Lelio Falconieri
Encyclopedia
Lelio Falconieri was an Italian
Catholic
Cardinal
.
, the tenth of the thirteen children of Paolo Falconieri and his second wife Maddalena degli Albizzi. He was the brother of Don Orazio Falconieri
who purchased the Villa Falconieri
and commissioned Francesco Borromini
to renovate it. Orazio later commissioned Borromini to renovate the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
to build a Falconieri family chapel for the burial of the two brothers. He was educated at the University of Perugia
and received a doctorate
of law
.
At a young age he went to Rome
and became an advocate
at the Roman Curia
and papal prelate
during the pontificate of Pope Paul V
.In 1619 he became Governor of San Severino
and a referendary
of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signatura
of Justice and of Grace. He became Governor of Spoleto
(1621), Vice-governor of Benevento
(1622) and Governor of the Campagne and Maritime Province
(1622).
at the Papal conclave of 1623
and during his pontificate, Falconieri became the relator of the Sacred Consulta
and commissary general of Umbria
and Romagna
. In 1634 he was elected elected Titular Archbishop of Tebe
and was consecrated in December of that year at the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
by Cardinal Giulio Cesare Sacchetti
, brother of his sister-in-law Ottavia Sacchetti. Between 1635 and 1637 he was named nuncio
to Flanders
but returned to Rome
due to illness.
Pope Urban elevated Falconieri to cardinal in the consistory of 1643 and he was named Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria del Popolo
later that year.
, which Pope Urban's successor, Pope Innocent X
.
Pope Innocent made him Legate
in Bologna
but after suffering a very serious illness in Florence he decided to return to Rome. He died on the way at Viterbo
on 14 December 1648 and was buried in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
.
Family and early life
Falconieri was born in 1585 in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, the tenth of the thirteen children of Paolo Falconieri and his second wife Maddalena degli Albizzi. He was the brother of Don Orazio Falconieri
Orazio Falconieri
thumb|300 px|The [[Villa Falconieri]] in Rome; renovations were commissioned by Orazio FalconieriOrazio Falconieri was an Italian nobleman from Florence, Italy and owner of the Villa Falconieri...
who purchased the Villa Falconieri
Villa Falconieri
The Villa Falconieri is a villa in Frascati, Italy.-History:The villa was originally called Villa Rufina, having been was initially built by Monsignor Alessandro Rufini. Later it was enlarged thanks to Pope Paul III, dates back to 1546. In 1628 Orazio Falconieri purchased the villa and commissioned...
and commissioned Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini, byname of Francesco Castelli was an architect from Ticino who, with his contemporaries, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture.A keen student of the architecture of Michelangelo and the ruins of...
to renovate it. Orazio later commissioned Borromini to renovate the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, St John of the Florentines, is a church in the Ponte rione or district of Rome. Dedicated to St John the Baptist, the protector of Florence, the new church for the Florentine community in Rome was started in the 16th century and completed in early eighteenth and is the...
to build a Falconieri family chapel for the burial of the two brothers. He was educated at the University of Perugia
University of Perugia
University of Perugia is a public-owned university based in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale....
and received a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
.
At a young age he went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and became an advocate
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
at the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
and papal prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
during the pontificate of Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V
-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
.In 1619 he became Governor of San Severino
San Severino
-Places in Italy:*Mercato San Severino, a commune of the Province of Salerno*San Severino Lucano, a commune of the Province of Potenza*San Severino Marche, a commune in the Province of Macerata*San Severino, an hamlet of Centola in the Province of Salerno...
and a referendary
Referendary
Referendary is the English form or rendering of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organisations.-Secular:...
of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signatura
Apostolic Signatura
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church...
of Justice and of Grace. He became Governor of Spoleto
Spoleto
Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...
(1621), Vice-governor of Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
(1622) and Governor of the Campagne and Maritime Province
Campagne and Maritime Province
The Campagne and Maritime Province was one of the seven provinces of the Papal States from the 12th century to the end of the 18th....
(1622).
Pontificate of Urban VIII
Maffeo Barberini was elected Pope Urban VIIIPope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
at the Papal conclave of 1623
Papal conclave, 1623
The papal conclave of 1623 was the papal conclave of Cardinals called on the death of Pope Gregory XV. It lasted eighteen days from 19 July 1623 to 6 August 1623 and chose Maffeo Barberini, who took office as Pope Urban VIII.- History :...
and during his pontificate, Falconieri became the relator of the Sacred Consulta
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
and commissary general of Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
and Romagna
Romagna
Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...
. In 1634 he was elected elected Titular Archbishop of Tebe
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
and was consecrated in December of that year at the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, St John of the Florentines, is a church in the Ponte rione or district of Rome. Dedicated to St John the Baptist, the protector of Florence, the new church for the Florentine community in Rome was started in the 16th century and completed in early eighteenth and is the...
by Cardinal Giulio Cesare Sacchetti
Giulio Cesare Sacchetti
thumb|Cardinal Giulio Cesare Sacchetti, Pietro da Cortona, 1626Giulio Cesare Sacchetti was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and was twice unsuccessfully nominated by France for election as Pope.-Early life:...
, brother of his sister-in-law Ottavia Sacchetti. Between 1635 and 1637 he was named nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
but returned to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
due to illness.
Pope Urban elevated Falconieri to cardinal in the consistory of 1643 and he was named Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo is an Augustinian church located in Rome, Italy.It stands to the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The Piazza is situated between the ancient Porta Flaminia and the park of the Pincio...
later that year.
Later life
In 1648, Falconieri participated in the Papal conclave of 1644Papal conclave, 1644
The papal conclave of 1644 was the papal conclave of Cardinals called on the death of Pope Urban VIII. It lasted from 9 August to 15 September 1644 and eventually chose Giovanni Battista Pamphili, who took office as Pope Innocent X.- Urban's influence :...
, which Pope Urban's successor, Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...
.
Pope Innocent made him Legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
but after suffering a very serious illness in Florence he decided to return to Rome. He died on the way at Viterbo
Viterbo
See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...
on 14 December 1648 and was buried in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, St John of the Florentines, is a church in the Ponte rione or district of Rome. Dedicated to St John the Baptist, the protector of Florence, the new church for the Florentine community in Rome was started in the 16th century and completed in early eighteenth and is the...
.