Fabrizio Spada

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Cardinal Secretary of State Fabrizio Spada

Fabrizio Spada (born March 17, 1643 in Rome , † June 15, 1717 ibid) was a cardinal of the Roman Church . From 1691 to 1700 he held the post of Cardinal Secretary of State .

Life

Fabrizio Spada was a member of the Italian noble family Spada . The rise of this family began with Fabrizio Spada's great-grandfather Paolo Spada , who amassed a fortune with not always impeccable business conduct and used this, among other things, to enable his children to have a social career. His third-born son, Bernardino Spada, was the first member of the family to be awarded the cardinal's hat . He also used his influence in such a way that his nephew Orazio Spada was able to marry Maria Veralli, who came from high Roman nobility . Fabrizio Spada was the second born son from this connection. His great-uncle made sure that his relative received a thorough education, as he was apparently also earmarked for a career in the church at a very early age.

After a thorough school education, he studied subjects in Perugia , including rhetoric , logic , physics , Greek and French . This study served to prepare for a career at the papal curia , as the popes of the early modern period both rulers of the Papal States were. To administer this territory, which stretched from Bologna and Ferrara in the north to Benevento in the south, the Curia needed not only experienced theologians, but also lawyers and administrators.

Fabrizio Spada's most important patron, Bernardino Spada, died in 1661, before Fabrizio Spada had found a promising starting position in the Vatican. For this reason, his career did not go beyond entry-level positions as protonotary and court trainee in the first four years . It was not until April 1668 that he was appointed secretary of a committee responsible for the administration of the provinces of the Papal States, and on December 22, 1669 he was ordained a priest . In 1672 he was appointed nuncio to the court of the Duke of Savoy and titular archbishop of Patrae . He was ordained bishop on August 14, 1672 by Cardinal Gasparo Carpegna , co- consecrators were Alessandro Crescenzi , Latin Patriarch of Alexandria , and Archbishop Bernardino Rocci . He was appointed papal assistant to the throne on August 15, 1672 . On January 3, 1674, he was appointed nuncio to the French royal court. Nuncio who successfully filled this role were usually later appointed cardinal. Such positions were therefore very much in demand, even if the respective nuncio had to bear the costs of a representation appropriate to the office himself. In the case of Fabrizio Spada, however, other reasons prevented the most promising candidates from winning. The appointment of Francesco Bonvisi , who is particularly suitable for this position, would not have been possible without the annoyance of the former Cardinal Nepot Giacomo Rospigliosi . Other candidates preferred to stay in Rome because they had the prospect of attaining cardinal dignity without taking up the expensive post in Paris. Fabrizio Spada was therefore a compromise candidate for this position, whereby the connections of his father Orazio Spada and his uncle Bernardino Rocci certainly also played a role. According to the historian Arne Karsten , diplomatic merits were less decisive than the Pope's desire to snub the French King Louis XIV by raising the nuncio, who was little appreciated in Paris .

The activity as nuncio ended on August 27, 1675. Already on May 27, 1675, the Pope had elevated Fabrizio Spada to cardinal priest with the titular church of San Crisogono . Under Pope Innocent XI. the career of the newly appointed cardinal stalled again. He remained a legate of Urbino for six years . He was a participant in the conclave of 1689 , at which Pope Alexander VIII was elected, and from 1691 , from the Innocent XII. emerged as Pope. The latter eventually appointed Fabrizio Spada as Cardinal Secretary of State . Pope Clement XI. Fabrizio Spada was also present at his election in the 1700 conclave , ended his career. In 1708 he moved to the titular church of Santa Prassede , and on February 19, 1710 he became cardinal bishop of the Suburbicarian diocese of Palestrina . During the last two decades of his life he was a member of numerous committees of the papal administration. He was considered to be hardworking and diligent, but unpopular.

He died on June 15, 1717 in the Palazzo Spada in Rome. He was buried in the family chapel in the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella .

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predecessor Office successor
Luis Manuel Fernando Portocarrero Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina
1710–1717 		Francesco del Giudice
Giambattista Rubini Cardinal Secretary of State
1691–1700 		Fabrizio Paolucci
personal data
SURNAME Spada, Fabrizio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cardinal of the Roman Church
DATE OF BIRTH March 17, 1643
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 1717
Place of death Rome