Girolamo Grimaldi-Cavalleroni (20 August 1597– 4 November 1685) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

cardinal of the

Roman 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 ...

and

Archbishop of Aix The Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Aquensis in Gallia et Arelatensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Aix-en-Provence et Arles''; Occitan Provençal: ''Archidiocèsi de Ais de Provença e Arle'' or ''Archidioucès ...

Early life

Grimaldi was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, the son of Giacomo Grimaldi, a senator of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

, and his wife Girolama di Agostino de' Mari. As a young man he enlisted as a soldier and fought for the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

.''Pope Alexander the Seventh and the College of Cardinals'' by John Bargrave, edited by James Craigie Robertson (reprint; 2009)

Ecclesiastic career

Thereafter, he went 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 ...

to be educated and entered the Church probably under the patronage of his uncle Domenico Grimaldi,

Archbishop of Avignon The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Avignon ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Avenionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Avignon'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the t ...

. In 1621 he was appointed Vice-legate of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

and in 1626, on the death of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, he became governor of the province. He returned to Rome and Pope Urban VIII appointed him Governor of Rome from 26 April 1628 until March 1632. According to contemporary, John Bargrave, he conducted himself well as governor and was very popular with the people of Rome. He then became Papal Nuncio extraordinary to the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

of Ferdinand II of Austria. In 1634 he was appointed governor of the city of

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

, and then governor of the duchy of

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 ...

. Aged 43 in 1641 he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Seleucia in Isauria that same year he was appointed

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

to France.

Cardinalate

In 1643 he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Urban VIII and when Urban died the following year, Grimaldi participated in the papal conclave of 1644 that elected

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...

. In 1648 he was named

- a position he held until his death. His political scheming to achieve his meteoric rise has led to him being referred to as an alter ego of

Cardinal Mazarin Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...

.Trois abbés commendataires Ironically, while never achieving the political power and fame of Mazarin, Grimaldi had been Mazarin's principal consecrator. There is no doubt that he was very much a part of the French faction of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

- he was named co-protector of France in Rome by the King of France (to fill-in while Antonio Barberini was temporarily absent), spoke highly of the

Barberini The House of Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban palace ...

during their exile (much to the chagrin of Pope Innocent who refused him audiences as a result) and his extended family were considered to be under the protection of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

. Grimaldi is considered today to have been a strong protector of the interests of France, and to have dealt well the running of the archdiocese. In the summer of 1649 he dealt strongly with an insurrection between two groups of monks, having the protesters driven from the monasteries without waiting for the permission of the Pope to arrive from Rome. Grimaldi was also a patron of the writer Jean Cabassut the French theologian and priest who accompanied him to Rome, and it was Grimaldi who encouraged Cabassut to enlarge his work "''Notitia Conciliorum''" and publish it under the title "''Notitia ecclesiastica historiarum, conciliorum et canonum invicem collatorum''" in 1680.Jean Cabassu During his incumbency of the archbishopric over a twenty-year period he built an episcopal palace at vast expense in the town of Puyricard, which is today known as the Château Grimaldi. Cardinal Grimaldi-Cavalleroni died in Aix at age of 88. He is buried in the metropolitan cathedral of Aix.

References

Trois abbés commendataires
retrieved 3 February 2007

retrieved 3 February 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimaldi-Cavalleroni, Girolamo 1597 births 1685 deaths 17th-century Genoese people 17th-century Italian cardinals Italian emigrants to France Cardinal-bishops of Albano Girolamo Archbishops of Aix Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII Apostolic Nuncios to France