Gian Francesco Albani (26 February 1720 – 15 September 1803) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Cardinal. He was a member of the

Albani family The Albani were an aristocratic Roman family from the 16th to the 19th century. They were of Albanian origin and moved from northern Albania to Italy in the late 15th century. The Albani produced many high ranking figures of the Catholic Church ...

. Albani 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 ...

, the son of Carlo Albani, Duke of Soriano; his grand-uncle was Pope Clement XI (Gianfrancesco Albani). Furthermore, two of his uncles

Annibale Albani Annibale Albani (15 August 1682 – 21 September 1751) was an Italian Cardinal. Biography Annibale Albani was born in Urbino as a member of the Albani family, of Albanian-Italian origin. His parents were Orazio Albani, brother of Pope Clement XI ...

and

Alessandro Albani Alessandro Albani (15 October 1692 – 11 December 1779) was a Roman Catholic cardinal, but should be best remembered as a leading collector of antiquities, dealer and art patron in Rome. He supported the art historian, Johann Joachim Winckelmann ...

were cardinals, and was himself uncle of cardinal

Giuseppe Albani Giuseppe (Andrea) Albani (13 September 1750 – 3 December 1834) was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal. He played an important role in the elections of Leo XII, Pius VIII and Gregory XVI. Biography Albani was born in Rome into a noble fam ...

(with whom he was, for two years, concurrently cardinal). In October 1740 he was made Protonotary apostolic, quickly followed by being made the vicar of the patriarchal Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in March 1742. Later in the same year, in November, he was made president of the Papal chamber; and also cleric of the Apostolic Chamber less than a year later (September 1743). He further became relator of the S. C. of Indulgences and Sacred Relics in 1743. On 10 April 1747 he was made

cardinal deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Co ...

and was given the deaconry of San Cesareo in Palatio on 15 May. He went on to receive the subdiaconate (November 1747) and the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

(31 March 1748). He acted as Cardinal Protector of 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 exi ...

in the Roman Curia. In 1758 he participated in the Papal conclave. He went on to the presbyteral order on 12 February 1759 with the ''titulus'' of S. Clemente; and the episcopal order on 21 July 1760 as bishop of the

suburbicarian see The seven suburbicarian dioceses are Roman Catholic dioceses located in the vicinity of Rome, whose (titular) bishops are the (now six) ordinary members of the highest-ranking order of cardinals, the cardinal bishops (to which the cardinal-patriarch ...

Sabina Sabina may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Sabina (region), region and place in Italy, and hence: * the now Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina (-Poggio Mirteto), Italy * Magliano Sabina, city, Italy * Pozzaglia Sabina, city, Italy *Fara Sab ...

. He further opted for the see of Porto e Santa Rufina on 17 March 1773 and having become

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 ...

, received in addition Ostia and opted for

Velletri Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring comm ...

on 18 December 1775. He further participated in the Papal conclaves of 1769, 1774–1775, and 1799–1800. He was also made archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica and Prefect of the S. C. ceremonial. His political orientation appeared to be pro-Austrian, anti-French and, with the French invasion of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

in 1798 he absconded to Naples, before moving to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

where the Papal conclave of 1800 took place. He died in Rome on the 15 September 1803—his funeral was held in the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome and was buried in the patriarchal Liberian basilica.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Albani, Gian Francesco Albani, Alessandro Albani, Alessandro Gian Francesco Albani, Alessandro Albani, Alessandro Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Cardinal-bishops of Porto Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Apostolic pronotaries Deans of the College of Cardinals Apostolic Camera 19th-century Italian cardinals 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops