Decio Azzolini the Elder

Decio Azzolini , also Decio Azzolino , (born July 1, 1549 in Fermo , † October 9, 1587 in Rome ) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Church .

Life

He was the son of Pompeo Azzolini. As a young man he moved to Rome and was accepted into the court of Cardinal Felice Peretti, later Pope Sixtus V , who employed him as private secretary. On July 6, 1585 he became a canon of the Vatican Basilica . He was ordained a priest at a time that is no longer known .

On November 15, 1585 he was appointed Bishop of Cervia . Pope Sixtus V elevated him to cardinal priest in the consistory of December 18, 1585 , and he was awarded the cardinal's hat and the titular church of San Matteo in Merulana on January 15 of the following year. He became archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and was one of the cardinals entrusted with the affairs of the aristocratic republic emerging in Poland and the elections for kings there.

Decio Azzolini died in Rome on October 9, 1587 and was buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore .

His eponymous great-nephew Decio Azzolini the Younger also became a cardinal in 1654; to distinguish himself from him, he is called Decio Azzolini the Elder .

literature

• Gaspare De Caro:  Azzolini (Azzolino), Decio. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 4:  Arconati-Bacaredda. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1962.

Web links

• Azzolini, seniore, Decio. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed January 25, 2017.
• Entry on Decio Azzolini (Sr.) on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved January 25, 2017.

predecessor	Office	successor
Filippo Boncompagni	Archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore 1586–1587	Domenico Pinelli
Lorenzo Campeggi	Bishop of Cervia 1585–1587	Annibal Pauli