Gaetano Moroni (17 October 1802,

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– 3 November 1883, Rome) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

writer on the history and contemporary structure of the Catholic Church and an official of the

papal court The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...

in Rome. He was the author of the well-known ''Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica'' (''Dictionary of historical-ecclesiastical learning'').

Biography

He received his early education from the

Brothers of the Christian Schools french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...

at Rome. Apprenticed later to a barber, his duties frequently took him to the Camaldolese

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

Saint Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

on the Coelian Hill. The prior there, Dom Mauro Cappellari, O.S.B. Cam., and several of the monks recognized his exceptional gifts, and made use of him in a quasi-secretarial capacity. When Cappellari became a cardinal he made Moroni his

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

, and when he became

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He ...

, he employed Moroni to serve as his First Assistant of the Chamber, employing him also as his private secretary. In that capacity Moroni personally wrote over 100,000 letters during his lifetime. Moroni also later served Pope Pius IX as an Assistant of the Chamber. Among the books of the monastery and of the cardinal, as well as from conversations with learned people, Moroni acquired a vast store of information. He also gradually collected a considerable private library bearing on ecclesiastical questions, while he made notes from daily papers and from other publications for his own instruction. The subsequent arrangement of these notes in order suggested to him the idea of turning his labours to the benefit of the public, an idea which he realized in the ''Dictionary'', a mine of interesting data and authoritative in matters concerning the Pontifical Court, the organization of the

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

and the

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, and the administration of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. In matters of history, it depends on the writers whom its author consulted. It is, however, not a well-ordered or homogeneous work, but these defects may be readily forgiven in view of the fact that its author did his work alone, without real collaboration, and wrote at times sixteen hours a day. Moroni was also the author of official articles on papal ceremonies, the journeys of the popes, etc. During 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 ...

s of 1829 and 1831, he wrote the ''Giornale storico-politico-eremoniale delle sede vacante e il conclave per l'elezione di Pio VIII e Gregorio XVI'', which, like others of his writings remained unpublished. As a member of the household of Pope Gregory XVI, Moroni was the object of much sectarian hatred. He was a friend of many cardinals, including Wiseman, and of other illustrious men. In the index of the ''Dictionary'', he indicates the various passages of the work which speak of himself, and which thus constitute a kind of autobiography.

References

* ''The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X'', 1911. Robert Appleton Company

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Gaetano Moroni

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moroni, Gaetano 1802 births 1883 deaths Writers from Rome Historians of the Catholic Church Apostolic Camera