Antonio Sanseverino (died 1543) was an

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Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and

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Biography

Antonio Sanseverino was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

ca. 1477, the son of Giovanni Antonio

Sanseverino Sanseverino may refer to: * House of Sanseverino, Neapolitan noble family * Antonio Sanseverino, (ca. 1477–1543), Neapolitan cardinal * Ferdinando Sanseverino (1507–1572), prince of Salerno and Italian condottiero * Aurora Sanseverino (1669 ...

, a Neapolitan patrician, and Enrichetta Carafa. Early in his career, he joined the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

made him a cardinal while he was still a layman. However the promotion was contingent on certain conditions that Sanseverino never complied with, so his elevation to the cardinalate was never published and neither Pope Leo X nor

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI (; ; ; ), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. The only Dutch people, Du ...

ever recognized him as a cardinal.

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

made him a

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of 21 November 1527. He received the

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and the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

Santa Susanna The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian () is a Roman Catholic, Catholic parish church, parish and Cistercian conventual church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site as ...

from Cardinal

Lorenzo Campeggio Lorenzo Campeggio (7 November 1474 – 19 July 1539) was an Italians, Italian cardinal and politician. He was the last cardinal protector of England. Life Campeggio was born in Milan to a noble family, the eldest of five sons. Campeggio initi ...

in the

Castel Sant'Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

on 27 April 1528. He received the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

from Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. On 31 August 1528 he was elected Archbishop of Taranto. He occupied that see until his death. He was the administrator of the see of Conversano from 28 July 1529 to 11 February 1534. He was the

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church. The title is based on an Italian word for chamberlain, a word no longer used in secular contexts. The position existed from a ...

from 24 January 1530 to 18 January 1531. He opted for the titular church of

Sant'Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine The Basilica di Sant'Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine ("Basilica of Saint Apollinaris at the Baths of Nero") is a titular church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St Apollinare, the first bishop of Ravenna. The church is part of a la ...

on 16 May 1530. He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

as a

by Pope Clement VII in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

on 21 December 1531. On 5 September 1534 he opted for the titular church of

Santa Maria in Trastevere The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere () or Our Lady in Trastevere is a titulus (Roman Catholic), titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the ...

. He participated in the papal conclave of 1534 that elected

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

. He was the cardinal protector of the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

, in which capacity he resisted proposals to merge the order with the Friars Minor Observants. On 28 November 1537 he opted for the order of

cardinal bishop A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. C ...

s and received the

suburbicarian see of Palestrina The Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina () is a Latin suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. The current bishop of Palestrina is Mauro Parmeggiani, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 19 February 2019. Prior to hi ...

. He was the

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(along with Cardinals

Giacomo Simoneta Giacomo Simonetta (14752 November 1539) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Giacomo was born in Milan, the son of Giovanni and his second wife Catarina Barbavara, daughter of Marcolino Barbavara. He studied law in M ...

, and

Girolamo Aleandro Girolamo Aleandro (also Hieronymus Aleander; 13 February 1480 – 1 February 1542) was an Italian humanist, linguist, and cardinal. Life Aleandro was born on 13 February 1480 in Motta di Livenza, in the province of Treviso, part of the Republic ...

) to the general council held at

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

then at

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

. On 4 August 1539 he opted for the suburbicarian see of Sabina; then, on 8 January 1543, for the suburbicarian see of Porto e Santa Rufina. He was Vice-

Dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals () presides over the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church, serving as ('first among equals'). The position was established in the 12th century. He always holds the rank of a cardinal bishop and is as ...

. He died in

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on night of 17-18 August 1543. He is buried in Trinità dei Monti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanseverino, Antonio 1543 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals 16th-century Neapolitan people Knights Hospitaller Bishops appointed by Pope Clement VII Bishops appointed by Pope Paul III 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Cardinal-bishops of Porto Year of birth unknown