Pomponio Algerio (1531 – 19 August 1556) was an Italian student who was executed for his Lutheran beliefs.

Biography

Algerio was born in

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian wor ...

, and was a civil law student at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

, where his

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

theological beliefs attracted the attention of the

Roman Inquisition The Roman Inquisition, formally the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, respons ...

. At his trial, he wore his academic hat and gown to remind the tribunal that, as a student, he had the right to freely express his ideas. From the transcript of Pomponio Algerio at his trial: :"I say that the Church deviates from the truth in so far as it says that a man could not do anything in any way good on his own, since nothing praiseworthy can proceed from our corrupt infected nature except to the extent that the lord God gives us his grace... the Roman Catholic Church is a particular Church and no Christian should restrict himself to any particular Church. This Church deviates in many things from truth." After refusing to conform to Church doctrine, he was sentenced to prison and asked to reconsider his Lutheran beliefs. After a year behind bars, he still refused to reconsider. Because Venetian authorities would not consent to an execution,

Pope 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 pa ...

sent officials to extradite Pomponio to Rome. In Rome, on 21 August 1555, a monk from the brotherhood of St John the Beheaded visited Pomponio in his cell urging him to repent. If he repented, he would be strangled before burning. The 24-year-old student refused. One year later, on 19 August 1556, he was executed by civil authorities in the

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' agones' ...

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 ...

. Maintaining his composure while he was boiled in oil, he stayed alive for 15 minutes before dying.

Awards and honours

On 28 February 2008, the

organized the first conference in memory of the execution of Pomponio Algerio, and affixed a commemorative plaque in the atrium of its "Cortile Nuovo" ("New Courtyard") in memory of the sacrifice made by its student in the name of religious freedom.''In memoria di Pomponio de Algerio da Nola / Studente dell'Università di Padova / In questi luoghi tratto in arresto / nel mese di maggio del 1555 / Per le sue idee religiose da lui difese fermamente / Davanti al Tribunale dell'Inquisizione / Estradato a Roma affrontò il rogo / Con eccezionale serenità e coraggio / A Piazza Navona il 19 agosto 1556 / Nel nome della tolleranza / La sua Università volle ricordarlo / Il 28 febbraio 2008'', Radici Cristiane
UAAR Padova
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References

1531 births 1556 deaths People from Nola Italian Lutherans Victims of the Inquisition Counter-Reformation History of Catholicism in Italy Renaissance Rome People executed for heresy Executed Italian people People executed by the Papal States 16th-century executions by Italian states People executed by the Roman Inquisition People executed by boiling {{Italy-reli-bio-stub