Berlinghiero Gessi

Berlinghiero Gessi

Berlinghiero Gessi (born October 28, 1563 in Bologna , † April 6, 1639 in Rome ) was an Italian bishop and cardinal.

biography

Gessi was born in Bologna on October 28, 1563, the son of Giulio Cesare Gessi, doctor of philosophy and medicine , and Valeria Segni. He was a relative of Pope Gregory XIII. He studied at the University of Bologna, where he graduated in 1583 (at the age of 20) with a doctorate in utroque iure . He later went to Rome to help his uncle, who was the syndic of the Sacra Romana Rota , in his law firm. In 1589 he returned to Bologna to take a position as professor of law at his alma mater.

In 1590 Gessi went to Rome to become vicar general and to support another uncle, the then Bishop of Rieti. He later worked as Vicar General of Benevento, in 1591 as Vicar General in his hometown of Bologna and in the following year as provost of the cathedral chapter of the same city. In 1594 he returned to Rome and was appointed trainee lawyer at the Tribunali della Segnatura Apostolica di Giustizia e di Grazia and secretary of the Sacra Consulta . In 1599 he was appointed civil governor by Cardinal Girolamo Rusticucci , vicar general and vice-regent of Rome between 1600 and 1607. Gessi was elected Bishop of Rimini on November 13, 1606 and was consecrated six days later in the Sistine Chapel by Antonio Sauli, also a student at the University of Bologna. The following year he was appointed nuncio to Venice , a position he held until 1618. Relations between Rome and Venice were strained during his tenure as nuncio. Gessi advised caution on issues of particular concern to the Venetians, such as: B. the distribution of the benefits. The warnings were heeded and the relationship continued without much conflict. In 1618 he was appointed governor of Rome himself, but in 1619 he was forced to give up his diocese after suffering from severe gout . He was finally confirmed as governor in 1621, a position he held until 1623.

On June 28, 1623, Federico Ubaldo , the only heir to the Duke of Urbino Francesco Maria II della Rovere , died of epilepsy. On December 20, 1624, the Duke transferred all of Rovere's fiefs to Pope Urban VIII. The Pope appointed Gessi as administrator and apostolic governor until 1627, while the Pope's nephew, Taddeo Barberini, took control of the duchy's revenue. The area eventually fell entirely to the Papal States.

Before he was appointed governor, Pope Urban elevated him to cardinal on January 19, 1626 and named him cardinal priest of the Basilica of St. Augustine the following year. He belonged to a narrow circle who regularly had dinner with the Pope, although he was known for his "rather gloomy" demeanor. In 1633 he was appointed Prefect of the Tribunale della Segnatura Apostolica di giustizia and served as Camerlengo of the Holy Cardinals College from January 1639 until his death a few months later . Gessi died in Rome on April 6, 1639 and was buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva .

notes

1. ↑ "Doctor of Both Rights" (secular and canon law)

Web links

Commons : Berlinghiero Gessi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• GESSI, Berlinghiero:  GABRIELLI, Giulio. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 53:  Gelati – Ghisalberti. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1999.
• bgessi .html Entry on Berlinghiero Cardinal Gessi † on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on February 18, 2020.
• Gessi, Berlinghiero (1592-1643). In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website, English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Paolo De Curtis	Deputy General Manager of the Diocese of Rome October 11, 1600 - May 12, 1607	Cesare Fedele
Girolamo Agucchi	Secretary of the Congregatio episcoporum et regularium June 9, 1604 - June 4, 1607	Antonio Ortensi
Giulio Cesare Salicini	Bishop of Rimini November 13, 1606 - November 20, 1619	Cipriano Pavoni , OSB
Orazio Mattei	Apostolic Nuncio of the Republic of Venice June 4, 1607 - November 14, 1618	Sigismondo Donati
Mariano Pierbenedetti	Governor of Rome December 12, 1618 - April 1, 1623	Giovanni Battista Maria Pallotta
Mariano Pierbenedetti	Vice-Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber December 12, 1618 - April 1, 1623	Giovanni Battista Maria Pallotta
?	Prefect of the Apostolic Palace April 1, 1623 - December 27, 1624	Laudivio Zacchia
-	President of the Legazione di Urbino December 27, 1624 - May 1, 1627	Lorenzo Campeggi
Fabrizio Verallo	Cardinal Priest of Sant'Agostino July 19, 1627 - April 6, 1639	Ottaviano Raggi
Giovanni Garzia Mellini	Prefect of the Congregatio immunitatis October 2, 1629 - April 6, 1639	Giovanni Battista Pamphilj
Antonio Barberini , OSIo.Hieros.	Prefect of the Apostolic Signature November 2, 1633 - April 6, 1639	Giulio Cesare Sacchetti
Bernardino Spada	Chamberlain of the College of Cardinals 10 January 1639 - 6 April 1639	Federico Baldissera Bartolomeo Cornaro