Hyacinthe Sigismond Gerdil, CRSP (23 June 1718 – 12 August 1802) 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 ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, bishop and

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 ...

, who was a significant figure in the response of the papacy to the assault on the Catholic Church by the upheavals caused by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

Life

Early life

Jean-François Gerdil was born in 1718 at

Samoëns Samoëns () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is the principal commune for the canton which bears its name. The town of Samoëns is located in the Vallée du Giffre (Giff ...

in the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The duc ...

to Pierre Gerdil, a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

, and Françoise Perrier, a native of

Taninges Taninges () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Taninges is a pleasant town of over 3000 people in the French Alps, about 35 km directly east-southeast of Geneva and clos ...

.Miranda, Salvador. "Gerdil C.R.S.P., Hyacinthe Sigismond", ''Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church'', Florida International University
/ref> When 15 years old, he joined the

Barnabites , image = Barnabites.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = One version of the Barnabite logo. "P.A." refers to Paul the Apostle and the three hills symbolize the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. , a ...

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

, taking the name Hyacinthe Sigismond. He was sent to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

to pursue his theological studies; also having an interest in the sciences, he devoted his mind to the various branches of knowledge with great success. While he improved his command of

, he came the attention of Propero Lambertini,

Archbishop of Bologna The Archdiocese of Bologna is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Italy. The cathedra is in the cathedral church of San Pietro, Bologna. The current archbishop is Cardinal Matteo Zup ...

, later

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758.Antipope ...

, who used the young

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

to translate French texts. After Gerdil had completed his initial studies in 1738, he was assigned to teach philosophy first at the Barnabite college in

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...

, then at the school at

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

(1739-1748). During this period, in 1741, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood. By 1749, the range and quality of his writings led to his induction by various scientific and literary societies across Europe, ranging from the Bologna Institute of Sciences and the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

to the

Accademia degli Arcadi The Accademia degli Arcadi or Accademia dell'Arcadia, "Academy of Arcadia" or "Academy of the Arcadians", was an Italian literary academy founded in Rome in 1690. The full Italian official name was Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi. History F ...

in Rome. That same year he was appointed as professor of philosophy at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...

, transferring to the teach of

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

in 1754. In 1758, upon the recommendation of

, Gerdil was chosen as the tutor of the Prince of Piedmont, afterwards King Charles Emmanuel IV. He left his teaching position at the university the following year to deal with his other responsibilities. In 1764 he was elected the Provincial Superior of the Barnabites in Savoy and the Piedmont. In 1768 he was chosen as the tutor of the sons of his previous student, now the

King of Sardinia The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861. Early history Owing to the absence of written sources, little ...

Cardinalate

Gerdil was designated a '' cardinal in petto'' in 1773 by

Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV ( la, Clemens XIV; it, Clemente XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in Sep ...

, but that pope died before his appointment could be made public. He was appointed as a consultor to the

Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...

in 1776 by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

, moving to Rome, where he took a residence next to the General

Motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute. It would normally be where the residence and offices of the religious superior In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at ...

of the Barnabite Order at the Church of

San Carlo ai Catinari San Carlo ai Catinari, also called Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari ("Saints Blaise and Charles at the Bowl-Makers") is an early-Baroque style church in Rome, Italy. It is located on Piazza Benedetto Cairoli, 117 just off the corner of Via Arenul ...

. The

named him the

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ...

of the Abbey of San Michele della Chiusa in January 1777. He carried out his supervision of the distant abbey from Rome through correspondence, devoting much of the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

he gained to the help of the poor. In March of that same year, Gerdil was appointed the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Dibona, and was consecrated at the Barnabite church by Cardinal

Marcantonio Colonna Marcantonio II Colonna (sometimes spelled Marc'Antonio; 1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was a Roman aristocrat who served as a Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, Spanish gener ...

, the

Vicar General of Rome it, Vicario Generale di Sua Santità , unofficial_names = Cardinal Vicar , insignia = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , insigniasize = 75px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms of the Diocese of Rome , image = AngeloDeDonatis.jpg , incumbent = Angel ...

. The following June he again named a ''cardinal in petto'' by Pope Pius, receiving the red hat on 18 December 1777 and the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary de ...

San Giovanni a Porta Latina San Giovanni a Porta Latina (Italian: "Saint John Before the Latin Gate") is a Basilica church in Rome, Italy, near the Porta Latina (on the Via Latina) of the Aurelian Wall. History According to Tertullian, as quoted by Saint Jerome, in the y ...

on 30 March 1778. The pope also appointed him to various congregations of the Roman Curia, including that of Prefect of the

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. Gerdil changed his title to that of the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th-century church in Rome, Italy, in the Trastevere rione, devoted to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia (early 3rd century AD). History The first church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd century, by Pop ...

. He served briefly as the

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regul ...

(1786-1787). Gerdil was member of the committee of cardinals which examined and refined the text of the response against the ''Puntuazione di Ems'', issued by the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

s of Germany in which they defied papal authority. From 1790 to 1794, he was member of the committee which prepared the final draft of the papal bull, '' Auctorem fidei'' (28 August 1794), which condemned the propositions of the

Synod of Pistoia The Synod of Pistoia was a 1786 diocesan synod in the Catholic diocese of Pistoia, then part of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It was summoned by its bishop Scipione de' Ricci under the patronage and active support of the Habsburg-L ...

, a similar stand by the bishops of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

. During those four years, he was also president of the particular congregation charged with the preparation of the papal documents which condemned the French Civil Constitution of the Clergy, the Civic Oath imposed to the French clergy in 1798, and other acts imposed on the Church by Revolutionary France. After the invasion of Rome by the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment ...

in February 1798 the pope fled to

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, while Gerdil fled to his Abbey of San Michele. After the death of Pope Pius in 1799, he would likely have been elected pope at the conclave of Venice in 1800, had not his election been vetoed by Cardinal Franziskus Herzan von Harras, in the name of Francis II, the last

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

. After the conclave accompanied the new pope,

Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

, to Rome, where he resumed his posts in the Curia, still being fit and active, despite being past the age of 80. After a brief illness he died at the Barnabite motherhouse and was buried in the Church of

Works

Gerdil's numerous works written in Latin, Italian, and French on divers subjects — dogmatic and moral theology, canon law, philosophy, pedagogy, history, physical and natural sciences, etc. — form twenty volumes in quarto (ed. Rome, 1806–1821). Among the most important may be mentioned: "L'Immortalité de l'âme démontrée contre Locke et défense du P. Malebranche contre ce philosophe" (Turin, 1747–48), 2 vols.; "Réflexions sur la théorie et la pratique de l'éducation contre les principes de J.-J. Rousseau" (Turin, 1765), reprinted in a new edition under the title "Anti-Emile"; "Exposition des caractères de la vraie religion", written in Italian (translated into French, Paris, 1770), etc. Gerdil's works were written especially for the defence of spiritual philosophy against

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

, of supernatural religion against

Deism Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning "god") is the Philosophy, philosophical position and Rationalism, rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that Empirical evi ...

, of the supreme authority of the pope against

Febronianism Febronianism was a powerful movement within the Roman Catholic Church in Germany, in the latter part of the 18th century, directed towards the nationalizing of Catholicism, the restriction of the power of the papacy in favor of that of the episcopa ...

and the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerdil, Hyacinthe Sigismond 1718 births 1802 deaths 18th-century people from Savoy Members of the Barnabite Order Academic staff of the University of Turin 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians Italian Roman Catholic titular bishops 18th-century Italian cardinals Members of the Holy Office Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Members of the Sacred Congregation of Rites Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Cardinals created by Pope Pius VI 19th-century Italian cardinals