Leonardo Antonelli (6 November 1730 – 23 January 1811) was an Italian Cardinal in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Biography

A native of

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

, Antonelli was the nephew of Cardinal Nicolò Maria Antonelli. During the early part of his long diplomatic career, he held, among other offices, those of

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the Vatican Basilica,

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 archives in the Castle of San Angelo, Secretary of the Sacred College and Assessor of the

Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible f ...

. He was created Cardinal Priest of Santa Sabina by Pope Pius VI in the consistory of 24 April 1775, and later

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 ...

and Cardinal Bishop of Ostia-Velletri. At the time of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, with a view to preventing the suspension of church services, he lent his support to the vote for the civil constitution of the French clergy, decreed by the National Assembly of France (12 July 1790). In addition to the responsible posts already mentioned, he filled those of

grand penitentiary The Apostolic Penitentiary (), formerly called the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia and is one of the three ordinary tribunals of the Apostolic See. The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribu ...

, prefect of the Signature of Justice and of the Congregation of the Index, and pro-secretary of Briefs. He assisted in the preparation of the

Concordat A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Edi ...

, and was present at the election of Pope Pius VII in 1800, whom he later accompanied to Paris in 1804. He participated in the Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of the French. In 1808, he was banished from Rome by the French to

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 ...

and later to Sinigaglia, where he died, leaving to the

Congregation of Propaganda 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 administr ...

bequests for the support of twelve

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students in the College of Urbano. Though Antonelli has been criticized for arrogating to the papacy too arbitrary a civil power, a perusal of his letter to the bishops of Ireland reveals a more tolerant spirit than is generally attributed to him. Possessed of a rich library, he was the friend and protector of letters, and had as librarian, the learned

Francesco Cancellieri Francesco Girolamo Cancellieri (Rome, 10 October 1751 – Rome, 29 December 1826) was an Italian writer, librarian, and erudite bibliophile. Biography Thomas Adolphus Trollope wrote a summary of his biography, which had been extracted were publishe ...

. He also acquired some fame as an archaeologist.

References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonelli, Leonardo 1730 births 1811 deaths People from Senigallia Deans of the College of Cardinals 18th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina Cardinal-bishops of Porto Members of the Holy Office Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary Cardinals created by Pope Pius VI 19th-century Italian cardinals