Pedro Luis de Borja Lanzol de Romaní,

O.S.Io.Hieros. The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

(1472 – 4 October 1511) was a

Roman Catholic cardinal 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 ...

and

cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...

and papal military leader. He received a wide variety of

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...

s during the papacy of his great-uncle,

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, but was exiled to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on the election of Borja rival

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...

Gaetano Moroni Gaetano Moroni (17 October 1802, Rome – 3 November 1883, Rome) was an Italian writer on the history and contemporary structure of the Catholic Church and an official of the papal court in Rome. He was the author of the well-known ''Dizionario ...

, ''Dizionario di Erudizione Storico-Ecclesiastica da S. Pietro sino ai nostri giorni''
vol. 6, p. 50
Borja also fought with the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

Early life

He was born in

Valencia, Spain Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...

, the third of the eight children of Jofré de Borja Lanzol de Romaní and Juana Moncada in 1472. In his early military career, he became a

Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

and

Knight of Rhodes The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

. When he tried to take Fray Francisco de Boxols's post as the priorate of the Order in

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

in 1498,

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

("Fernando the Catholic") through his ambassador in Rome attempted to have Borja's appointment annulled; Borja was instead made

Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of the Order in Santa Eufemia.Miranda, Salvador. 1998.
Consistory of March 20, 1500 (VIII)
"

Cardinal and bishop

On 20 March 1500 his grand uncle

created him cardinal deacon ''

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 ...

''; Borja's cardinalate was published during another consistory on 28 September 1500 and he was formally given the

Red Hat Red Hat, Inc. is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, with other offices worldwide. Red Hat has become ass ...

on 2 October 1500; effective from 5 October 1500 his deaconry was

S. Maria in Via Lata Santa Maria in Via Lata is a church on the Via del Corso (the ancient Via Lata), in Rome, Italy. It stands diagonal from the church of San Marcello al Corso. It is the Station days for Tuesday, the fifth week of lent. History The first Christi ...

. While already a cardinal, Borja was elected archbishop of Valencia, a post he would hold until his death, on 29 July 1500, succeeding his brother, Juan. Borja would never visit the diocese as archbishop; instead he took possession of it through a procurator, Guillem Ramón de Centelles, on 29 August 1500. There is no evidence that he was ever consecrated, although he received the post of penitentiary major on the condition that he receive priestly ordination, which he did in 1502, assuming the post on 7 December 1503; he would remain penitentiary until his death. After his ordination, he became cardinal priest

S. Marcello San Marcello al Corso, a churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, is a titular church whose cardinal-protector normally holds the (intermediary) rank of cardinal-priest. The church, dedicated to Pope Marcellus I (d. AD 309), is located just ins ...

on 7 December 1503, retaining his deaconry (and its revenues) ''

in commendam In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

''. Through the influence of his grand uncle, Borja also was given the titles of Governor of Spoleto (10 August 1500), Governor of Bagnoregio, Abbot '' commendatario'' of the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery of Valdigna, and of the Benedictine monastery of S. Simpliciano in Milan. Alexander VI's bull creating the University of Valencia on 23 January 1501 is attributed to Borja's influence. When Borja reached Rome on 17 June 1501, (through the " Popolo" gate), he was received by his brother Rodrigo, the captain of the Palatine Guard.

After the death of Alexander VI

As a cardinal elector, he participated in the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

s of September and October 1503. The latter elected

, despite the opposition of Borja, and Julius II proceeded to detain

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

, causing Pedro to flee Rome on 20 December 1503, along with Cardinal

Francisco de Remolins Francisco de Remolins (1462–1518) (called the Cardinal of Sorrento and ''il cardinale Elvense'') was a Spanish Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Francisco de Remolins was born in Lleida in 1462. He studied law at the University of ...

. With him he came to

. Julius II invited Borja to return to Rome on 2 January 1504 and freed his cousin Cesare from jail so that he could join him in Naples in April. A 3 February 1504 letter from the Spanish monarchs to their ambassador in Rome inquired whether the pope was amenable to Borja and Remolins in Naples, shortly after which rumors of Borja circulated in Spain. He later became 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 ...

of the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

in Rome (May 1510). King Fernando wrote again requesting that a successor archbishop be named without his nomination. Upon hearing similarly false news of the death of Julius II, Borja and Remolins together set out for Rome. Borja died on 4 October 1511 by falling from a horse while returning from Rome to Naples. He was buried in the church of S. Pier Celestino in Rome without a funerary monument.

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
Pedro Luis Cardinal de Borja Lanzol de Romaní, O.S.Io.Hieros. {{DEFAULTSORT:Borja Lanzol De Romani, Pedro Luis De 1472 births 1511 deaths Archbishops of Valencia Pedro Luis Cardinal-nephews Knights Hospitaller 16th-century Spanish cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Alexander VI Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary 15th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Kingdom of Aragon Deaths by horse-riding accident in Italy Knights Hospitaller bishops