Prospero Caterini (15 October 1795, in Onano – 28 October 1881, in Rome) was an Italian

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

Biography

Prospero Caterini was born in Onano, diocese of Acquapendente in the region of Lazio in what was then the Papal States. His parents were Francesco Caterini and Maria Domenica Pacelli both from noble families. Prospero's paternal aunt, Maria Antonia Caterini was married to another Pacelli, Gaetano Pacelli thus making Prospero Caterini a relative to the Pacelli family on both his mother's and father's sides. Maria Antonia Caterini and Gaetano Pacelli were the parents of Marcantonio Pacelli, who served as

minister of finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

for

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

and deputy minister of interior under

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

from 1851 to 1870 and also founded the newspaper

L’Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not a ...

on 20 July 1860. In 1939, Eugenio Pacelli, one of Marcantonio's grandsons was elected to the papacy as Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Piu ...

. The Caterinis themselves traced their nobility to the Cattanei or Cattaneo family, specifically to Gualdo Cattaneo whose family were the Counts of

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical buf ...

in 1520. The name "Caterini" was taken due to the family's devotion to

St. Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

. Those with the surname Caterini later became part of the nobility of

Nocera Umbra Nocera Umbra is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Perugia, Italy, 15 kilometers north of Foligno, at an altitude of 520 m above sea-level. The '' comune'', covering an area of 157.19 km², is one of the largest in Umbria. History An ...

, Acquapendente and Onano. Near Grotte di Castro in the vicinity of Lake Bolsena, the Caterini family had a castle, the Castle of Santa Cristina where the young seminarian Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII would spend his holidays in the company of the Pacelli-Caterini families. Prospero Caterini completed his studies in Rome. No information has been found as to his ordination history. He served as the substitute secretary of the Sacred Congregation Consistorial and was later the Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Studies. From 1 March 1841 to 28 November 1845, he was Auditor ''Santissimi''. He was a canon of

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...

and became an Assessor of the Sacred Congregation of the Inquisition.

created him a cardinal on 7 March 1853 and three days later on 10 March, the new cardinal received the red hat and the title of Cardinal-Deacon of

Santa Maria della Scala Santa Maria della Scala (English: Mary of the Staircase) is a titular church in Rome, Italy, located in the Trastevere rione. Cardinal Ernest Simoni took possession of the titular church on 11 February 2017. Santa Maria della Scala is a titu ...

. He became Cardinal-Protodeacon on 6 November 1876 upon the death of the incumbent protodeacon Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli. On 18 December 1876, he opted for and received the title of Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata previously held by the late Cardinal Antonelli while retaining ''in commendam'' the title to the deaconry of Santa Maria della Scala. On 21 December 1876, he became secretary of the Inquisition. Prospero Caterini participated as a cardinal-elector in the

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle ...

. As

protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usa ...

, he announced at the end of the conclave the election of Cardinal Gioacchino Pecci as

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 ...

. Due to illness however, he was unable to

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

the new pope at his papal coronation, the honor instead went to Cardinal

Teodolfo Mertel Teodolfo Mertel (9 February 1806 – 11 July 1899) was a lawyer, deacon, and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the last cardinal not to have been ordained at least a priest. Life He was born in the town of Allumiere, in the Provinc ...

. He died on 28 October 1881 and after the wake held at his deaconry, was buried at the chapel of the confraternity of the Most Precious Blood in Campo Verano cemetery in Rome.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Caterini Carlo. Gens Catherina de terra Balii. Edizioni Scientifiche Calabresi.Rende 2009.

External links

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Caterini, Prospero 19th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius IX Protodeacons Our Lady of La Salette 1795 births 1881 deaths Members of the Holy Office Members of the Sacred Congregation of the Council

Biography

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links