Alessandro Mattei
Alessandro Mattei (born February 20, 1744 in Rome ; † April 20, 1820 there ) was Archbishop of Ferrara , Curia Cardinal of the Roman Church and Cardinal Dean .
Life
Mattei became a doctor of both rights in 1768 and was ordained a priest that same year . After working as a speaker at the Apostolic Signature , he became prelate of the Council Congregation in 1775 , and in the following year Camerlengo Carlo Rezzonico appointed him his auditor.
From Pope Pius VI. he was appointed Archbishop of Ferrara on February 17, 1777. The episcopal ordination donated him six days later Cardinal Bernardino Giraud ; Co-consecrators were Archbishop Marcantonio Conti and Giuseppe Maria Carafa , Bishop of Mileto . On March 9, 1777 Mattei was also papal assistant to the throne . In the consistory of July 12, 1779 Pius VI created. him in pectore cardinal, which was published in 1782, and assigned him as cardinal priest the titular church of Santa Balbina . In 1786 he became cardinal priest of Santa Maria in Aracoeli . In a pastoral letter of January 20, 1791, he defended Catholicism against the ideas of the French Revolution . Cardinal Mattei took part in the conclave of 1799/1800 , which Pope Pius VII elected. He himself was traded as a candidate for the pro-Austrian parliamentary group, but did not receive enough votes. In 1800 he was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina and in 1809 Cardinal Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina .
When the Church was troubled by the French Revolution, he was traveling as a legate in Italy with Cardinal Francesco Maria Pignatelli . After the French occupation, both cardinals were initially able to restore papal rule in 1796, but in the following year he had to sign the Treaty of Tolentino on papal orders , in which the church was obliged to make considerable concessions. In June 1809 he had to leave Rome and first went into exile to Bologna , later to Paris . Since he refused to recognize Napoleon's marriage to Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria in 1810 , the emperor forbade him to wear his red official robe and Mattei became a so-called black cardinal . In September 1814 he was elected cardinal dean and Pius VII transferred the suburbicarian diocese of Ostia to him ; four months earlier he had returned to Rome with the Pope. In 1817 Cardinal Mattei also became archpriest of the Vatican basilica.
In April 1820 he died after a brief illness. He was buried in the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli .
Web links
- Mattei, Alessandro. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed October 23, 2016.
- Entry on Alessandro Mattei on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on October 23, 2016.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Leonardo Antonelli |
Cardinal Dean 1814-1820 |
Giulio Maria della Somaglia |
| Leonardo Antonelli |
Cardinal Bishop of Ostia e Velletri 1814-1820 |
Giulio Maria della Somaglia |
| Luigi Valenti Gonzaga |
Cardinal Bishop of Porto 1809–1814 |
Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj |
| Leonardo Antonelli |
Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina 1800–1809 |
Aurelio Roverella |
| Bernardino Giraud |
Archbishop of Ferrara 1777–1800 |
Paolo Patricio Fava Ghisleri |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mattei, Alessandro |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Cardinal of the Catholic Church |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 20, 1744 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 20, 1820 |
| Place of death | Rome |