Sebastiano Antonio Tanara (10 April 1650 – 5 May 1724) was an Italian

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, t ...

. He studied law at the university of

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 na ...

. He was internuncio in Flanders (1675-1687) and as, such, he was sent with secret mission to king

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

, who had converted to

Catholicism 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 ...

. In 1687 he was consecrated titular archbishop of Damasco"Damascus (Titular See)"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. retrieved March 24, 2016"Titular Metropolitan See of Damascus"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved March 24, 2016 and then served as papal nuncio in Cologne (1687–90), Portugal (1690–92) and Austria (1692–96).

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

created him Cardinal Priest in December 1695 and assigned to him the title of SS. IV Coronati on 21 May 1696. He participated in the

Papal conclave, 1700 The 1700 papal conclave was convened following the death of Pope Innocent XII. It ended in the election of Cardinal Giovanni Albani as Pope Clement XI. The conclave saw a rise in the dominance of the '' zelanti'' faction College of Cardinals. It ...

. New

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

named him Prefect of the S.C. of the Ecclesiestical Immunities. He was also legate in

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

for twelve years (1703–15). Bishop of the suburbicarian sees of

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated wit ...

(1 April 1715) and

Ostia e Velletri The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since ...

(3 March 1721).

Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establi ...

1721-24; as such, he presided over Papal conclave, 1721. He died during

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

after the death of Pope Innocent XIII. He was the uncle and mentor of the Alessandro Tanara (1680-1754), who was elevated to the cardinalate in 1743.

References

Biographical entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanara, Sebastiano Antonio 18th-century Italian cardinals 1650 births 1724 deaths Deans of the College of Cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Apostolic Nuncios to Cologne Apostolic Nuncios to Portugal Apostolic Nuncios to Austria