1573) was a Catholic priest, humanist and one of the first European syriacists. He was born in Lennik, Flemish Brabant. Following his education, and after a short period of training at Leuven, ...

that he considered that Sirleto was equal in learning to all the others who worked on the Vulgate. He was attended in his last illness by

Philip Neri Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of ...

. He died at Rome, and was buried in the presence of Pope Sixtus V. He was a manuscript collector (e.g. Minuscule 373).

References

Hugo von Hurter The von Hurter family belonged to the Swiss nobility; in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries three of them were known for their conversions to Roman Catholicism, their ecclesiastical careers in Austria and their theological writings. Friedri ...

, ''Nomenclator Lit.'', I (2nd ed., Innsbruck, 1892), 95-6 * Bäumer-Biron, ''Hist. du bréviaire'', II (Paris, 1905), 169-71, passim. * Andrew Edward Breen, ''A General and Critical Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture'' 2nd edition (Rochester NY: John P. Smith Publishing Co. 1908). * Nicola Taccone Gallucci, ''Monografia del cardinale Guglielmo Sirleto nel secolo decimosesto'' (Roma: Società tipografico-editrice romana, 1909). * Georg Denzler, ''Kardinal Guglielmo Sirleto (1514-1585): Leben und Werk: Ein Beitrag zur nachtridentinischen Reform'' (München: M. Hueber, 1964) ünchener theologische Studien: Historische Abteilung. Volume 17 * Irena Backus and Benoît Gain, ''Le Cardinal Guglielmo Sirleto: 1514-1585, sa bibliothèque et ses traductions de saint Basile'' (Roma: Ecole Française de Rome, 1986).

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sirleto, Guglielmo 1514 births 1585 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals People from the Vallata dello Stilaro Italian librarians 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops