Cristoforo Guidalotti Ciocchi del Monte (1484–1564) was an

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and

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. On his mother's side, he was a first cousin of

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...

Biography

Cristoforo Guidalotti Ciocchi del Monte was born in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

in 1484, the son of Cecco di Cristofano Guidalotti, a patrician of

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, and Margherita Ciocchi del Monte. "Cristoforo Guidalotti Ciocchi del Monte", Ufficio Turistico, Comune di Monte San Savino
/ref> After the premature death of their father, he and his brothers Pietro, Federico, Fabiano and sister Laura were placed under the guardianship of their uncle, Cardinal Antonio Maria Ciocchi del Monte, at whose wish they assumed his surname.Grenga, Giovanna. "Del Monte, Cristoforo", ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' - Volume 38, 1990
/ref> As a young man, he traveled to

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and studied under his uncle Cardinal Antonio Maria Ciocchi del Monte, becoming a doctor in "utroque iure" (civil and canon law). Through a preferment from his uncle, he became

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. On 21 August 1517 he was elected titular Bishop of Bethlehem, a position previously held by his cousin Gaspare Antonio del Monte. He was transferred to the Diocese of Cagli e Pergola on 10 February 1525, and later to the Diocese of Marseille on 27 June 1550. On 20 October 1550 he became titular Patriarch of Alexandria, while retaining the Diocese of Marseille. He resigned the patriarchate sometime before 8 January 1552. His cousin Pope Julius III made him a

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in the

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of 20 November 1551. He received the

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and on 4 December 1551 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 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 ...

, which had previously been held by both his uncle and cousin. As cardinal, he was a participant in both the papal conclave of April 1555 that elected

Pope Marcellus II Pope Marcellus II (; 6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 1555 to his death, 22 days later. He succeeded Pope Julius III. Before his ...

and the papal conclave of May 1555 that elected

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

. With the death of Canon Giovanni Ciocchi del Monte, the Diocese of Cagli became vacant. Cardinal Cristoforo resigned from the Diocese of Marseille to resume Cagli on 9 March 1556. He returned to Rome for the funeral of Paul IV and participated in the papal conclave of 1559 that elected

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

. He died in Rome on 27 October 1564 and was buried in Sant'Angelo in Vado.

References

External links and additional sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciocchi del Monte, Cristoforo Guidalotti 1484 births 1564 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-nephews Cristoforo 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops People from Arezzo Latin Patriarchs of Alexandria