Scipione Lancelotti (1527–1598) was an Italian who became a

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 ...

within the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Biography

Background

Scipione Lancelotti was born in

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 ...

in 1527, the son of Orazio Lancellotti (personal physician of

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 ...

and an

abbreviator An Abbreviator (plural "Abbreviators" in English and "Abbreviatores" in Latin) or Breviator was a writer of the Apostolic Chancery, Papal Chancery who adumbrated and prepared in correct form Papal bulls, Papal brief, briefs, and papal consistory, co ...

) and his wife Antonina Aragonia. His brother Lancellotto Lancellotti became

Archbishop of Rossano The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Rossano–Cariati ( la, Archidioecesis Rossanensis-Cariatensis) in Calabria has existed since 597, beginning as the Diocese of Rossano. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano.

. He was the uncle of Cardinal Orazio Lancellotti. He was educated at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, becoming a doctor of both laws. He became a consistorial lawyer during the

pontificate The pontificate is the form of government used in Vatican City. The word came to English from French and simply means ''papacy'', or "to perform the functions of the Pope or other high official in the Church". Since there is only one bishop of Ro ...

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

Early career as a papal diplomat

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 pap ...

sent him on missions to

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

and 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, ...

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 ...

later sent him on a mission to the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

for the council held there by Cardinal Charles Borromeo, and later to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

. There in 1563, the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

s deputized him to

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

to try to induce him to attend the Council along with Maximilian, King of the Romans and Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. He then returned to Rome where the pope made him an auditor of the Roman Rota in 1565. The pope then sent him back to

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

on a mission to Cardinal

Cristoforo Madruzzo 200px, '' Portrait of Cristoforo Madruzzo'' by Titian (1552). Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo">Museu_de_Arte_de_São_Paulo.html" ;"title="Titian (1552). Museu de Arte de São Paulo">Titian (1552). Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo. ...

Prince-Bishop of Trent The Prince-Bishopric of Trent ( la, Episcopatus ac Principatus Tridentinus; german: Hochstift Trient, Fürstbistum Trient, Bistum Trient) was an ecclesiastical principality roughly corresponding to the present-day Northern Italian autonomous pr ...

, and to attempt to resolve a dispute between the cardinal and Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, which he did successfully. He was then a member of the delegation headed by Cardinal

Gianfrancesco Commendone Giovanni Francesco Commendone (17 March 1523 – 26 December 1584) was an Italian cardinal and papal nuncio. Life Commendone was born at Venice. After an education in the humanities and in jurisprudence at the University of Padua, he came ...

to the

Imperial election of 1575 The imperial election of 1575 was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It took place in Regensburg on October 27. Background The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor called for the election ...

. Pope Gregory XIII then appointed him to accompany Cardinal

Flavio Orsini Flavio Orsini (1532 – 16 May 1581) was a papal bureaucrat, an Italian bishop, and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was son of Ferdinando Orsini, 5th duke of Gravina; and Beatrice Ferrillo, daughter and heiress of Giovanni Alfonso Ferrillo, ...

, legate ''a latere'' before Charles IX of France. He then returned to Rome and quickly despatched to the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

and Romagna on business of the Roman Rota.

Cardinalate

Pope Gregory XIII made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of 12 December 1583. He received 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 ...

and the titular church of San Simeone Profeta on 9 January 1584. He participated in the papal conclave of 1585 that elected

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

. In 1585, the pope made him Secretary of Apostolic Briefs. The pope then despatched him to solve a dispute between

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and

Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara Alfonso II d'Este (24 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este. Biography He was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France an ...

. On 20 April 1587 he opted for the titular church of

San Salvatore in Lauro San Salvatore in Lauro is a Catholic church in central Rome, Italy. It is located on a piazza of the same name in the rione Ponte. It stands on Via Vecchiarelli, just south of the Lungotevere Tor di Nona and north of via dei Coronari. Within Rom ...

. He participated in the first papal conclave of 1590 that elected

Pope Urban VII Pope Urban VII ( la, Urbanus VII; it, Urbano VII; 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of the Catholic Church, and ruler of the Papal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His thirteen-day papacy was th ...

; in the second papal conclave of 1590 that elected

Pope Gregory XIV Pope Gregory XIV ( la, Gregorius XIV; it, Gregorio XIV; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death in October ...

; in the papal conclave of 1591 that elected Pope Innocent IX; and in the papal conclave of 1592 that elected

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

. He died in Rome on 2 June 1598. He is buried in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancelotti, Scipione 1519 births 1598 deaths Cardinals created by Pope Gregory XIII 16th-century Italian cardinals Clergy from Rome