Niccolò Ridolfi was the

Master of the Order of Preachers The Master of the Order of Preachers is the Superior General of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order, Dominicans. The Master of the Order of Preachers is ''ex officio'' Chancellor (education), Grand Chancellor of the Pont ...

from 1629 to 1642.

Early biography

Niccolò Ridolfi was born into a Florentine

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family. He was a

penitent Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derives ...

Philip Neri Saint Philip Neri , born Filippo Romolo Neri, (22 July 151526 May 1595) was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. He is sometimes refe ...

Formation

Ridolfi joined the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. Ridolfi was a student at the College of St. Thomas, and became rector there in 1630. Under

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

Master of the Sacred Palace In the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household () is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's theologian. The title w ...

. At a

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held in 1629, he was elected master of his order. He created a fund for the Master by sending out collectors to take funds from the provinces; he used this money to aid poorer houses,

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

s, publications, and building and ornamenting churches. He completed a visitation of northern

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and part of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

. In 1630 Ridolfi became rector of the College of St. Thomas, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'', where he had been an

alumnus Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

. Initially a supporter of Ridolfi, Pope Urban VIII grew disillusioned with Ridolfi because Ridolfi opposed plans to further advance Urban's family, the

Barberini The House of Barberini is a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in the 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban pal ...

s. As such, the pope had Ridolfi deposed at a chapter held in

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in 1642. He was subsequently imprisoned in

San Sisto Vecchio The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio (in Via Appia) is a Catholic minor basilica and Dominican conventual church in Rome, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western ...

. Ridolfi is author of the ''Apologia perfectionis vitae spiritualis'' (1632)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridolfi, Niccolo Italian Dominicans Masters of the Order of Preachers 17th-century Italian Christian monks