200px, ''Portrait of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo, Portrait of Cristoforo Madruzzo'' by
Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
(1552).
Museu de Arte de São Paulo,
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
.
Cristoforo Madruzzo () (5 July 1512 – 5 July 1578)
[Encyclopedia.com website, Madruzzo family profile]
/ref> was an Italian Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
and statesman. His brother Eriprando was a mercenary captain who fought in the Italian Wars
The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...
.
Biography
Madruzzo was born on 5 July 1512 at Calavino, into a noble family in Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
. He studied at Padua
Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
and Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, received in 1529 from his older brother a canonicate at Trento and the parish of Tirol near Meran, was in 1536 a Canon of Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
, in 1537 of Brixen
Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano.
Geography
Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...
, and in 1539 became Prince-Bishop of Trento. Being only a subdeacon
Subdeacon is a minor orders, minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence.
Subdeacons in ...
at the time, he was promoted to the deacon
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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...
ship, priesthood and episcopate in 1542.
In December 1542, he was appointed administrator of the Bishopric of Brixen, and shortly afterwards, during the same year, he was raised to the dignity of a cardinal by Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549.
He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...
. Having resigned his bishopric at Trento in 1567 in favour of his nephew Ludovico, he spent the latter years of his life in Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and became Cardinal Bishop
A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...
successively of Sabina, Palestrina, and Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
. A few years after his death, his remains were entombed in the family chapel, in the church of Sant'Onofrio, Rome.
Charles V and his brother, King Ferdinand I, afterwards emperor, esteemed him very highly and employed him in many important and delicate missions. He took an active part in the imperial Diet of Ratisbon as representative of the emperor, and upheld strenuously the Catholic teaching against the heresy of Martin Luther
Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
.
Madruzzo was also governor of Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
for 20 months.British Museum website, profile page
/ref>
In addition to his two sees he received in 1546, by the favour of Charles V, a yearly allowance of 2,000 ducats from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in 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 ...
.
He died in Tivoli, Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, on 5 July 1578, his 66th birthday
A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.
Many religion ...
.
Council of Trent
As cardinal, Bishop of Trent, and temporal ruler of that principality, he played a prominent part in the Council of Trent
The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...
. Among other things he insisted that the reform of the Church should be taken up in earnest, a matter much desired by Charles V, and by which it was hoped to win the Protestants back to the Church. It was largely due to his efforts that this subject was discussed and enactments of that character were passed in each session together with decisions on doctrinal matters. During the Council, he opposed Cardinal Pacheco and others who wanted to ban all vernacular translations of the Bible. He was also intent upon promoting a truly religious and Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
life among both the people and the ecclesiastics under his jurisdiction. He was himself cultured and learned, and patronized the liberal arts and learning.
See also
*Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo
Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo (5 November 1599 – 15 December 1658) was the Prince-Bishopric of Trent, prince-bishop of Trento in northern Italy from January 1629 until his death.
Biography
Charles-Emmanuel de Madruce was born at the Castle of Iss ...
*Carlo Gaudenzio Madruzzo
Carlo Gaudenzio Madruzzo (1562 – 14 August 1629) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and statesman.
Biography
Born in the castle of Issognel, Aosta Valley, he was the son of Baron Giovanni Federico Madruzzo and Isabelle of Challant, and ne ...
References
Sources
Catholic Encyclopedia
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madruzzo, Cristoforo
1512 births
1578 deaths
People from Trentino
Cristoforo
Prince-bishops of Trent
Bishops of Brixen
16th-century Italian cardinals
Cardinal-bishops of Albano
Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina
Cardinal-bishops of Porto
Cardinal-bishops of Sabina
16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops
Participants in the Council of Trent