Lodovico Altieri (17 July 1805 – 11 August 1867) was an Italian Roman Catholic

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 ...

. He served in various capacities under various popes and belonged to a noble Roman house making him a descendant of Pope Clement X. The sainthood process commenced under Pope Benedict XVI and the late cardinal has been titled as a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

Life

Lodovico Altieri was born in Rome in 1805 as the last of three children to Paluzzo Altieri (July 7,1760- October 1.1834) and Maria Anna von Sachsen (October 20, 1770- December 24, 1845). His two older siblings were Clemente (June.8.1795-June 21, 1873) and Augusto (1797-1860) who became a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. His father served from 1801 until his death as the commander for the Papal Noble Guard after

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 ...

named him to that position. His brother Clemente succeeded their father in that role. He was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

in the parish of San Marco mere moments after his birth. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on 24 March 1833. He was named after his ordination as the qualificator for the

Congregation of the Inquisition 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 ...

while he served as the vicar for the Santa Maria in Via Lata school. During this time he also served as the aide for the Congregation of Studies. His rise through the ranks continued after he was appointed as the Titular Archbishop of Ephesus; he received his episcopal consecration from the pope himself in Saint Peter's Basilica. The

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

were Giovanni Soglia Ceroni and Giovanni Giacomo Sinibaldi. He was also appointed as the apostolic nuncio to Austria just after his consecration. His aide in the nunciature was the future cardinal

Gaetano Bedini Gaetano Bedini (15 May 1806 – 6 September 1864) was an Italian ecclesiastic, cardinal, and diplomat of the Catholic Church. Biography Bedini was born in Senigallia into the Bedini family of Ostra, the son of Alessandro Pellegrino and Mariann ...

. It was he who encouraged Bedini to expose himself to the Church's diplomatic atmosphere. The pope created him as a cardinal but reserved him

in pectore ''In pectore'' (Latin for "in the breast/heart") is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals wit ...

on 14 December 1840. His name was not announced until 21 April 1845 and he was made the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Campitelli (the diaconate was elevated pro hac vice to a titular rank). He participated in the conclave in 1846 that elected

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

. In that conclave he supported the candidature of Cardinal Mastai-Ferretti which formed a knit group among cardinals such as

Clarissimo Falconieri Mellini Chiarissimo Falconieri Mellini (25 September 1794 – 22 August 1859) was a Catholic Cardinal and Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Early life and priesthood Mellini was born on 25 September 1794 in Rome, the son of ''Marquis Aless ...

and

Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso (20 June 1796 – 30 March 1878) was the dean of the College of Cardinals during the last part of the record long reign of Pope Pius IX. Biography The issue of an ancient and noble Catalan Sardinian family,As f ...

. The disorder in 1848 saw Altieri flee with Pius IX to

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

. Pius IX held Altieri in great esteem and Altieri proved himself the center of opposition within the cardinalate to

Giacomo Antonelli Giacomo Antonelli (2 April 1806 – 6 November 1876) was an Italian cardinal deacon. He was the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1848 until his death; he played a key role in Italian politics, resisting the unification of Italy and affecting ...

. Altieri was a member of the

Red Triumvirate The Red Triumvirate ( it, Triumvirato rosso), formally the Governing Commission of the State ( it, Commissione governativa di Stato, label=none), was a group of three cardinals who governed the Papal States after the suppression of the revolution ...

that governed Rome between 1849 and 1850 after the short-lived Roman Republic together with cardinals Luigi Vannicelli Casoni and Gabriele Sermattei della Genga. He was the aide for the Congregation for Memorials from 1855 to 1857 and was later appointed Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church on 19 March 1857; the cardinal held that position until his death. He later opted for the order of Cardinal-Bishops and assumed the suburbicarian see of Albano on 17 December 1860. He was later appointed as the

Prefect of the Congregation of the Index The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidde ...

on 5 September 1861 and then appointed as the

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

for the Basilica of Saint John Lateran on 8 March 1863. Altieri had little interactions with Saint Giovanni Bosco and once sent him in 1867 funds for Bosco's apostolic work in Turin. During the

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic that affected his suburbicarian see he assisted and tended to the ill though contracted it himself and died of it later on 11 August 1867. His funeral took place in Santa Maria in Campitelli and his remains were interred in

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...

before being transferred.

Beatification process

The beatification process commenced under Pope Benedict XVI once the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued the official " nihil obstat" (no objections) and titled him as a

on 14 March 2009. The diocesan process of the investigation was inaugurated in Albano on 22 November 2009 and concluded its investigations later on 26 September 2015. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

for this cause is Dr. Ulderico Parente.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altieri, Ludovico 1805 births 1867 deaths 19th-century Italian cardinals 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 19th-century venerated Christians Apostolic Nuncios to Austria Bishops appointed by Pope Gregory XVI Burials at Campo Verano Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Cardinal-bishops of Albano Cardinals created by Pope Gregory XVI Deaths from cholera Italian Servants of God Clergy from Rome

Life

Beatification process

See also

References

External links