Carlo Antonio Giuseppe Bellisomi (30 July 1736 in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

– 9 August 1808 in

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; 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 organization. A nuncio is ...

Life

He was made a priest on 29 May 1763 and on 11 September 1775

titular bishop 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 Tyana. On 20 September 1775 he became nuncio to

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. Before taking up the post, he was ordained a bishop on 24 September 1775 by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

. On 14 February 1785 the Pope appointed him cardinal in pectore and on 7 May 1785 nuncio to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. On 21 February 1794 he was publicly appointed a cardinal and on 22 September 1795 bishop of Cesena, where he held the personal title of prince bishop. On 18 December 1795 he was appointed cardinal priest of the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholi ...

died on 29 August 1799 at Valence in the custody of the French. Due to the French occupation of Rome, the conclave that followed was held in Venice. Bellisomi, seemed a viable candidate (''papabile''), with some eighteen committed votes. However, he was unpopular with the Austrian faction, who preferred Cardinal Alessandro Mattei, the Archbishop of Ferrara, and therefore, could not obtain the canonically required two-thirds vote.Walsh, Michael and Walsh, Michael J., ''The Conclave'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2003, p. 139
/ref> On 18 September 1807 he opted for the titular church of

Santa Prassede The Basilica of Saint Praxedes (, ), commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an early medieval titulus (Roman Catholic), titular church and minor basilica located near the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major, on Via di Santa Prassede, Mont ...

References

External links

On GCatholic.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellisomi, Carlo Antonio Giuseppe 1736 births 1808 deaths 18th-century Italian cardinals Religious leaders from Pavia Apostolic Nuncios to Cologne Apostolic nuncios to Portugal Bishops of Cesena Cardinals created by Pope Pius VI 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 19th-century Italian cardinals