Camillo Mazzella (10 February 1833 – 26 March 1900) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Biography

Mazzella was born at Vitulano, near

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

. He and his siblings were first tutored at home. Three of his brothers entered religious life."Cardinal Mazzella", Woodstock Letters, Volume XV, Number 3, 1 November 1886
/ref> His twin brother, Ernesto, later became

Archbishop of Bari The Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto () is Metropolitan Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the administrative Bari province, Puglia (Apulia) region, southeastern Italy (the 'Heel'), created in 1986, when the historical diocese of Bitonto wa ...

. Mazzella entered the ecclesiastical seminary of Benevento when about eleven years of age, completed his classical, philosophical, and theological studies before his twenty-fourth year, and was ordained priest in September 1855, a dispensation as he was under canonical age having been granted by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

.Brosnahan, Timothy. "Camillo Mazzella." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 25 September 2022 For two years after his ordination he remained at Vitulano, attending to the duties of canon in the parish church, a position he held from his family. Resigning this office he entered the Society of Jesus, 4 September 1857. After spending a year in the novitiate, he was sent to teach philosophy first, at the Seminary of Andria, in

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

and then at the College of Cosenza, in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. When the Jesuits were expelled from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in 1860, he went to teach

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Fourvières (Lyon,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

), and in 1867 at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 1869, he was the founder and one of the first professors at Woodstock theological college,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where he was Prefect of Studies. In 1875, he served a Visitor to the Jesuit Mission in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. Mazzella became a naturalized American citizen. In 1878, he was called to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to teach at the

Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyola, and included all ...

, and later became president of the Academy of Saint Thomas. He was very involved with

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

's promotion of Thomistic Philosophy.Treccani website, ''Camillo Mazzella''
/ref> In June 1886 he was named cardinal-deacon of

Sant'Adriano al Foro Sant'Adriano al Foro was a church in Rome, formerly in the Curia Julia in the ''Forum Romanum'' and a cardinal-deaconry (a titular church for a Cardinal-deacon). The church The Church of Sant'Adriano al Foro (Italian for St. (H)Adrian at ...

. Even as a cardinal, Mazzella maintained his identity as a Jesuit, spending his summers at the novitiate in Naples. On 1897, he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina. Mazzella served at various times as prefect of a number of Curial Congregations, and as Cardinal-Protector of several religious institutes. Mazzella was conservative and an Ultramontanist and likely contributed to the drafting of '' Testem benevolentiae nostrae'', Pope Leo's 1899 letter to

James Cardinal Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 unti ...

cautioning him about the dangers of Americanism. He was likewise opposed to Darwin's theory of evolution. He died in

Obit, ''The Messenger of the Sacred Heart of Jesus'', Volume 35, p. 587
/ref> and was buried in the chapel of the Society of Jesus in Campo Verano cemetery.
/ref>

Works

* ''De gratia Christi'' (1874). * ''De Deo creante'' (1880). * ''De Religione et Ecclesia'' (1880). (6th edn., 1905, o
Google Books
)

References

* 1833 births 1900 deaths People from the Province of Benevento 19th-century Italian Jesuits 19th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII Georgetown University faculty Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians Jesuit cardinals {{Italy-RC-cardinal-stub