Luigi Pisani (1522 – 3 June 1570) 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 ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

and

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Biography

Luigi (Alvise) Pisani was born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1522, the son of Giovanni Pisani, future Ambassador of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

to the

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(1531), and his wife Benedetta Gritti. His mother was the sister of

Andrea Gritti Andrea Gritti (17 April 1455 – 28 December 1538) was the Doge of the Venetian Republic from 1523 to 1538, following a distinguished diplomatic and military career. He started out as a successful merchant in Constantinople and transitioned into t ...

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...

, and his father was the brother of Cardinal

Francesco Pisani Francesco Pisani (1494 – 28 June 1570) was an Italian Cardinal, born in Venice, the son of Alvise Pisani the noted banker, who was Procurator of S. Mark's, a member of the Council of Ten, and a Councilor of the Doge of Venice; and Cecilia Giust ...

. When his uncle, Cardinal Francesco Pisani, who had been Bishop of Padua since 1524, resigned the See on 2 December 1527, he did so in favor of his nephew Luigi. At his tender age, Luigi was too young to be a bishop (the minimum canonical age being twenty-five), and thus the diocese needed an Administrator, who turned out to be his uncle the Cardinal. The Cardinal, therefore, was able to pursue his activities at the Papal Court (which was in exile at the time) and still collect a share of the revenues of the diocese and control over the awarding of benefices. This arrangement continued until 1555. He succeeded as Administrator of the

diocese of Padua The Roman Catholic Diocese of Padua ( it, Diocesi di Padova; la, Dioecesis Patavina) is an episcopal see of the Catholic Church in Veneto, northern Italy. It was erected in the 3rd century.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 pap ...

(Carafa). There is no reference to Luigi's taking holy orders or being consecrated a bishop, but his succession to the Diocese in 1555 may have forced the issue. In the meantime he had moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, becoming a Cleric in the

Apostolic Camera The Apostolic Camera ( la, Camera Apostolica), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the Stat ...

. This position was for sale, and he or his family probably purchased the office. He rose in the hierarchy of the Apostolic Chamber to the office of ''

praefectus annonae The ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the ("prefect of the grain supply") was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Under the Republic, the job was usually done by an aedile. However, in ...

,'' ninth in rank, dealing with the finances of the provisioning of the Papal Court and the City of Rome. He held that post from August 1561 until May 1562. In 1562-63, he was a participant in the

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, which would imply that he was certainly a bishop by 1562.

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

made him a

cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

in his fourth

Consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

for the creation of cardinals on 12 March 1565.Gulik and Eubel, p. 40. Pope Pius died on 9 December 1565, before Luigi had been invested with a titular church. He participated in the papal conclave of 1565-66 that elected

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

. He received the

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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 ...

of San Vitale on 8 February 1566. On 2 June 1568 he opted for the titular church of

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint ...

. On 14 January 1569 he was elected to succeed Cardinal Giacomo Savelli as Chamberlain of the Sacred College of Cardinals. He served the usual one-year term, and was succeeded on 14 January 1570 by Cardinal Philibert Babou de la Bourdaisière. He was never (as some report) Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church. He died in Venice on 3 June 1570, at the age of forty-eight, three weeks before his uncle, Cardinal

. He was buried in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Venice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pisani, Luigi 1522 births 1570 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals Pisani family 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Republic of Venice