Filippo Sega
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Filippo Sega (22 August 1537 – 29 May 1596) was 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 Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
from 1575 to 1596 and a
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 ...
from 1591 to 1596. He served as a papal diplomat in several important and sensitive posts, in Flanders, Spain, Vienna, Prague, and France.


Biography

Sega was born in
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
on August 22, 1537, the son of a
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...
family originally from
Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
.Biography from the Biographical Dictionary of the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
/ref> His sister, born Isabella Sega, was the mother of Cardinal
Girolamo Agucchi Girolamo Agucchi (15 January 1555 – 27 April 1605) was a Catholic cardinal from 1604 to 1605. Biography Agucchi was born in Bologna on January 15, 1555, the son of Gian Giorgio Agucchi and Isabella Sega. His mother was the sister of Cardinal ...
and the diplomat Bishop
Giovanni Battista Agucchi Giovanni Battista Agucchi (20 November 15701 January 1632) was an Italian churchman, Papal diplomat and writer on art theory. He was the nephew and brother of cardinals, and might have been one himself if he had lived longer. He served as secreta ...
, who worked under Sega at the start of his career. He was educated at the
University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...
, where he became a
doctor of both laws A doctor of both laws, from the Latin , , or ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD and UID), is a scholar who has acquired a doctorate in both civil and church law ...
on September 26, 1560. After completing his doctorate, he became a protonotary apostolic. He was named governor of
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 ...
on September 20, 1566; governor of
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, ...
on January 24, 1569; governor of
Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...
on March 3, 1571; of
Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...
on December 15, 1572; and of the
March of Ancona The March of Ancona ( or ''Anconetana'') was a frontier march centred on the city of Ancona and later Fermo then Macerata in the Middle Ages. Its name is preserved as an Italian region today, the Marche, and it corresponds to almost the entir ...
on January 1, 1575.


Bishop

On May 20, 1575, Sega was "elected" (provided) as the second
Bishop of Ripatransone The Diocese of San Benedetto del Tronto-Ripatransone-Montalto () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the Marche. It has existed in its current form since 1986. In that year the Diocese of Montalto was united into the Diocese of Ripatra ...
by
Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...
. He was
consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
a
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
by Gabriele del Monte, Bishop of Iesi, in
Osimo Cathedral Osimo Cathedral or the Church of San Leopardo (, ''Chiesa di San Leopardo'') is the principal church of Osimo in Italy, dedicated to the first bishop, Saint Leopardus. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Osimo, it has been since 1986 a ...
on June 29, 1575. On Oct. 3, 1578, while he was still in Spain, he was appointed
Bishop of Piacenza A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
.


