Fabrizio Paolucci (2 April 1651 – 12 June 1726) was an Italian

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 ...

in the

Roman Catholic Church 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 Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, appointed by

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent 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 took a hard stance against nepotism ...

Biography

Born at

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, he went 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, ...

at the age of eight, in 1659, to be educated by his grand-uncle, Francesco Paolucci. In 1685 he was elected bishop of Macerata and Tolentino, April 9, 1685, and later was appointed Nuncio in Cologne in 1696. Pope Innocent XII elevated him to the rank of cardinal in the consistory of 19 December 1698, and he became archbishop of

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

. He became

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. Th ...

during the pontificate of

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

. On Clement's death, at the succeeding conclave of 1721, Paolucci was the strongest candidate to succeed, but was vetoed by

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (; ; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully War of ...

as he considered him too close to the French. Instead Michelangelo Conti was elected as

Pope Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII (; ; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He remains the most recent pope to take the ...

. After the latter's death in 1724 Paolucci was again one of the leading candidates for the papacy, but again the imperial veto played its part. However, with the election of

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII (; ; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in ...

, he resumed the role of Secretary of State and held the position until his death. It was Paolucci who ordered the construction of the neoclassical Palazzo Paolucci de Calboli at Forlì. He died on 12 June 1726 at the age of 75 years.

Sources

*Renata Ago, ''Carriere e clientele nella Roma barocca'', Rome-Bari, Laterza, 1990. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paolucci, Fabrizio 1651 births 1726 deaths People from Forlì 18th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal Secretaries of State Apostolic Nuncios to Cologne Apostolic nuncios to Germany