Filippo Maria Visconti (1721–1801) was the

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

from 1784 to 1801.

Early life

Filippo Maria Visconti was born on 19 August 1721 in

Massino Visconti Massino Visconti (usually called simply Massino) is a municipality in the Province of Novara, in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Novara. Massino Visconti is bordered by the municipalities of Ar ...

, a village near

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest l ...

which was the original land tenure of the

House of Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

, a main noble family of the Duchy of Milan and to which Filippo Maria belonged. Filippo Maria earned 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 ''li ...

in Theology, and was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on 31 May 1749. He served as diocesan priest in Milan, first as

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and later as canon of the major chapter of the

Cathedral of Milan Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombar ...

, of which in 1783 he was elected provost. In force of this office he temporarily administered the diocese of Milan after the death of the Archbishop

Giuseppe Pozzobonelli Giuseppe II Pozzobonelli (or ''Puteobonellus'', 1696–1783) was an Italian Cardinal and the Archbishop of Milan from 1743 to 1783. Early life Giuseppe Pozzobonelli was born on 11 August 1696 in Milan, which at the time was part of Duchy of Mila ...

in April 1783.

Archbishop of Milan

The Duchy of Milan was part of the

Habsburg lands The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

which since 1780 were governed by

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

. Joseph II, himself a man of

the Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

, planned and undertook vigorous and unpopular reforms of the Church in order to make the

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 ...

in his empire the tool of the state, independent of the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. Accordingly, at the death of Archbishop Giuseppe Pozzobonelli, Joseph II decided to break with the century-old tradition and to choose directly the new archbishop. On 1 September 1783 he appointed as new

the temporary administrator of the diocese, Filippo Maria Visconti. The pope initially rejected such dictation, but unable to assert his authority, on 25 June 1784 formally appointed Visconti. Visconti was consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

on 27 June 1784 in Rome by the hands of Cardinal Antonio Eugenio Visconti, and when in Milan he swore allegiance to Joseph II. Filippo Maria Visconti was never created Cardinal. Visconti, who was of pleaser and feeble nature, was not able to oppose to the commands of the religious reforms of Joseph II: in particular he accepted the expropriation of the

Valsolda Valsolda is a ''comune'' (municipality) of about 1,400 inhabitants in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy on the border with Switzerland. It is located about north of Milan, about north of Como and east of Lugano. Valsolda (''Va ...

's tenure and of the

Collegio Elvetico The Palazzo del Senato is a Baroque palace in central Milan. It now serves as the Archive of the State (Archivio di Stato), and is located at 10 Via Senato. Construction of the palace was begun in 1608 by cardinal Federico Borromeo, who wished t ...

which belonged to the Diocese of Milan, the closing of the historical

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

founded by Saint

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

with the opening of a single seminary in

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

under the control of the government and near to

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

positions, the reduction of the parishes (25 December 1787) of the

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and of the

confraternities A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most ...

, the new law on the marriages which moved them under the State's law and the broad reduction of jurisdiction of the ecclesiastic tribunals. With the death of Joseph II in 1790 the situation of the Church in Milan slowly improved, the seminaries were re-established, and Visconti re-published the Ambrosian Missal and issue a new text of Christian Doctrine. In 1793 he ordered to the clergy to sell even valuable religious objects in order to support the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. However Napoleon defeated the

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

and on 15 May 1796 entered in Milan, founding the

Transpadane Republic The Transpadane Republic ( it, Repubblica Transpadana) was a revolutionary, provisional and internationally unrecognized government established in Milan by General Napoleon Bonaparte. History On 10 May 1796, the French army defeated the Austria ...

and commandeering ecclesiastic properties. The population reacted with riots, particularly in

Binasco Binasco ( lmo, Binasch ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,236 and an area of .All demographics and other s ...

and Pavia, and Visconti, to please the new ruler, tried to calm the turmoils and ordered prayers in all churches in favour of the army of the French First Republic. However the situation of the Milanese church got worse and worse due to the open

anticlerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

orderings of the just created

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organiz ...

, such as the exclusion of the bishop from the appointments of the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

s, the prohibition of processions in the streets, the covering of religious images on the wall of the houses, the disband of most chapters and of many religious orders. A brief break occurred between 1799 and 1800 when the Austrians returned in Milan for a few months: Visconti openly rejoiced for the change of rulers who revoked some of the anticlerical measures. However Napoleon re-entered in Milan on 2 June 1800 and Visconti escaped temporally to

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 ...

. Returned in Milan in November 1800, he made himself available to the Cisalpine Republic, which restored its repressive rules against the Church and against the religious sentiment of the population. In November 1801 Visconti was invited by Tayllerand in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

to participate to the founding of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. On 30 December 1801 Filippo Maria Visconti died there while sitting to a formal banquet, and his remains were translated to Milan and buried in the North nave of the Cathedral of Milan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti, Filippo Maria 1721 births 1801 deaths 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Archbishops of Milan Burials at Milan Cathedral Filippo Maria (archbishop)