Francisco de Borja y Navarro de Alpicat (1441 – 4 November 1511) was a Spanish

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, and the seventh of ten

cardinal-nephew A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...

s created by

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

Biography

Borja was born in 1441 in

Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...

Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, from the Aragonese family of ''Ça Borja'' established in Valencia since 1239 by land granted by the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

crown, He became a canon in the cathedral chapter of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. After the election of Rodrigo Borja as Alexander VI, Francisco 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 ...

, becoming a

protonotary apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

, and then the treasurer general on 20 September 1493. He was elected

bishop of Teano The Diocese of Teano (Latin: ''Dioecesis Theanensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, located in the city of Teano in the province of Caserta in Campania, Italy. In 1818, it was united the Diocese of Calvi Risorta to form the Diocese of C ...

on 19 August 1495 and retained the see until 5 June 1508, when he resigned in favor of his nephew of the same name. There is no evidence he was ever consecrated. Alexander VI elevated Francisco as a cardinal priest on 28 September 1500, ''

in pectore ''In pectore'' (Latin for "in the breast/heart") is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals wit ...

'' and published his cardinalate on 2 October, adding the title of S. Cecilia on 5 October. He later accumulated a variety of additional

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s: first as

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

'' commendatario'' of the monasteries of

San Vincenzo al Volturno San Vincenzo al Volturno is a historic Benedictine monastery located in the territories of the Comunes of Castel San Vincenzo and Rocchetta a Volturno, in the Province of Isernia, near the source of the river Volturno in Italy. The current monaste ...

and of S. Stefano di Sermo, then the diocese of Terracina on 19 August 1495 and then the metropolitan see of Cosenza on 6 November 1499. He was made

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

Campagna Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the ...

in 1501, and left Rome on 22 June to retake

Rocca di Papa Rocca di Papa (Roman Castles Romanesco dialect, Romanesco: ) is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani about southeast of Rome on the Alban ...

and other estates of the

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politica ...

for the papacy. In 1502, he followed

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

for her marriage to Alfonso d'Este, and became tutor to Alexander VI's youngest son,

Giovanni Borgia (Infans Romanus) Giovanni Borgia (March 1498 – 1548), known as the ''Infans Romanus'' ("the Roman child"), was born into the House of Borgia in secret and is of unclear parentage. Speculations of the child's parentage involve either Lucrezia Borgia with he ...

. From January 1503 to 1504, Borja held the title of

Camerlengo Camerlengo (plural: ''camerlenghi'', Italian for "chamberlain") is an Italian title of medieval origin. It derives from the late Latin ''camarlingus'', in turn coming through the Frankish ''kamerling'', from the Latin ''camerarius'' which meant "ch ...

, and during that time, on March 10, he attempted to recover some debts owed to 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 appoi ...

. He participated in the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

s of

September September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...

and October 1503, before gaining the title of

Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo Santi Nereo ed Achilleo is a fourth-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, located in via delle Terme di Caracalla in the rione Celio facing the main entrance to the Baths of Caracalla. It has been the titular church of Cardinal Celestino Aós ...

on 11 August 1506. Along with other cardinals, Borja plotted against

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...

, and from Ferrara published in opposition to the pontiff. His signature is also affixed to the document dated 16 March 1511, which attempted to bring the pope to a council in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

; Borja delegated his authority ''in absentia'' to the five other cardinals who attended the council. As a result, Borja was deprived of his cardinalate and

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by Julius II on 24 October 1511. The other councilars—Cardinals

Federico di Sanseverino Federico di Sanseverino (died 1516) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal of the 16th century. Biography Federico di Sanseverino was born in Naples in 1475 or 1477. He was the son of Roberto Sanseverino d'Aragona, a general of the papal army, ...

Bernardino López de Carvajal Bernardino López de Carvajal (8 September 1456, in Plasencia, Extremadura – 16 December 1523, in Rome) was a Spanish Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal. He was a nephew of Juan Carvajal (cardinal), Cardinal Juan Carvajal, and advanced rapidly ...

, Guillaume Briçonnet,

René de Prie René de Prie (1451–1519) was a French people, French Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal. Biography René de Prie was born in Touraine in 1451, the son of Antoine de Prie, baron ...

, and

Amanieu d'Albret Amanieu d'Albret (1478 – 1520) (called the Cardinal d'Albret) was a French Roman Catholic cardinal. Biography Amanieu d'Albret was born in the Kingdom of France ca. 1478, the son of Alain I of Albret Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), called ...

(another cardinal-nephew of Alexander VI)—were also excommunicated, but unlike Borja they lived long enough to be pardoned and have their cardinalates reinstated in 1513 by

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

. Before death, Borja was briefly '' protoprete'' from January 1511, dying on 4 November 1511 in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

(where he is buried) before having had the opportunity to learn of his excommunication.

Popular culture

Francisco appears in the 2010 video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and is killed in August 1503 by the game's protagonist

Ezio Auditore Da Firenze Ezio Auditore da Firenze () is a fictional character in the video game series ''Assassin's Creed'', an Italian master assassin who serves as the protagonist of the series' games set during the Italian Renaissance. His life and career as an assas ...

inside

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

Biography

Popular culture

See also

References

Further reading