Niccolò Albergati (1373 – 9 May 1443) was an Italian

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

and a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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 ...

. He was appointed

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 served as a papal diplomat to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(1422–23) in addition to serving as the

bishop of Bologna The Archdiocese of Bologna (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Italy. The cathedra is in the cathedral church of San Pietro, Bologna. The current archbishop is Cardinal Matteo Zu ...

from 1417 until his death. He accepted the position as bishop in obedience despite his extreme reluctance to accept the position but carried out his duties with care and attention to educational concerns. But two conflicts in his see caused him to depart and later return and he became known for being close to

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

and his successor

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

. Both men held Albergati in high esteem and nominated him to crucial positions within the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

and the diplomatic service to oversee important missions. He had prominent roles in the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence and also attended the

Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...

. His student

Tommaso Parentucelli Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 after ...

later became pontiff and assumed the

papal name A papal name or pontifical name is the regnal name taken by a pope. Both the head of the Catholic Church, usually known as the pope, and the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic pope) choose papal names. , Leo XIV is the C ...

"Nicholas" in honor of his mentor and patron. His other noted student Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini also became pope sometime after Parentucelli. His beatification received confirmation from

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

on 25 September 1744.

Life

Education and priesthood

Niccolò Albergati was born in 1373 in

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 ...

to Pier Nicola Albergati who had a notable role in Bolognese communal life. He first studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the college in Bologna from 1386 before he commenced his ecclesial studies. He entered the

Carthusians The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called the ...

in 1394 and was later professed in the San Girolamo di Casara

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

near

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

on 25 September 1396. He received the

minor orders In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...

on 9 June 1403 and was made 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 ...

on 22 September 1403 prior to being made a

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 ...

in 1404. Albergati received his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood in June 1404. The order's General Chapter in 1407 saw him named as the prior for the San Girolamo di Casara house and in 1412 was made to supervise all Italian houses of the order.

Episcopate

The Consiglio dei Seicento made the unanimous decision to make him the next

on 4 January 1417. The cathedral chapter confirmed this on 5 January with the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

(and president of the chapter) Pietro da Saliceto announcing the decision to him on 8 January. He did not wish to become a bishop but had accepted in obedience to his superiors and to the pope. On 24 February he accepted the nomination in obedience and on 8 March the cathedral chapter asked the metropolitan of

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 ...

to confirm the appointment which that official ratified on 15 March 1417. The

archbishop of Ravenna This page is a list of Catholic bishops and archbishops of Ravenna and, from 1947 of the Archdiocese of Ravenna and Cervia, which in 1985 became styled the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

upon him on 4 July with the bishop of Imola, Pietro Ondedi, and the bishop of Ferrara, Pietro Bolardi, acting as the

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. He was enthroned in his see right after the consecration. He set about at once making his hometown and his episcopal see a center of learning and

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

confirmed his appointment to the see on 13 April 1418 in a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

. The pope later dispensed Albergati on 27 July 1418 from travelling to

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, ...

to make the ritual oath of obedience to the pope which allowed for Albergati to instead make it before the bishops of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

and

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

. That 20 December - upon the pope's invitation - he went to

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

to discuss the political position of Bologna concerning the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

and left Mantua on 18 January 1419 for Rome and back to Bologna on 27 January due to his father's death. On 6 February he departed for

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 ...

to meet the pope in order to validate the

concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 ...

that was stipulated in Mantua which then allowed for him to return on 17 February 1419 to Bologna. But Antongaleazzo Bentivoglio's rebellion against the pope in his see forced him to flee on 26 March 1420; he returned on 24 July after the rebellion had been quelled. On 8 February 1422 he was appointed as the nuncio to both

and

in order to secure the reconciliation between both kingdoms; he returned from France on 9 August 1423. But crisis struck once again when Bentivoglio fermented another revolt in August 1428. This forced Albergati to flee to

but returned to his see under assurances that he would not be harmed. But the pope had enough of the revolt and placed Bologna under an

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

which forced Albergati to leave for Imola. The indignant Consiglio dei Seicento decided to elect the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Bartolomeo Zambeccari as the new bishop for Bologna but soon recognized Albergati as the legitimate bishop after Zambeccari renounced his false position.

