Lorenzo Magalotti

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Lorenzo Cardinal Magalotti (17th century)

Lorenzo Magalotti (* 1584 , † September 19, 1637 in Ferrara ) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Church . From 1624 to 1628 he held the influential office of cardinal secretary of state. His curriculum vitae differed in many ways from that of other cardinals of his time. He felt more than others to the church vows - the so-called evangelical councils (poverty, obedience and celibacy / chastity) - committed.

Life

Lorenzo Magalotti's rise within the Curia is closely linked to the election of Urban VIII . He had already worked closely with him during his ecclesiastical career before his election. In addition, the brother of Urban VIII was married to a sister of Magalotti. Magalotti, however, already had under Popes Paul V and Gregory XV. Gained experience in various administrative positions in the Church. Among other things, he was governor of Montalto delle Marche , vice delegate of Viterbo and governor of Ascoli Piceno . Gregory XV. even appointed him secretary of the Sacra Consulta , whereby Magalotti had the greatest political influence next to the cardinal nepot Ludovico Ludovisi .

When Urban VIII was elected Pope in 1623, he elected his nephew, Francesco Barberini , who was only 26 years old, as cardinal nephew, as was customary at the time . He put Lorenzo Magalotti at the side of the inexperienced man. He was appointed State Secretary, who, under the nominal direction of the Cardinal Nepot, directed the correspondence with the foreign states, with the papal nuncios and with the legates and governors of the Papal States . On November 13, 1624 Magalotti received the cardinal's hat , which enabled him to exercise his office with far greater authority. He was since the consistory of October 7, 1624 cardinal deacon with the title deaconry Santa Maria in Aquiro . Of 16 December 1624 to 1628 he was cardinal priest with the pro hac vice to the titular church collected Diakonie Santa Maria in Aquiro . In rank he was now equal to the cardinal nepot. As early as 1625, however, Magalotti asked to be released from the office. He suffered from increasing health problems, so that Urban VIII visited him at his sickbed every day to discuss current business with him. On February 28, 1628 he opted for the titular church Santi Giovanni e Paolo .

However, Magalotti's withdrawal from the Curia was only possible after the death of the Bishop of Ferrara . On May 5, 1628 Lorenzo Magalotti was appointed bishop of this diocese . He received his episcopal ordination on May 7th of the same year in the chapel of the Quirinal Palace in Rome Archbishop Volpiano Volpi , Bishop of Novara ; Co-consecrators were two bishops whose names are no longer known. Magalotti settled on May 12, 1628 and stayed in Ferrara until the end of his life. This retreat was also interpreted by his contemporaries as an expression of a growing rift between the Pope, the Cardinal Nepot and Cardinal Magalotti. In fact, Magalotti had spoken out against the appointment of Antonio Barberini, a third cardinal from the Barberini family, to be appointed within five years. The marriage of Taddeo Barberini, another nephew of Urban VIII., To Anna Colonna from the Roman noble family of Colonna in 1627 met with Magalotti's resistance. Magalotti felt obliged to strictly implement the reform decrees of the Council of Trent , which, among other things, described nepotism as reprehensible. The great confidence Magalotti had despite this opposition from the Pope is shown, among other things, by the fact that the Pope commissioned him to negotiate the marriage contract.

In Ferrara he mainly campaigned for a reform of his diocese according to the regulations of the Council of Trent. In doing so, however, he also accepted renewed conflicts with the Curia. Lorenzo Magalotti died on September 19, 1637. He was buried under an unadorned tombstone in Ferrara Cathedral.

Cardinal Francesco Maria Macchiavelli (1608–1653), who was a nephew of Magalotti and who succeeded him at the bishopric in Ferrara, had his synodal resolutions and other decrees published in 1644 . They, too, are a document of his religious zeal.

literature

  • Ulrich Köchli: Past fame - mixed up bones. The forgotten Cardinal Secretary of State Lorenzo Magalotti. In: Arne Karsten (ed.): The hunt for the red hat. Cardinal careers in baroque Rome. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-36277-3 , pp. 140-155.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Ludovico Ludovisi
( Cardinal Depository ) 		Cardinal Secretary of State
1624–1628 		Giovanni Giacomo Panciroli
(from 1644)
Giovanni Battista Leni Bishop of Ferrara
1628–1637 		Francesco Maria Macchiavelli
personal data
SURNAME Magalotti, Lorenzo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian Cardinal Secretary of State
DATE OF BIRTH 1584
DATE OF DEATH September 19, 1637
Place of death Ferrara