Giuseppe Spinelli (1 February 1694 – 12 April 1763) 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 ...

. He was

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

Biography

A native of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, he was the son of Giambattista Spinelli, marquis of Fuscaldo, prince of Sant'Arcangelo and duke of Caivano. His mother was Maria Imperiali. He was the grand-nephew of Cardinal

Lorenzo Imperiali Lorenzo Imperiali (21 February 1612 - 21 September 1673) was an Italian Catholic cardinal. Early life Imperiali was born in Genoa on 21 February 1612 to the patrician Imperiali family of that city. He went to Rome during the pontificate of Pop ...

, cousin of Cardinal Cosimo Imperiali, and uncle of Cardinal Ferdinando Spinelli.Miranda, Salvador. "Spinelli, Giuseppe (1694-1763)", The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Florida International University, 2018
/ref> At the age of thirteen, he was sent to Rome to live with his maternal uncle, Cardinal

Giuseppe Renato Imperiali Giuseppe Renato Imperiali (1 May 1651 – 18 February 1737) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, and known as an avid bibliophile. Biography He was born in Francavilla Fontana in Apulia, in the Kingdom of Naples, into an aristocratic ...

, while attending the seminary. In 1717, he was awarded a doctorate in civil and canon law from

La Sapienza University The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

. He was named privy chamberlain of

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

, and ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1724. The following year he was appointed papal nuncio to Flanders and consecrated titular archbishop of Corinthus by Cardinal d'Alsace. He was

archbishop of Naples The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naples ( la, Archidioecesis Neapolitana) is a Roman Catholic archdioceses in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples wa ...

from 1734 until 1754. In this capacity, he conducted a search for the relics of Agrippinus, an early bishop of the city. He found a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

vase with the following words written: "Indeterminate relics that are believed to be the body of Saint Agrippinus

He also summoned

Stefano Pozzi Stefano Pozzi (9 November 1699 — 11 June 1768) was an Italian painter, designer, draughtsman and decorator whose career was spent largely in Rome. Born in Rome, he was one of four artist sons of his father, an innkeeper: Rocco (1701–74) ...

to decorate the cathedral at Naples. His clandestine attempt to introduce the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

to Naples in 1746, resulted in a violent popular uprising, whereupon

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...

forced him to renounce his see and leave the capital. He did so with the greatest of reluctance, attempting first to remedy the situation from Rome, but finally resigned the Archbishopric in early 1754. In 1756, he became prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He later became

Bishop of Palestrina The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina ( la, Diocesis Praenestina) is a Roman Catholic suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. The current bishop of Palestrina is Domenico Sigalini, who from 3 Novem ...

in 1753,

Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina A bishop is an ordained clergy member 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 of dioceses. The role or offic ...

in 1759, and

Bishop of Ostia The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Ostia is an ecclesiastical territory located within the Metropolitan City of Rome in Italy. It is one of the seven suburbicarian dioceses. The incumbent Bishop is cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. Since ...

in 1761. He belonged to the conservative ''

zelanti {{unreferenced, date=April 2014 In Roman Catholicism, the expression ''zelanti'' has been applied to conservative members of the clergy and their lay supporters since the thirteenth century. Its specific connotations have shifted with each reapplic ...

'' faction in the College of Cardinals. He became

Dean of the Sacred College The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establi ...

in June 1761. Spinelli died at Ostia in 1763.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinelli, Giuseppe 1694 births 1763 deaths 17th-century Neapolitan people Archbishops of Naples 18th-century Italian cardinals Deans of the College of Cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina Cardinal-bishops of Porto 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Latin archbishops of Corinth 18th-century Neapolitan people