Gabriele Sforza (born ''Carlo Sforza''; 1423–1457), was a member of the

Augustinian Order Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

who served as

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 l ...

from 1445 to his death in 1457.

Family

His father was Giacomo

Muzio Attendolo Muzio Attendolo Sforza (28 May 1369 – 4 January 1424), was an Italian ''condottiero''. Founder of the Sforza dynasty, he led a Bolognese-Florentine army at the Battle of Casalecchio. He was the father of Francesco Sforza, who ruled Milan f ...

, who had three marriages and sixteen children: one child with his first wife Antonia Salimbeni, three children with his second wife Caterina Alopo; two children (including Carlo) with his third wife Maria Marzani countess of Celano; and ten children with his mistresses Tamira di

Cagli Cagli is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy. It c. south of Urbino. The Burano flows near the town. History Cagli occupies the site of an ancient village on the Via Flaminia, which seems to have bo ...

and Lucia Terzani da

Marsciano Marsciano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 25 km south of Perugia. Marsciano borders the following municipalities: Collazzone, Deruta, Fratta Todina, Perugia, Piegaro, S ...

. Muzio Attendolo earned the nickname

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last mem ...

("Strong") on the battlefield, which became the family surname under his son

Francesco I Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L' ...

, who was the Duke of Milan from 1450 to 1466. Francesco I Sforza had as sibling Carlo, who took the religious name of ''Gabriele''.

Biography

Carlo, born on 15 June 1423, spent the early part of his life serving in the military, but soon grew tired of the secular life. He preferred studying the scriptures to fighting on the battlefield. On 18 January 1442 he entered the Augustinian Monastery of San Salvatore di Selva di Lago located outside

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. He received the sacrament of Holy orders under Girolamo Buonsignori, the Prior of the Monastery, and took the name Gabriele di Cotignola or Gabriele Sforza as he is now known. At the Monastery he dedicated himself to his studies and wrote various religious epistles, orations, moral treatises, essays on the

gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and four books on

Scholastic Theology Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...

. His achievements did not go unnoticed, and he was soon appointed to serve as a religious teacher at the Monastery. His brother Francesco later obtained for him by

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV, Po ...

the appointment, on 20 June 1545, as Archbishop of Milan. Gabriele accepted unwillingly, and was consecrated bishop in the church of Santa Maria Incoronata on 28 July 1454 by Giovanni Castiglione bishop of Pavia. In 1456 the Archbishop began paying pastoral visits to the parishes of the

Archdiocese 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 l ...

. In order to respond to the needs of his people, he urged his brother Francesco to build the

Ospedale Maggiore The Policlinico of Milan ( it, Policlinico di Milano) also known as Ospedale Maggiore di Milano or Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, is one of the oldest hospitals in Italy, founded by Duke Francesco Sforza in 1456. Today it is a modern ...

, one of the first community hospitals in Europe. Gabriele Sforza died on 12 September 1457 in Milan and was buried in the church of

Santa Maria Incoronata, Milan Santa Maria Incoronata is a church in Milan, Italy, completed in 1460. Artworks in the interior include a painting by Bergognone, ''Christ under the Grill''; the tomb of Giovanni Bossi, attributed to Agostino Busti, Bambaia; a Baroque fresco cycl ...

, which his brother had commissioned. His funerary monument was created by

Francesco Solari 240px, ''Madonna with Child'', church of Sant'Angelo, Milan. Francesco Solari (c. 1415 – 1469) was an Italian sculptor, architect and engineer. He was born in Milan, the son of Giovanni Solari and the brother of Guiniforte Solari. Aroun ...

. Because of his dedication to faith, Gabriele Sforza was sometime later considered as

blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

, even if he had no liturgical memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sforza, Gabriele 1423 births 1457 deaths Augustinian friars Archbishops of Milan 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops