Francesco Landi (9 July 1682 – 11 February 1757) was an eighteenth century archbishop and cardinal. He is also known as Francesco Landi Pietra after his father's adoption by Count Cesare Pietra di Roncarolo.

Biography

Landi was the fourth child of Count Odoardo Landi and Elisabetta Lampugnani, minor nobility from Piacenza. He studied in Rome at the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (, ) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic corps and the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. Despite its name, the P ...

and the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

, where he graduated '' in utroque jure''. After graduation, he became ''ajutante de studio'' to Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali in the

Papal conclave, 1721 The 1721 papal conclave was called upon the death of Pope Clement XI. It began on 31 March 1721 and ended on 8 May that year with the election of Cardinal Michelangelo dei Conti as Pope Innocent XIII. Divisions in the College of Cardinals The ...

Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma Francesco Farnese (19 May 1678 – 26 February 1727) reigned as the seventh Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1694 until his death. Married to Dorothea Sophia of the Palatinate, his brother Odoardo's widow, to avoid the return of her dow ...

sent him as his ambassador in Paris at the court of the

Duke of Orleans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

, Philippe II, regent of France on behalf of the then still underage

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

. He found favour with the Count and acted as his counselor. He decided to return to Rome and he became the legal secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of 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, ...

on 26 March 1733. In 1736 he became secretary of the "Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Regulars" and consultor of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition. He was ordained priest on 8 September 1741 and ten days later he was appointed Archbishop of

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

and consecrated by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

on 12 November. He often attended his diocese and worked to restore and beautify the Cathedral of Benevento. Within the consistory of 9 September 1743,

appointed him cardinal, sending him the red biretta with an apostolic brief of 20 September 1743. He received the title of Cardinal Priest of San Onofrio on 15 June 15, 1744 but left that office for that of

San Giovanni a Porta Latina San Giovanni a Porta Latina (Italian: "Saint John Before the Latin Gate") is a Basilica church in Rome, Italy, near the Porta Latina (on the Via Latina) of the Aurelian Wall. History According to Tertullian, as quoted by Saint Jerome, in the ...

on 13 September 1745. On 17 January 1752 he left the Bishop's chair of Benevento to return to Rome. Here, he was

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church. The title is based on an Italian word for chamberlain, a word no longer used in secular contexts. The position existed from a ...

from 14 January 1754 to 17 February 1755, when he became Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Index and for the Correction of the Books of the Oriental Church. He vigorously promoted the cause of beatification of the Venerable Father

John Leonardi John Leonardi, OMD (Italian language, Italian: Giovanni; 1541 – 9 October 1609) was an Italian people, Italian Catholic Church, Catholic priest and the founder of the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God, Clerics Regular of the Mother of God o ...

, founder of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Mother of God as Protector of the order. He was buried in

Santa Maria in Campitelli Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico (''Santa Maria in Portico di Campitelli'') is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the narrow Piazza di Campitelli in Rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy. The church is served by the Clerics R ...

in Rome.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landi, Francesco 1682 births 1757 deaths Sapienza University of Rome alumni 18th-century Italian cardinals Archbishops of Benevento 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops