Carlo Michele Bonelli, Cardinal Alessandrino (25 November 1541– 28 March 1598) was an Italian senior papal diplomat with a distinguished career that spanned two decades from 1571.

Biography

Born in Bosco Marengo, he was the son of Marco Bonelli, inscribed as a noble of

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandri ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, 1566, and of Dominina de' Gibertis, niece of

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

. He was the great-uncle of Cardinal Carlo Bonelli (1664). He entered the preaching Order of Dominicans, taking the name Michele, and professed at the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, 1559. He studied at the

Collegio Germanico The Collegio Teutonico (German College), historically often referred to by its Latin name Collegium Germanicum, is one of the Pontifical Colleges of Rome. The German College is the Pontifical College established for future ecclesiastics of German ...

and was a professor of theology at the University of Perugia before being recalled to Rome by his great-uncle, Pius V. He was created

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 ...

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 6 March 1566; received the red hat and the '' titulus'' of Santa Maria sopra Minerva on 20 March and was entered with his father as a noble of Alessandria the same year; he conditioned his promotion on permission to continue wearing his Dominican habit. He was made Grand Prior in Rome of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, June 1568. He was charged with the important post of

Camerlengo Camerlengo (plural: ''camerlenghi'', Italian for " chamberlain") is an Italian title of medieval origin. It derives from the late Latin ''camarlingus'', in turn coming through the Frankish ''kamerling'', from the Latin ''camerarius'' which meant ...

on 3 December 1568, a post he held until 10 May 1570. In recompense he was given the sinecure of Abbot commendatario of San Michele della Chiusa. As papal Rome was expanding, he took the initiative of developing a new quarter erected above the ancient

imperial fora The Imperial Fora (''Fori Imperiali '' in Italian) are a series of monumental '' fora'' (public squares), constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The fora were the center of the Roman Republic and ...

, laying out streets —of which via Alessandrina commemorates his title— which had come to be divided among the monasteries of S.Basilio, S.Adriano and SS.Cosma e Damiano, and planted in orchards. His family shared in the honours during the pontificate of Pius V: his brother Girolamo, commander of the Papal Guard, was made marchese di Cassano d’Adda (1572), and his brother Michele, having been made duca di Salci (1569), became a gentleman-in-waiting to the

duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at ...

(1573). The "Cardinale Alessandrino", as he was styled—a title that had been borne by Pius V as a cardinal— was sent as

legate Legate may refer to: * Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

to the kings of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

on 18 June 1571, with the honour of cardinal nipote, in the company of

Francesco Borgia Francis Borgia ( ca-valencia, Francesc de Borja; es, Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After th ...

, and was sent as legate with the same discretionary powers ''a latere'' to the king of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 16 November 1571. The question of his advance notice of the imminent Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre beginning the following 24 August has been discussed among historians and emphatically denied in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'

Cardinal Alessandrino administered the last rites to his great-uncle the pope in May 1572 and participated in the ensuing Papal conclave, conclave. Member of the Congregation of the

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbid ...

, 1572, of the Council, 1573. Boinelli played a role in the transformation of the studium of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

at Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome into the College of St. Thomas, the forerunner of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''. Named by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, 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 ...

prefect of the Congregation of Religious. He participated in the conclave of 1585 that elected

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...

, who named him his

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop ...

in Rome and the entire

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 participated in the two conclaves of 1590 and in the conclaves of 1591 and of 1592. Prefect of the new Congregation for the Examination of Bishops in the pontificate of Clement VIII. He supported the reconciliation of

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

with

Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

in 1594. He was made the first count of Bosco Marengo on 29 November 1597. He died in Rome the following year after a brief illness, and was buried in his Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where his tomb sculpture of ''Prudence'' is by Stefano Maderno.

Episcopal succession

References

External links

*
Bonelli genealogy
"St Bartholomew's Day" {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonelli, Michele 16th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Albano Cardinals created by Pope Pius V Italian Dominicans Diplomats of the Holy See University of Perugia faculty 1541 births 1598 deaths People from Bosco Marengo Cardinal-nephews Camerlengos of the Holy Roman Church Dominican cardinals 16th-century Italian diplomats