Bartolomeo D’Avanzo (3 July 1811 – 20 October 1884) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Cardinal of the 19th century.

Early life

D'Avanzo was born 3 July 1811 in Avella. He was ordained as a priest on 20 September 1834 and was placed in the service of the

Diocese of Nola The Diocese of Nola ( la, Dioecesis Nolana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples.

where he remained until 1851 under Bishop Gennaro Pasca.

Assassination attempt

In 1851 he was ordained Bishop of Castellaneta and served the diocese for 9 years until, in 1860, anticlericalists tried to assassinate him by firing four bullets into his carriage. The first bullet struck the inside of the carriage, the second struck him in the right wrist and the third under his left arm. The fourth bullet, which would likely have been fatal, hit D'Avanzo's

pectoral cross A pectoral cross or pectorale (from the Latin ''pectoralis'', "of the chest") is a cross that is worn on the chest, usually suspended from the neck by a cord or chain. In ancient and medieval times pectoral crosses were worn by both clergy and ...

and he survived the attempt. Fearing further attack he transferred to the Diocese of Teano-Calvi where he served for a further 16 years. He attended the First Vatican Council (1869–1870).

Cardinalate

In 1876 he was elevated to Cardinal by Pope Pius IX and was appointed Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna. He participated in the Papal Conclave of 1878 which elected

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. Throughout his career he was a strong advocate against

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and led a number of Church campaigns against the society. He died on 10 October 1884 in Avella and was buried in the D’Avanzo family tomb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davanzo, Bartolomeo 1811 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius IX 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops