Peter of Foix the Younger ( Fr.: ''Pierre de Foix, le jeune'') (7 February 1449 – 10 August 1490) (called the Cardinal of Foix) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Pierre de Foix was born in Pau on February 7, 1449, the son of

Gaston IV, Count of Foix Gaston IV (27 November 1422 – 25 or 28 July 1472) was the sovereign Viscount of Béarn and the Count of Foix and Bigorre in France from 1436 to 1472. He also held the viscounties of Marsan, Castelbon, Nébouzan, Villemeur and Lautrec and ...

, and his wife

Eleanor of Navarre Eleanor of Navarre (2 February 1426 – 12 February 1479) was a Navarrese princess and monarch. She served as the regent of Navarre from 1455 to 1479, during the absence of her father, and then briefly as the queen regnant of Navarre in 147 ...

.Biography from the Biographical Dictionary of the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
/ref> He was the nephew of

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

and the grand-nephew of Cardinal Pierre de Foix, ''le vieux''. He studied at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and then at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara () is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of ...

, from which he studied under Felino Maria Sandeo in the course of receiving 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 ...

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 ...

. After graduation, he traveled 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, ...

, where he delivered an oration before

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II (; ; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched fr ...

and the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

. He joined the

Order of the Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the tea ...

at this time. The pope made him a protonotary apostolic. On May 17, 1475, he was elected Bishop of Vannes.

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

confirmed his appointment on March 11, 1476 and Foix subsequently occupied this see until his death. On July 31, 1475, he was also named

Bishop of Aire The Diocese of Aire and Dax (Latin'':'' ''Dioecesis Adurensis et Aquae Augustae''; French: ''Diocèse d'Aire et Dax'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It comprises the ''département'' of ...

. Pope Sixtus IV made him a

cardinal deacon 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 ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of December 18, 1476. He received the

red hat Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...

and the deaconry of Santi Cosma e Damiano on January 15, 1477. He served as

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the see of Bayonne from May 5, 1484 until his death. He did not participate in the papal conclave of 1484 that elected

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...

. He served as apostolic administrator of the metropolitan see of Palermo from May 14, 1485 until July 6, 1489. Around 1485, he brokered a peace deal between

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...

and

Francis II, Duke of Brittany Francis II ( Breton: ''Frañsez II'', French: ''François II'') (23 June 1433 – 9 September 1488) was Duke of Brittany from 1458 to his death. He was the grandson of John IV, Duke of Brittany. A recurring theme in Francis' life would be ...

. He later entered Rome on January 27, 1488 for an audience with the pope, departing the city in July 1488. He then traveled to the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

to visit his friend

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinand I (2 June 1424 – 25 January 1494), also known as Ferrante, was king of Naples from 1458 to 1494. The only son, albeit illegitimate, of Alfonso the Magnanimous, he was one of the most influential and feared monarchs in Europe at the ...

. He returned to Rome on October 15, 1488. On July 6, 1489, he was named apostolic administrator of the see of Malta, holding this position until his death. He died in Rome on August 10, 1490. He was buried in the church dedicated to St. Tryphon which has since been demolished.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foix, Pierre de 1449 births 1490 deaths 15th-century French cardinals

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

People from Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques University of Ferrara alumni Sons of queens regnant