Rainiero d'Elci (7 March 1670 – 22 June 1761) 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

He was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

and was ordained in 1699. He entered papal service in the following year and held several offices both in Roman Curia and in the papal territorial administration. He was

Inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

from 1711 until 1716. He was consecrated

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Rodi at the end of 1730. He served as

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

in France 1731–1738.

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

created him

on 20 December 1737 but did not publish it before the following June. In the same year he became

archbishop of Ferrara The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio ( la, Archidioecesis Ferrariensis-Comaclensis) has existed since 1986, when the diocese of Comacchio was combined with the historical archdiocese of Ferrara. It is a suffragan of the archdioce ...

, an office he held until 1740; he was then legate in that city. He became

bishop of Sabina 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 ...

(10 April 1747), then

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 ...

(9 April 1753). He became

Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals 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 ...

at the death of

Pietro Luigi Carafa Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Ca ...

on 15 December 1755, and as such he was transferred to the

see of Ostia e Velletri 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 ...

(proper of the Dean) on 12 January 1756. He presided over the Papal conclave, 1758. In spite of his advanced age, he received several votes during its celebration. He died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and is buried in his titular church of S. Sabina.

References

External links

Rainiero d'Elci biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elci, Rainiero 1670 births 1761 deaths Clergy from Florence 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Cardinal-bishops of Porto Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Deans of the College of Cardinals Rainiero Inquisitors of Malta