Alfonso Michele Litta (19 September 1608 – 28 August 1679) was an Italian nobleman who was a Cardinal and

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

from 1652 to 1679.

Early life

Alfonso Litta was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

on 19 September 1608, the second child of Marquess Pompeo of the House of Litta. His mother, widowed in 1609, in 1622 married Antonio Ferrer, great-chancellor of the Duchy of Milan (at the time under the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

government). Ferrer brought Alfonso with him to Spain to the court of Philip IV. There Alfonso studied

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...

, and later completed his studies, earning a doctorate in utroque iure, at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

in 1628. In 1628 he entered the order of lawyers of Milan and the clerical state; in 1630 he moved to Rome where Pope Urban VIII appointed him

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 Byzan ...

of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature. As an administrator of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, he served as governor of Orvieto in 1637,

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

from 1638 to 1639,

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of C ...

from 1639 to 1643, and Vice- legate of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, Ferrara and Romagna in 1643. He was Commissary general of the papal army in 1643, and in 1645 governor of Ascoli where he suppressed an uprising. In 1646 he was appointed governor of the

Campagne and Maritime Province The Campagna and Marittima Province (Latin ''Campaniæ Maritimæque Provincia'', Italian ''Provincia di Campagna e Marittima'') was one of the seven provinces of the Papal States from the 12th century to the end of the 18th. The province was es ...

during the revolt of Masaniello. He sided with the Spanish government, disclosing to them the scheme hatched by the French and the

Barberini The House of Barberini are a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban palace ...

. For this act he gained the esteem of the Spanish government, but made enemies in Rome. In 1648 he became governor of the Marche.

Archbishop of Milan

On 17 June 1652 Alfonso Litta was appointed

. He was consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

on 24 June 1652 in Rome by Cardinal Giulio Roma, and he made his entrance in Milan as Archbishop on 17 November 1652. As bishop, Alfonso Litta followed in Saint Charles's footsteps: he convened two diocesan synods, in 1659 and 1669, and made some pastoral visits to the

pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin ''plebs'' which, after t ...

s far away from Milan. He was a guardian of the

Ambrosian rite The Ambrosian Rite is a Catholic Western liturgical rite, named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century, which differs from the Roman Rite. It is used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese ...

; he edited in 1679 some editions of the Missal and of the Breviary. He also restored the crypt of the

Cathedral of Milan Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombar ...

. During the 1655 invasion of the Duchy of Milan by

Thomas Francis of Savoy Thomas Francis of Savoy, 1st Prince of Carignano (; ; 21 December 1596 – 22 January 1656) was an Italian military commander and the founder of the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy, which reigned as kings of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 ...

, Litta organised a militia of 900 armed clerics. He defended the rights of the Church against the lay government: his frequent collisions with the Spanish rulers were related mainly to the

right of asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

in the churches, the administration of

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

s that had been established with religious affiliations (such as hospitals), and several cases of etiquette. Due to his firm and determined nature, and many enemies, Litta was not quickly named Cardinal. He was appointed

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 ...

on 14 June 1664 and formally appointed

Cardinal Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, ( la, Basilica Sanctae Crucis in Hierusalem) is a Catholic Minor basilica and titular church in rione Esquilino, Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim ...

on 15 February 1666. He participated in the Conclaves of

1667 Events January–March * January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's dereli ...

1669 Events January–March * January 2 – Pirate Henry Morgan of Wales holds a meeting of his captains on board his ship, the former Royal Navy frigate ''Oxford'', and an explosion in the ship's gunpowder supply kills 200 of his crew ...

and

1676 Events January–March * January 29 – Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia. * January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is founded. * January &nda ...

. In 1675 Litta moved to Rome in order to participate in the

jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

of that year, and because of health problems and clashes with the Spanish government he was told to resign from the Archbishopric of Milan. He did not resign, but was unable to return to Milan. He died in Rome on 28 August 1679, and his remains were buried first in the Roman church of San Carlo al Corso, and later transferred to the north nave of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Litta, Alfonso 1608 births 1679 deaths Nobility from Milan 17th-century Italian cardinals 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Archbishops of Milan Cardinals created by Pope Alexander VII Burials at Milan Cathedral University of Salamanca alumni