Diplomat

In 1577, Sega was sent as a special envoy to
John of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phi ...
in the
County of Flanders The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of modern-day Belgium and north-eastern France. Unlike the neighbouring states of Duchy of Brabant, Brabant and ...
. His mission was to aid Don Juan in the pacification of the Spanish Netherlands, which was the property of the Crown of Spain, to stop the advance of Protestantism, and to prepare in secret the expedition for the conquest of England. He was only in Flanders a few months when the papal Nuncio to Spain, Niccolò Ormaneto, became gravely ill and died on 23 February 1577. On 1 July 1577 a dispatch from the papal Secretary, Cardinal Filippo Guastavillani, the Pope's nephew, ordered Sega to Spain as the new Nuncio, and on 8 July Pope Gregory signed the necessary documents. There were numerous matters pending between the Papacy and the King of Spain, not the least of which was the choice of new bishops for the dioceses of Toledo and Cuenca. Sega was Nuncio in Spain until 30 April 1581. He took his leave of King Philip at Lisbon in December 1581. In Spring 1582, Bishop Sega was back in his diocese, but on 20 September 1583, he received a letter from Cardinal Guastavillani, appointing him to another mission to Spain. He sailed from Genoa on the 25th, and was in Madrid on 11 October. He was to attempt to get King Philip II to revive the league with Venice and the Papacy against the Turks; he was to revive Gregory XIII's enterprise against England; he was to persuade the King to support Prince Ernest of Bavaria, who had been chosen Archbishop of Cologne but who was being resisted by the schismatic heretic Otto von Truchses and Prince Casimir. On 24 November 1583 the Spanish response was given by Cardinal de Granvelle: the league was refused; the King was committed to the English expedition, but circumstance were unfavorable at the time; the Catholics of Cologne were being supported by the Prince of Parma, to the extent that his commitments in the Netherlands made it possible, but in any case, the Elector Ernest would have to pay the expenses, since the King could not. Bishop Sega left the Spanish court at the end of January 1584, but fell ill at Barcelona, and did not arrive in Italy until June. He was dispensed from the necessity of traveling directly to Rome to make his report to the Pope. A new pope,
Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...
(Felice Peretti) was elected on 24 April 1585. His program for his papacy included the reform of the clergy of the city of Rome, and, for that purpose, on 29 July 1585 he chose two bishops with a reputation for reform in their own dioceses, Giulio Ottinelli of Castro and Filippo Sega of Piacenza. The assignment of the "Monsignori Riformatori" was to carry out an official visitation of all the churches and colleges in Rome; each member of the clergy who held a benefice of any kind was summoned to give an account of himself. The English, German, Greek, and the Maronite Colleges were visited, as well as the Roman Seminary and the Lateran Basilica. Unfortunately, Sega's work was interrupted when he was again pressed into diplomatic service. He served as
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 Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...
in Vienna from January 18, 1586 until May 28, 1587. Back in his diocese, he organized and presided over a diocesan synod, held on 3 May 1589. After the assassination of
Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...
on 2 August 1589 by a fanatical monk, Pope Sixtus acted with lightning speed and appointed an embassy to the new Catholic king of France, the Cardinal Charles de Bourbon (Charles X), and his League. The new
papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...
''a latere'' was Cardinal Enrico Caetani, and he was accompanied by Bishop Filippo Sega with the title of Nuncio. The embassy of more than 200 persons left Rome on 2 October 1589. Sega was promoted to Legate on 15 April 1592 on the withdrawal of Caetani, and continued to serve until 12 March 1594.


Cardinal

In the
consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...
of December 18, 1591,
Pope Innocent IX Pope Innocent IX (; ; 20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591. Prior to his short papacy, he had been a canon ...
named Bishop Sega a
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. Ca ...
. Sega had been given the endorsement of
William V, Duke of Bavaria William V (29 September 1548 – 7 February 1626), called ''the Pious'', (German: ''Wilhelm V., der Fromme, Herzog von Bayern'') was the duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597. Education and early life William V was born in Landshut, the son of ...
. Due to his service in France, he was not assigned a
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 ...
until his return, when, on 5 December 1594, he received the
red hat Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...
and became the Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio. He did not participate in the papal conclave of 1592 that elected
Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...
. He became president of the '' Congregatio Germanica'' (the German affairs committee) in the Papal Curia in 1595. Worn out by work and importunities, however, he retired to a villa outside the Porta Pinciana above Trastevere, where he died. Cardinal Filippo Sega died in Rome on 29 May 1596 and is buried in his titular church of Sant' Onofrio.Cardella, V, p. 324. Fernández Collado, p. 34.


References


Bibliography

*Biaudet, Henry (1910). ''Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes jusqu'en 1648'' (Helsinki: Suomalainen tiedeakatemia, Helsingfors), p. 286. * * * *Florencio del Niño Jesus (1934), "Monseñor Sega," in: ''Mensajero de Santa Teresa'' (Madrid 1934), pp. 278–282. *Gachard, M. (1864). "Une visite aux Archives et à la Bibliothèque royales de Munich," in: *Molinari, F. (1976). "Il card. Filippo Sega, vescovo di Piacenza e San Carlo Borromeo (1574–1584)." in: ''Ricerche storiche sulla Chiesa Ambrosiana'' 6 (Milano 1976) 199-201. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sega, Fillipo 1537 births 1596 deaths Bishops of Piacenza 16th-century Italian cardinals 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops