Lorenzo Raggi (1615 – 14 January 1687) was an

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Early life

Raggi was born in 1615 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. He was the nephew of Cardinal Ottaviano Raggi; elevated in 1641 by

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

. He was educated 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, ...

and received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. On 16 December 1641, the day his uncle became a cardinal, Raggi was appointed a cleric of the

Apostolic Chamber The Apostolic Camera (), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the States of the Church and in ...

. He later became that body's treasurer-general. He was appointed

Commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

of the papal troops during the

Wars of Castro The Wars of Castro were a series of conflicts during the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro (located in present-day Lazio, Italy), which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict ...

and

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-General of the galleys of the Papal State.''Lorenzo Raggi''
by S. Miranda (

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

, last updated May 2012) At times when Cardinal Fausto Poli was not in Rome, Raggi acted at

Majordomo A majordomo () is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a larg ...

of the papal household. Some historians have suggested that Urban intended to elevate Raggi to the cardinalate but was unable to prior to his illness and subsequent death in 1644. In 1646, as treasurer of the Apostolic Chamber, Raggi ushered-in major changes to the way fees were calculated and collected, reforming processes that had been the subject of concern during Urban's reign and increasing accountability.''Brokers of Public Trust: Notaries in Early Modern Rome''
by Laurie Nussdorfer (

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, 2009)

Cardinalate

Raggi was finally elevated to cardinal by

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent 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 January 1655. Born in Rome of a family fro ...

on 7 October 1647 and was appointed cardinal-deacon of S. Maria in Domnica in December of that year. He acted temporarily as

Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church The camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regu ...

in 1650 during the absence of Cardinal

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts a ...

. In 1653, he was appointed cardinal-deacon of

Sant'Angelo in Pescheria Sant'Angelo in Pescheria or in Piscaria is a churches of Rome, church in Rome. Dating from the 8th century, it is now used as the conventual church of the General Curia of the Clerics Regular Minor, the orders global headquarters. "In Pescheria" r ...

. At the death of Innocent X in 1655, Raggi participated in the papal conclave that elected

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

. Raggi became cardinal-deacon of

Sant'Eustachio Sant'Eustachio () is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, named for the martyr Saint Eustace. It is located on Via di Sant'Eustachio in the Sant'Eustachio (rione of Rome), rione Sant'Eustachio, a block west of the Pantheo ...

in 1660 and then cardinal-priest of Santi Quirico e Giulietta in 1664. In that same year he was appointed Cardinal-protector of Sicily, a position he held until his death. He took part in the papal conclave of 1667 which elected

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX (; ; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Ro ...

, the conclave of 1669-70 which elected

Pope Clement X Pope Clement X (; ; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death on 22 July 1676. Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, born in Rome in ...

the conclave of 1676 which elected

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

. He became cardinal-priest of

San Lorenzo in Damaso The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damaso (Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Damaso) or simply San Lorenzo in Damaso is a parish and titular church in central Rome, Italy that is dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. It is incorporate ...

1679.

Bishopric

Twice he was offered archbishoprics by King Felipe IV of Spain, first

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

and

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, but refused both. Instead he served as

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. Eventually he opted for a suburbicarian see and became

Bishop of Palestrina The Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina () is a Latin suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. The current bishop of Palestrina is Mauro Parmeggiani, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 19 February 2019. Prior to h ...

in January 1680 and was consecrated only days later on 14 January by Cardinal

Alderano Cybo Alderano Cybo (sometimes Alderano Cibo or Alderano Cybo-Malaspina; 16 July 1613 – 22 July 1700) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal. He served as the Secretary of State of Pope Innocent XI. Early life Cybo was born 16 July 1613 in Genoa, the fif ...

. Raggi died exactly 7 years later on 14 January 1687 in

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

and was buried in the

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is a basilica church in Ravenna, Italy. It was erected by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel during the first quarter of the 6th century (as attested to in the ''Liber Pontificalis ...

in that city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raggi, Lorenzo 1687 deaths 17th-century Italian cardinals 1615 births Clergy from Genoa