Marcantonio Maffei (29 November 1521 – 22 August 1583) was an

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bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

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Background

Marcantonio Maffei was born in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

on 29 November 1521, the son of

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Girolamo Maffei and Antonia Mattei. His older brother Bernardino Maffei was also a cardinal, as were his nephews Orazio Maffei and Marcello Lante. He was educated at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara () is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of ...

, becoming a

doctor of both laws A doctor of both laws, from the Latin , , or ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD and UID), is a scholar who has acquired a doctorate in both civil and church law ...

in September 1547. He then moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and in 1549, became a consistorial lawyer. He also became a

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of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. In 1552, he was vice-governor 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 ...

Archbishop of Chieti

He was elected

Archbishop of Chieti The Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto (; ; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church which received that name in 1986, when the two separate dioceses, which had been governed by one and the same bishop, were united in one diocese. The diocese ...

on 14 July 1553; he succeeded his brother Bernardino Maffei as archbishop. Around 1554, he became a

Referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe. Pre-modern history The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byza ...

of the

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. He was the Governor of Viterbo from 27 September 1555 until 1557. From 1560 until January 1566, he was the

vicegerent Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or head of state: ''vice'' (Latin for "in place of") and ''gerere'' (Latin for "to carry on, conduct"). In Oxford colleges, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the Master of a ...

of the

Vicar General of Rome Cardinal vicar () is a title commonly given to the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome for the portion of the diocese within Italy (i.e. excluding the portion within Vatican City). The official title, as given in the ''Annuario Pontificio'', is ...

; he later served as Vicar General of Rome.

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

made him his

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 ...

before the

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. In 1566, he was appointed Datary of His Holiness, maintaining that position until 1570. Sometime before 14 January 1568 he resigned the administration of his archbishopric. Following the death of Maffei's brother

Achille Achille (, ) is a French and Italian masculine given name, derived from the Greek mythological hero Achilles. It may refer to: People Artists * Achille Beltrame (1871–1945), Italian painter * Achille Calici (c. 1565–?), Italian painter * ...

, Maffei was given his canonry in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

on 29 July 1568. He became a Domestic Chaplain of His Holiness in October 1569.

Cardinal Priest

Pope Pius V 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 17 May 1570. 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 ...

San Callisto San Callisto (, ) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, Italy, built over the site of Pope Callixtus I's martyrdom (c. AD 222). History The original building dates from the time of Pope Gregory III (r. 731–741), who ordered the building ...

. He attended the papal conclave of 1572 that elected

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

. Under the new pope he was the

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of the Chancery of Apostolic Briefs. He died in Rome on 22 August 1583. He was buried in

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Episcopal succession

While bishop, he was the

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of:"Marcantonio Cardinal Maffei"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved June 9, 2017 * Angelo Cattani da Diacceto,

Bishop of Fiesole The Diocese of Fiesole () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Tuscany, central Italy, whose episcopal see is the city of Fiesole. Fiesole was directly subject to the pope until 1420, when the archdiocese of Florence was crea ...

(1566); * Paolo Oberti, Bishop of Venosa (1567); * Girolamo Cardinal Rusticucci,

Bishop of Senigallia The Diocese of Senigallia () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the Marche, Italy. It has existed since the sixth century. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo.Ludovico de Torres, Archbishop of Monreale (1573); and the principal co-consecrator of: * Giovanni Oliva,

(1568); * Annibal de Ruccellai, Bishop of Carcassonne (1569); and * Girolamo di Corregio, Archbishop of Taranto (1570).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattei, Marcantonio 1521 births 1570 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius V Clergy from Bergamo