Girolamo Maria Gotti, O.C.D. (29 March 1834 – 19 March 1916), sometimes erroneously called Giuseppe Gotti, was a

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

of the

Discalced Carmelite Order The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

, who served in various offices of the Holy See as a 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 ...

Biography

Gotti was born Antonio Giovanni Benedetto Gotti in Genoa, then part of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, the second of the five children of Filippo Gotti, a dock worker originally from Bergamo, and Caterina Schiappacassea. He was sent to study at the Jesuit academy in Genoa, after which he entered the novitiate of the Order of

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

Loano Loano ( lij, Leua) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Loano borders the following municipalities: Bardineto, Boissano, Borgh ...

in 1849. On 10 November 1850, he received the religious habit and the religious name of Girolamo Maria dell'Immacolata Concezione (Jerome Mary of the Immaculate Conception). After his

religious profession In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels. Usage The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the te ...

as a member of the Order on 12 November 1851, he began his studies for the priesthood, which he completed in 1856, being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest on 20 December 1856. In the following decades Gotti was a professor of philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in the local monastery. He also taught mathematics at the local naval academy during this period. He was already regarded as a tireless student and scholar, as well as an ascetic who, despite the influence he was having, would always sleep on the floor. At the First Vatican Council in 1870, Gotti served as a ''

peritus ''Peritus'' (Latin for "expert") is the title given to Roman Catholic theologians attending an ecumenical council to give advice. At the Second Vatican Council, some ''periti'' (the plural form) accompanied individual bishops or groups of bisho ...

'' (theological advisor) to the Prior General of the Discalced Carmelite Order. By 1881 he had become Prior General himself, a position he retained until 1897. He became a counselor to several curial congregations in Rome during the 1880s and was also Apostolic Examiner of the Roman Clergy during this decade. He was selected for various special missions to

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, which he fulfilled with success, especially in Brazil. In 1892 Gotti became

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Petra and

Internuncio 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 o ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. At the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of 29 November 1895 he was elevated to cardinal by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

, being assigned as his

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

the Church of

Santa Maria della Scala Santa Maria della Scala (English: Mary of the Staircase) is a titular church in Rome, Italy, located in the Trastevere rione. Cardinal Ernest Simoni took possession of the titular church on 11 February 2017. Santa Maria della Scala is a titular ...

, in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, which is attached to the General

Motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow memb ...

of the Order. Gotti became Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops (then known as the Congregation for Bishops and Regulars) in 1896, but was transferred to the ''Propaganda Fide'' - where most of his curial experience had been concentrated - in July 1902. Gotti was often mentioned as a likely successor to Leo XIII even though he was seen as a very different man, much more deeply pious and ascetic. Gotti was '' papabile'' at the

1903 papal conclave The 1903 papal conclave followed the death of Pope Leo XIII after a reign of 25 years. Some 62 cardinals participated in the balloting. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria asserted the right claimed by certain Catholic rulers to veto a candidate for t ...

, when he was generally believed to be the most likely opponent of Pope Leo's Cardinal Secretary of State

Mariano Rampolla Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro (17 August 1843 – 16 December 1913) was an Italian Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, and the last man to have his candidacy for papal election vetoed through ''jus exclusivae'' by a Catholic monarch. Early li ...

, and some, noting opposition to Rampolla just before Pope Leo's death, had said Gotti was likely to win. Gotti was Rampolla's main challenger in the first four ballots. When it became clear Rampolla had too many opponents to be able to gain the necessary 42 votes for election, his supporters turned to Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto, and after seven ballots Sarto was elected as Pope Pius X. Gotti is the only Carmelite cardinal to have been a serious candidate for the papacy since the Order was founded in the 13th century. Under Pope Pius, Gotti continued as Prefect of the ''Propaganda Fide'' until his death in 1916. He participated in the 1914 conclave, though his age prevented him from being considered for a candidate. Gotti died on 29 March 1916 as a result of

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, t ...

. His remains were buried in the chapel of the Discalced Carmelite Order in the

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...

Cemetery of Rome. On 21 March 1966, his remains were transferred to the Chapel of San Giovanni Battista in the Church of Santa Maria della Scala.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotti, Girolamo Maria 1834 births 1916 deaths Clergy from Genoa Discalced Carmelites Participants in the First Vatican Council 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to Brazil Discalced Carmelite bishops 20th-century Italian cardinals Carmelite cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life Deaths from anemia Burials at Campo Verano 19th-century Italian cardinals