Zacharias Ferreri or Ferrari (1479–1524) was an Italian monk and

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 ...

, Latin poet and ecclesiastical writer.

Biography

Ferreri was born in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

to a noble family. As a student in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, he became a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk at the Abbey of

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. However, at the age of 25 he left the monastery and moved to

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 ...

. He finished his education receiving master's degrees in law and theology. He served

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 ...

but soon joined ranks of his opponents and attended the

Conciliabulum of Pisa The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II to ...

in 1511. For these activities he was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

in 1513. He made peace with the new

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

and was tasked with preparing a new, shorter and more convenient, edition of the

breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such a ...

. In 1518 he became titular Bishop of Sebaste in Cilicia and was nominated to become

Bishop of Guardialfiera :: The Diocese of Guardialfiera (Latin ''Dioecesis Guardiensis Alpheriae'') or Diocese of Guardia was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy. The diocese was established in the second half of the 11th century, with seat of the diocese was located in t ...

. ''(in Latin)'' ''(in Latin)'' He renounced the nomination two months later, but kept the title and rights. In 1520–21 he was sent as a papal legate to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

and

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

. In Poland he mediated a truce in the

Polish–Teutonic War (1519–21) Polish–Teutonic War may refer to: *Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk) (1308–1309) *Polish–Teutonic War (1326–1332) over Pomerelia, concluded by the Treaty of Kalisz (1343) *the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War or ''Great War'' (1409 ...

and campaigned against the spread of

Lutheranism 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 ...

. In Lithuania he investigated evidence for the canonization of

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon ( la, Casimirus; lt, Kazimieras; pl, Kazimierz; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes ...

. His planned journey to the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

was cancelled. In 1521, he returned to Rome and continued working on the breviary. After the death of

on 1 December 1521, he claimed his rights as

then occupied by

Valentinus de Valentiuis Valentinus de Valentiuis was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Guardialfiera (1519–?). ''(in Latin)'' Biography On 2 December 1519, Valentinus de Valentiuis was appointed during the papacy of Pope Julius II as Bishop of Guardialf ...

. His breviary was published after his death in 1524.

Bibliography

*''Apologia sacri Pisani consilii'' (1511; regarding the

) *''Lugdunense somnium, Lugdunense somnium somnium Lugdunense somnium de Leonis X ad summum pontificatum divina promotione'' (panegyric poem for

) *''Vita Beati Casimiri Confessoris'' (1521; regarding canonization of

) *''Hymni novi ecclesiastici'' (1525; revised breviary)

References

External links

* 1479 births 1524 deaths Italian poets 16th-century Italian poets 16th-century male writers Italian Benedictines Bishops appointed by Pope Leo X Italian Roman Catholic titular bishops People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church {{Italy-reli-bio-stub