Carlo Antonio Giuseppe Bellisomi (30 July 1736 in

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

– 9 August 1808 in

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. ...

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

Life

He was made a priest on 29 May 1763 and on 11 September 1775

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Tyana. On 20 September 1775 he became nuncio to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. Before taking up the post, he was ordained a bishop on 24 September 1775 by Pope Pius VI. On 14 February 1785 the Pope appointed him

cardinal in pectore ''In pectore'' (Latin for "in the breast/heart") is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals wit ...

and on 7 May 1785 nuncio to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. On 21 February 1794 he was publicly appointed a cardinal and on 22 September 1795

bishop of Cesena The Italian Catholic Diocese of Cesena-Sarsina in Emilia Romagna was created on September 30, 1986, after the Diocese of Sarsina was united with the historic Diocese of Cesena as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.

, where he held the personal title of prince bishop. On 18 December 1795 he was appointed cardinal priest of the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. The building lies in rione Ponte. History The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 148 ...

. Pope Pius VI died on 29 August 1799 at Valence in the custody of the French. Due to the French occupation of Rome, the conclave that followed was held in Venice. Bellisomi, seemed a viable candidate (''papabile''), with some eighteen committed votes. However, he was unpopular with the Austrian faction, who preferred Cardinal Alessandro Mattei, the Archbishop of Ferrara, and therefore, could not obtain the canonically required two-thirds vote.Walsh, Michael and Walsh, Michael J., ''The Conclave'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2003, p. 139
/ref> On 18 September 1807 he opted for the titular church of

Santa Prassede The Basilica of Saint Praxedes ( la, Basilica Sanctae Praxedis, it, Basilica di Santa Prassede all’Esquillino), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilic ...

References

External links

On GCatholic.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellisomi, Carlo Antonio Giuseppe 1736 births 1808 deaths 18th-century Italian cardinals Religious leaders from Pavia Apostolic Nuncios to Cologne Apostolic Nuncios to Portugal Bishops of Cesena Cardinals created by Pope Pius VI 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 19th-century Italian cardinals