Cardinalate

His successes led to the pope naming him as a

on 24 May 1426 as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme; he received that title on 27 May. Albergati participated in the 1431 papal conclave that selected

. The new pope named him as a

legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

to Florence in 1431 in addition to the cities 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 ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. In his role as a diplomat he helped to mediate between

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

and Pope Martin V and later repeated this in similar circumstances between

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Charles VII and Pope Eugene IV. He represented Pope Eugene IV at the 1435

Congress of Arras The Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established at Arras in the summer of 1435 during the Hundred Years' War, between representatives of England, France and Burgundy. It was the first negotiation since the Treaty of Troyes and rep ...

with the aid of Cardinal

Hugues de Lusignan Hugh Lancelot of Lusignan or Hugues or Hughues Lancelot de Lusignan (died August 1442) was a Frankish Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal, often known as the Cardinal of Cyprus. He was Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 1424, and Archbishop of Nicosia. He ...

. The congress failed to make peace between England and France but did effect a reconciliation between

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

and the French crown of King Charles VII. He had a role in the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence and opened the

which brought about a short-lived union of the Latin and Greek Churches. Eugene IV had sent him to preside over the Basel Council but the other cardinals refused to accept him. This prompted Albergati to go to Florence but later accompanied the pope to Ferrara to preside over the relocated council's first session on 8 January 1438. On 13 February 1439 he travelled to Florence to attend another session of the council but did not sign the document that would lead to Latin-Greek Church unification even though it was something he desired.

Mentorship

Under his tutelage were important figures such as

and Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini who both became popes.

Francesco Filelfo Francesco Filelfo (; 25 July 1398 – 31 July 1481) was an Italian Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist and author of the philosophic dialogue ''On Exile''. Biography Filelfo was born at Tolentino, in the March of Ancona. He is believed t ...

was another under his tutelage. He had ordained and consecrated Parentucelli and served as a great influence upon him to the point that Parentucelli chose the pontifical name "Nicholas" upon his ascension to the papal throne in honor of his mentor and patron. Albergati had also written several theological treatises and encouraged academics within his diocese.

Death

He died in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

at an Augustinian convent on 9 May 1443 due to a severe case of

kidney stones Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...

resulting in

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

. He had been travelling with the pope and cardinalate to Rome from Florence but his failing health forced him to remain in Siena where he died after his condition worsened. Eugene IV presided over his

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

on 11 May and his remains were interred in the Monte Acuto convent of the Carthusians in Florence. His red

galero A (plural: ; from , originally connoting a helmet made of skins; cf. '' galea'') is a broad-brimmed hat with tasselated strings which was worn by clergy in the Catholic Church. Over the centuries, the red ''galero'' was restricted to use by i ...

was suspended from the ceiling of the

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral () is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Since the early 13th-century the Siena Cathedral has been an important pa ...

and another suspended above his heart deposited in the Augustinian convent's chapel next to the main altar.

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 ...

in 1633 permitted his

exhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

where it was discovered his

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

was found intact; his brain was sent to Bologna.

Beatification

His beatification received official confirmation from

on 25 September 1744 in the papal bull ''Singulare Divinae Providentiae'' upon the recognition of the late cardinal's popular and longstanding "cultus" - or enduring veneration on the part of the faithful.

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Online

New Catholic Encyclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albergati, Niccolo 1373 births 1443 deaths 14th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 15th-century Italian diplomats 15th-century Italian writers 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Apostolic nuncios to France Apostolic nuncios to Great Britain Bishops of Bologna Carthusians Carthusian bishops Christian humanists Italian beatified people 15th-century Italian cardinals Italian male writers Italian Renaissance humanists Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary Italian patrons of literature Diplomats from Bologna University of Bologna alumni Beatifications by Pope Benedict XIV