Michele Bonelli
Encyclopedia
Carlo Michele Bonelli, Cardinal Alessandrino (25 November 1541– 28 March 1598) was an Italian senior papal diplomat with a distinguished career that spanned two decades from 1571.
, he was the son of Marco Bonelli, inscribed as a noble of Alessandria
in Piedmont
, 1566, and of Dominina de' Gibertis, niece of Pope Pius V
. He was the great-uncle of Cardinal Carlo Bonelli (1664).
He entered the preaching Order of Dominicans
, taking the name Michele, and professed at the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
, Rome, 1559. He studied at the Collegio Germanico and was a professor of theology at the University of Perugia
before being recalled to Rome by his great-uncle, Pius V.
He was created cardinal priest in the consistory
of 6 March 1566; received the red hat and the titulus of Santa Maria sopra Minerva on 20 March and was entered with his father as a noble of Alessandria the same year; he conditioned his promotion on permission to continue wearing his Dominican habit. He was made Grand Prior in Rome of the Sovereign Order of Malta, June 1568.
He was charged with the important post of Camerlengo on 3 December 1568, a post he held until 10 May 1570, when he resigned the post so that his uncle could sell it to Cardinal Luigi Cornaro
for 70,000 scudi, to raise funds for the war against the Turks http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1566.htm: see Battle of Lepanto (1571)
. In recompense he was given the sinecure of Abbot commendatario of San Michele di Chiusi
.
As papal Rome was expanding, he took the initiative of developing a new quarter, laying out streets —of which via Alessandrina commemorates his title— which had come to be divided among the monasteries of S.Basilio, S.Adriano and SS.Cosma e Damiano, and planted in orchards.
His family shared in the honours during the pontificate of Pius V: his brother Girolamo, commander of the Papal Guard, was made marchese di Cassano d’Adda (1572), and his brother Michele, having been made duca di Salci (1569), became a gentleman-in-waiting to the duke of Savoy
(1573).
The "Cardinale Alessandrino", as he was styled—a title that had been borne by Pius V as a cardinal— was sent as legate
to the kings of Spain
and Portugal
on 18 June 1571, with the honour of cardinal nipote
, in the company of Francesco Borgia
, and was sent as legate with the same discretionary powers a latere to the king of France
on 16 November 1571. The question of his advance notice of the imminent Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre beginning the following 24 August has been discussed among historians and emphatically denied in the Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13333b.htm.
Cardinal Alessandrino administered the last rites to his great-uncle the pope in May 1572 and participated in the ensuing conclave
. Member of the Congregation of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
, 1572, of the Council, 1573. Named by Pope Gregory XIII
prefect of the Congregation of Religious. He participated in the conclave of 1585 that elected Pope Sixtus V
, who named him his vicar general
in Rome and the entire Papal States
. He participated in the two conclaves of 1590 and in the conclaves of 1591 and of 1592. Prefect of the new Congregation for the Examination of Bishops in the pontificate of Clement VIII. He supported the reconciliation of Pope Clement VIII
with Henri IV
in 1594.
He was made the first count of Bosco Marengo on 29 November 1597. He died in Rome the following year after a brief illness, and was buried in his Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
, where his tomb sculpture of Prudence is by Stefano Maderno
.
Biography
Born in Bosco MarengoBosco Marengo
Bosco Marengo is a town and comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km southeast of Turin and about 12 km southeast of Alessandria....
, he was the son of Marco Bonelli, inscribed as a noble of Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, 1566, and of Dominina de' Gibertis, niece of Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...
. He was the great-uncle of Cardinal Carlo Bonelli (1664).
He entered the preaching Order of Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, taking the name Michele, and professed at the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
, Rome, 1559. He studied at the Collegio Germanico and was a professor of theology 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....
before being recalled to Rome by his great-uncle, Pius V.
He was created cardinal priest in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of 6 March 1566; received the red hat and the titulus of Santa Maria sopra Minerva on 20 March and was entered with his father as a noble of Alessandria the same year; he conditioned his promotion on permission to continue wearing his Dominican habit. He was made Grand Prior in Rome of the Sovereign Order of Malta, June 1568.
He was charged with the important post of Camerlengo on 3 December 1568, a post he held until 10 May 1570, when he resigned the post so that his uncle could sell it to Cardinal Luigi Cornaro
Luigi Cornaro
Alvise "Luigi" Cornaro was a Venetian nobleman who wrote treatises on dieting, including Discorsi della Vita Sobria . Finding himself near death at the age of 35, Cornaro modified his eating habits on the advice of his doctors and began to adhere on a calorie restriction diet...
for 70,000 scudi, to raise funds for the war against the Turks http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1566.htm: see Battle of Lepanto (1571)
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...
. In recompense he was given the sinecure of Abbot commendatario of San Michele di Chiusi
Chiusi
Chiusi is a town and comune in province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.-History:It was one of the more powerful among the Etruscan 12‑city confederation...
.
As papal Rome was expanding, he took the initiative of developing a new quarter, laying out streets —of which via Alessandrina commemorates his title— which had come to be divided among the monasteries of S.Basilio, S.Adriano and SS.Cosma e Damiano, and planted in orchards.
His family shared in the honours during the pontificate of Pius V: his brother Girolamo, commander of the Papal Guard, was made marchese di Cassano d’Adda (1572), and his brother Michele, having been made duca di Salci (1569), became a gentleman-in-waiting to the duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert was Duke of Savoy from 1553 to 1580....
(1573).
The "Cardinale Alessandrino", as he was styled—a title that had been borne by Pius V as a cardinal— was sent as 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....
to the kings of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
on 18 June 1571, with the honour of cardinal nipote
Cardinal-nephew
A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to...
, in the company of Francesco Borgia
Francis Borgia
Saint Francis Borgia, 4th duke of Gandía, 3rd Father General of the Jesuit Order, Grandee of Spain, was a Spanish Jesuit and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was canonized on 20 June 1670.-Early life:He was born Francesco Borgia de Candia d'Aragon within the Duchy of Gandía,...
, and was sent as legate with the same discretionary powers a latere to the king of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on 16 November 1571. The question of his advance notice of the imminent Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre beginning the following 24 August has been discussed among historians and emphatically denied in the Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13333b.htm.
Cardinal Alessandrino administered the last rites to his great-uncle the pope in May 1572 and participated in the ensuing conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
. Member of the Congregation of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
, 1572, of the Council, 1573. Named by Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally-accepted civil calendar to this date.-Youth:He was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and wife Angela...
prefect of the Congregation of Religious. He participated in the conclave of 1585 that elected Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
, who named him his vicar general
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
in Rome and the entire Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. He participated in the two conclaves of 1590 and in the conclaves of 1591 and of 1592. Prefect of the new Congregation for the Examination of Bishops in the pontificate of Clement VIII. He supported the reconciliation of Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from 30 January 1592 to 3 March 1605.-Cardinal:...
with Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
in 1594.
He was made the first count of Bosco Marengo on 29 November 1597. He died in Rome the following year after a brief illness, and was buried in his Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
, where his tomb sculpture of Prudence is by Stefano Maderno
Stefano Maderno
Stefano Maderno was an Italian sculptor.-Biography:News about Maderno's life are scarce and often contradictory...
.