Francesco Ravizza (1616 – 22 May 1675) was an Italian

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal The Apostolic Nunciature to the Republic of Portugal is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. Fo ...

from 1670 to 1673.

Life

Francesco Ravizza was born to a humble family in

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

in 1616. In that town he worked in the sewing shops of his parents, but soon he moved 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, ...

seeking his fortune. In Rome he succeeded to enter in the service of

Olimpia Maidalchini Olimpia Maidalchini Pamphilj, Princess of San Martino (26 May 1591 – 27 September 1657), (also spelled Pamphili and known as Olimpia Pamphili), was the sister-in-law of Pope Innocent X (Pamphili). She was perceived by her contemporaries as havin ...

, the powerful sister-in-law of reigning

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X (6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655. Born in Rome of a family fro ...

. At the death of Innocent X, Ravizza participated to the

1655 papal conclave The 1655 papal conclave was convened following the death of Pope Innocent X and ended with the election of Cardinal Fabio Chigi as Alexander VII. The conclave quickly reached a deadlock, with Giulio Cesare Sacchetti receiving 33 votes throughou ...

as secretary of Cardinal

Carlo Gualterio Carlo Gualterio (1613 – 1 January 1673) was an Italian Catholic cardinal. Biography Gualterio was born at Orvieto. In his family, Silvio Antoniani was cardinal and Sebastiano Gualterio had been Bishop of Viterbo, Papal Nuncio to France and th ...

; in that conclave Ravizza used in secret to send notes out of the conclave to Olimpia Maidalchini: for this reason he was arrested and passed some time in prison till he was forgiven by the new

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

. Under the new Pope, Ravizza became personal secretary of the cardinal nephew Flavio Chigi. On 28 November 1661 he was appointed as

referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe. Pre-modern history The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byza ...

of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace (which made him a prelate). On 31 December 1662 he entered in

Chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

. In 1664 Ravizza went with cardinal Flavio Chigi in his extraordinary legation in France. On 14 July 1665 he was appointed, succeeding Domenico Salvetti, prefect of the

Vatican Secret Archives The Vatican Apostolic Archive (; ), formerly known as the Vatican Secret Archive (; ), is the central repository in the Vatican City of all acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pope, as the sovereign of Vatican City, owns the material held ...

, an office that he never actually practiced. On 17 February 1666 he became secretary of the powerful

Sacra Consulta The Sacred Congregation of the Consulta or ''Sacra Consulta'' was a dicastery of the Roman Curia. It was set up as a 'special commission' by pope Paul IV in 1559 and officialised on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V in the papal bull ''Immensa Aete ...

, the most important administrative tribunal of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, a post that he held until 22 February 1668. On 19 March 1667, shortly before the death of the Pope, he was appointed titular Bishop of Sidon. The

episcopal consecration 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 ...

followed on 20 March in

by the hands of Cardinal Neri Corsini. During the

1667 papal conclave The 1667 papal conclave was convened on the death of Pope Alexander VII and ended with the election of Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi as Pope Clement IX. The conclave was dominated by factions loyal to the cardinal nephews of Alexander VII and Urba ...

Ravizza schemed in favour of cardinal Angelo Celsi and during the 1669-70 papal conclave he played a hidden, but key role in supporting the Spanish faction, being however stopped by cardinal

Jean François Paul de Gondi Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz (20 September 1613 – 24 August 1679) was a French churchman, writer of memoirs, and agitator in the Fronde. The Florentine banking and noble Gondi family had been introduced into France by Catheri ...

. The

Treaty of Lisbon (1668) The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain that was concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668 with the mediation of England in which Spain recognised the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Bra ...

allowed the Pope to restore the ecclesiastic jurisdiction in Portugal, previously placed in hold due to the conflict between the

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza (), also known as the Brigantine dynasty (''dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas. The hous ...

and the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

: in 1659 had died the last bishop in Portugal. On 12 August 1670 Francesco Ravizza was nominated

. He reached

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

on 4 May 1671 after had passed in Paris to obtain the support of France in negotiating with the prince-regent

Peter II of Portugal '' Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed the Pacific (''Português:'' O Pacífico) was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own ...

. In Lisbon, Ravizza performed many episcopal consecrations in order to re-establish a hierarchy there, but he found difficulties to re-establish also the ecclesiastic tribunals. He finished this diplomatic assignment on 12 April 1673, when he was replaced by the future Cardinal Marcello Durazzo. Back in Rome Ravizza was appointed secretary of

Propaganda Fide The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregati ...

. He died in Rome on 22 May 1675 and was buried in the Sacristy of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican. A short book ascribed to the anti-Catholic

Gregorio Leti Gregorio Leti (29 May 1630 – 9 June 1701) was an Italian historian and satirist from Milan, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Abbe Gualdi, L'abbé Gualdi, or Gualdus known for his works about the Catholic Church, especially the papa ...

describes Ravizza as a man full of plots and tricks.

Episcopal succession

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravizza, Francesco 1616 births 1675 deaths People from Orvieto 17th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Apostolic nuncios to Portugal