Fabrizio Spada (Rome, 17 March 1643 – Rome, 15 June 1717) 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 ...

of 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 ...

, and served as Secretary of State under

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 ...

Life

Born on March 17, 1643, in Rome, he was the son of Orazio Spada and Veralli Maria. He was also a great-nephew of Cardinal Bernardino Spada and a nephew of Cardinal Giambattista Spada on his father's side, and a nephew of Cardinal Fabrizio Verallo on his mother's side. His sister, Eugenia Spada (1639–1717) married

Girolamo Mattei, Duca di Giove Girolamo Mattei (160616 January 1676) was an Italian nobleman of the House of Mattei and Duke of Giove. Mattei was born in 1606, the son of Asdrubale Mattei, ''Marquis di Giove'', and his wife Costanza Gonzaga (of the House of Gonzaga). He wa ...

of the

House of Mattei The House of Mattei was one of the most powerful noble families of Rome during the Middle Ages and early modern period, early modern era, holding high positions in the papal curia and government office. The family amassed significant art collectio ...

. Spada completed his studies as a doctor of law ("''in utroque iure''") at the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

in 1664; after which he took

holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

on December 22, 1669. He was subsequently appointed referendary to the

Apostolic Signatura The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura () is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church (apart from the pope himself, who as supreme ecclesiastical judge is the final point of appeal on any ecclesiastical matter). In addition, ...

and Lay Abbot of the monastery of Santa Maria d' Attilia, in the diocese of San Severino. In 1672 he became titular

Latin Archbishop of Patras The Latin Archbishopric of Patras was the see of Patras in the period in which its incumbents belonged to the Latin Church. This period began in 1205 with the installation in the see of a Catholic archbishop following the Fourth Crusade. The Lat ...

but had to obtain a dispensation because he was still below canonical age, and papal

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 ...

to the duchy of

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

. On August 14, 1672, he was consecrated bishop by Gasparo Carpegna,

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

of Santa Pudenziana with Alessandro Crescenzi (cardinal), titular Latin patriarch of Alexandria, and Bernardino Rocci, titular archbishop of Damasco, serving as co-consecrators. Two years later on January 3, 1674, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to France. Pope Clement X created him cardinal-priest in the consistory of 27 May 1675, and he was given the titulus of San Callisto. This was exchanged in 1689 for that of

San Crisogono San Crisogono is a church in Rome (rione Trastevere) dedicated to the martyr Saint Chrysogonus. It was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, and was probably built in the 4th century under Pope Sylvester I (314–335). T ...

and in 1708 for that 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 ...

. He was appointed

legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...

in 1686 and served as Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals from 1688 to 1689. Finally he achieved his most senior appointment as

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 ...

, serving from 1691 to 1700 under the papacy of Innocent XII. In 1710 he became cardinal-bishop of the Roman see of

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...

. Other titles included Prefect for the Congregation of Good Government (now suppressed), archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and Secretary for the Holy Office or Inquisition from 1716 until his death. As cardinal he also participated in the papal

conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

s of 1676, 1689, 1691 and 1700. He died in the family palace in Rome, and his body was laid out for viewing in the church of

Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria in Vallicella, also called Chiesa Nuova, is a church in Rome, Italy, which today faces onto the main thoroughfare of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the corner of Via della Chiesa Nuova. It is the principal church of the Oratorians ...

before being interred within the Spada family chapel.

Episcopal succession

References

*Renata Ago, ''Carriere e clientele nella Roma barocca'', Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spada, Fabrizio 1643 births 1717 deaths 17th-century Italian cardinals 18th-century Italian cardinals 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops Bishops appointed by Pope Clement X Latin archbishops of Patras Apostolic nuncios to Savoy Apostolic nuncios to France Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina Cardinal Secretaries of State University of Perugia alumni