Alessandro Cesarini (died 13 February 1542), bishop of
Pistoia, was an
Italian cardinal of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Life
Born in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, the son of Agabito Cesarini, he became close to the
Medici family, particularly Cardinal Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, the future
Pope Leo X. He was made cardinal deacon on 1 July 1517 and received the deaconry of
Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, opting for the deaconry of
Santa Maria in Via Lata in 1523. He became known for his patronage of writers and artists.
He served as
apostolic administrator
An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
of
Pamplona
Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain.
Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
from 1520 to 1538; that of
Alessano, Italy from 1526 to 1531; that of
Otranto
Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
...
, Italy from 1526 to 1536; that of
Gerace, Italy from 1536 to 1538; that of
Catanzaro, Italy briefly in 1536; that of
Oppido Mamertina, Italy from 1536 to 1538 (resigning in favor of his natural son, Ascanio Cesarini, who succeeded him in that see from 1538 to 1542); that of Jaën from 6 July 1537 to 14 June 1538; and that of
Cuenca, Spain from 1538 to his death.
In the
sack of Rome by mutinous troops of
Charles V in 1527, he was one of the cardinals held hostage.
He participated in the
conclave of
1521–1522, which elected
Adrian VI; of
1523, which elected
Clement VII; and of
1534, which elected
Paul III.
He became cardinal bishop and chose the
suburbicarian see of
Albano, Italy in 1540.
He was appointed bishop of
Palestrina, Italy in 1541, in which office he died on 13 February 1542 in Rome. He was buried in his family’s tomb in the church of
Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome.
“Alessandro Cardinal Cesarini (Sr.),” catholic-hierarchy.org
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cesarini, Alessandro
16th-century Italian cardinals
1542 deaths
Year of birth unknown
16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops
Clergy from Rome