The captain general of the Church ( it, Capitano generale della Chiesa) was the ''de facto'' commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the

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 ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The post was usually conferred on an

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

or other noble with a professional military reputation or (later) a relative of the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. The parallel office of gonfalonier was more a formal and ceremonial honor than the responsibility of a tactical military leader. The office was at times made subordinate to temporary offices. For example,

Pope Callixtus III Pope Callixtus III ( it, Callisto III, va, Calixt III, es, Calixto III; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alfonso de Borgia ( va, Alfons de Borja), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his ...

appointed Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (Later Pope

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

) as the chief and general commissary of the Papal Army. A number of such offices under many titles were used as ministers of war by popes, the captain general operated as a field commander under these offices.

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

removed both ranks and replaced them with the position of Flag-bearer of the Holy Roman Church (), which later became hereditary in the Naro Patrizi.Levillain, Philippe
''The Papacy: An Encyclopedia.''
"Heraldry." Accessed 5 June 2010. It was traditional for the captain general to carry a baton of command blessed by the pope.Chambers, 2006, p. 142.

List of captains general

Notes

References

*Chambers, D.S. 2006. ''Popes, Cardinals & War: The Military Church in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe''. I.B. Tauris. {{ISBN, 1-84511-178-8. Papal States military personnel Military ranks 8th-century establishments in the Papal States 1691 disestablishments in the Papal States

List of captains general

See also

Notes

References