Pier Donato Cesi, iuniore (1583 – 30 January 1656) was an Italian

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. He is sometimes referred to as ''Pier Donato Cesi, iuniore'' (junior) to differentiate between him and his predecessor Pier Donato Cesi ''seniore'' (1521–1586). Cesi was born in 1583 in Rome; the son of Federico Cesi,

Count of Oliveto The Duchy of Alvito was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Naples, in southern Italy. Rule of the Cantelmo The Cantelmo family, of French origins, arrived in Italy in the 13th century around the time the Angevins conquered Naples (1266). From the An ...

from the noble Cesi family and Pulcheria Orsini. He was educated by the Fathers of the

Oratory of Saint Philip Neri The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri ( la, Confoederatio Oratorii Sancti Philippi Nerii) abbreviated CO and commonly known as the Oratorians is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men (priests and lay- ...

and obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

of law. He was made responsible for three wealthy abbeys and was made a referendary of the ''Tribunals of the Apostolic Signatura of Justice and of Grace''. In 1615 he was made a

protonotary apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

and a cleric of the

Apostolic Chamber 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 ...

by 1625. He was made Governor of Civitavecchia from 1627 to 1630 and

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

-general to

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

in 1634. In 1641, Pope Urban elevated Cesi to Cardinal and made him Cardinal-Priest of San Marcello al Corso the following year. The Pope then appointed him

Legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

in 1643 and granted him a dispensation to accept an appointment as canon of the cathedral chapter of

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; a role that had been created by the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

. When Urban died, Cesi participated in the Papal conclave of 1644, which elected Pope Innocent X. In 1645, Cesi was appointed Crown Cardinal of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and held the position until 1656. Between 1651 and 1652 he was appointed

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church. The title is based on an Italian word for chamberlain, a word no longer used in secular contexts. The position existed from at ...

and he participated in the conclave of 1655, which elected

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

. Cesi died the following year on 30 January 1656 in his Roman palace and was buried in the church of

Santa Prassede The Basilica of Saint Praxedes ( la, Basilica Sanctae Praxedis, it, Basilica di Santa Prassede all’Esquillino), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilic ...

, Rome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cesi, Pier Donato 1583 births 1651 deaths Clergy from Rome 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII Cesi family