Francesco Cardinal Ragonesi S.T.D. J.U.D. (21 December 1850 – 14 September 1931) was a

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 ...

of the Roman Catholic Church and was the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

Biography

Francesco Ragonesi was born in

Bagnaia, Viterbo Bagnaia is a village in Lazio, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Viterbo, province of Viterbo. Former municipality, it was annexed to the ''comune'' of Viterbo in 1928. Bagnaia is about 7 km from Viterbo and 100 ...

, Italy. He was educated at the seminary of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

, and from 1869 at the Pio-Roman Seminary, and at the

Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare is a former pontifical university in Rome, named after St. Apollinaris of Ravenna. Its facilities are now occupied by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Initially, the Palace of St. Apollinare w ...

, where he earned doctorates in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and a ''doctorate utroque iuris'' (in both

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and civil law).Miranda, Salvatore. "Ragonese, Francesco", ''Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church'', Florida International University
/ref> He was ordained in 1874 and worked in the diocese of Viterbo, where he did pastoral work and for twenty-five years served as a professor of history and

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

in its seminary. He became archcanon of the cathedral chapter as well as being elected

vicar capitular A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic part ...

of the diocese. Between 1885 and 1904 he served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

. He was created

Domestic prelate of His Holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor (typically abbreviated 'Mgr') and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

on 12 June 1889. He was appointed

Apostolic delegate An apostolic nuncio (; 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 organization. A nuncio is ...

and extraordinary envoy to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

on 7 September 1904. During his tenure, he favored the opening of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

in that country. He was appointed as

titular archbishop 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 an ...

Myra Myra (; , ''Mýra'') was a city in Lycia. The city was probably founded by Lycians on the river Myros (; Turkish: ''Demre Çay''), in the fertile alluvial plain between, the Massikytos range (Turkish: ''Alaca Dağ'') and the Aegean Sea. By the ...

on 16 September 1904 by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

and was consecrated on 25 September by

Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius ...

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. Th ...

. He served as

Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; 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 organization. A nuncio is ...

in Spain with faculties of ''legate a latere'' from 1913 until 1921. He was created Cardinal-Priest of '' San Marcello'' in the consistory of 7 March 1921 by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

. Since he was Nuncio to Spain, he received his cardinal's hat from the King of Spain and then his other regalia at the next consistory in June. He participated in the conclave of 1922 that elected

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He was appointed as Prefect of the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal on any ecclesiastical matter). In addition, ...

by Pope Pius on 9 March 1926. He died in 1931, in the mother-house of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Poggio a Caiano Poggio a Caiano is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Prato in the region of Tuscany in Italy, located south of the provincial capital of Prato. It has 9,944 inhabitants. The town is the birthplace of Filippo Mazzei. Dem ...

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

, where he had gone to recover his health. He is buried at the

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery covers a surface area of 83 hectares which is currently divided into several sections: the main Catholic ...

cemetery in Rome.

Honours

Foreign Honours

: *

Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

(20 August 1924)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragonesi, Francesco 20th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XV Apostolic nuncios to Colombia Apostolic nuncios to Spain 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic titular archbishops 1850 births 1931 deaths Prefects of the Apostolic Signatura Pontifical Roman Seminary alumni