Giovan Francesco Morosini or ''Gianfrancesco Morosini'' (30 September 1537 – 14 January 1596) was a Venetian
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 ...
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 ...
who served as
Bishop of Brescia
The Diocese of Brescia () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan, in Lombardy (Northwestern Italy).Apostolic Nuncio in France.
Life
Giovanni Francesco Morosini was born in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
on 30 September 1537. He was the son of the Venetian patricians Pietro Morosini and Cornelia Corner, sister of cardinals
Luigi
Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...
Council of Ten
The Council of Ten (; ), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...
, committed suicide on 21 March 1570.
Still young, he accompanied a relative in France, Alvise Badoer, who had been appointed extraordinary ambassador to that kingdom on behalf of the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
. When he returned home, he was sent by the Republic of Venice to
Charles II, Archduke of Austria
Charles II Francis of Austria () (3 June 1540 – 10 July 1590) was an Archduke of Austria and a ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola, Carinthia and Gorizia) from 1564. He was a member of the House of Habsburg.
Biography
A native of Vien ...
, and on 1 May 1568 he was sent to the court of
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy
Emmanuel Philibert (; ; 8 July 1528 – 30 August 1580), known as (; "Ironhead", because of his military career), was Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 17 August 1553 until his death in 1580. He is notably remembered for resto ...
, always as
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 ...
, leaving
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
on 29 September 1570.
In June 1573 Morosini was sent to
Henry of Valois Henry of Valois may refer to:
*Henry II of France (1519–1559), King of France
*Henry III of France (1551–1589), King of France and Poland
See also
*Henri Valois
Henri Valois (; September 10, 1603, in Paris – May 7, 1676, in Paris) or ...
to pay homage to him on behalf of the Republic of Venice in the recent success of his obtaining the
Polish crown
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the pa ...
. In December of that same year, he was appointed ambassador of Venice to the court of
Charles IX of France
Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II of France, Francis II in 1560, an ...
, remaining there until the election 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 ...
. From 1582 to 1585 he served as
bailo
''Bailo'' or ''baylo'' (plural ''baili'' or ''bayli'') is a Venetian title that derives from the Latin term '' baiulus'', meaning "porter, bearer". In English, it may be translated bailiff, or otherwise rendered as bailey, baili, bailie, bailli o ...
to the Sultan
Murad III
Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...
in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
.
In early 1585
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 ...
selected him as the new
bishop of Brescia
The Diocese of Brescia () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan, in Lombardy (Northwestern Italy).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 ...
, who formally appointed him bishop of Brescia on 23 September 1585. Morosini at that time was still a
layman
In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
...
, and he was ordained
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
on October 1585 in Venice. 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 3 November in the Venetian Church of
San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore () is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It has been much painted, ...
by the hands of Cesare Costa,
Apostolic Nuncio to Venice
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent ...
, the duty of the Nuncio was to support the politic of
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
in trying to ally Henry III with the Catholic League led by the
Henry I, Duke of Guise
Henri I de Lorraine, Duke of Guise, Prince of Joinville, Count of Eu (31 December 1550 – 23 December 1588), sometimes called ('Scarface'), was the eldest son of François, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este. His maternal grandparents were Ercole ...
against the
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
. To support the Catholic war he was allowed by the Pope to sell estates of the Church, but this was fiercely opposed by the French clergy. Nor he succeeded to have the decrees of the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...
published in French. He asked to the Pope to side with Henry III against the Duke of Guise, but this position was not supported by the Pope who more and more became displeased of his nuncio. In the events of the
Day of the Barricades
In the French Wars of Religion, the Day of the Barricades (in ), 12 May 1588, was an outwardly spontaneous public uprising in staunchly Catholic Paris against the moderate, hesitant, temporizing policies of Henry III. It was in fact called forth ...
he tried to riconciliate the leaders of the Catholic League with Henry III. A few months later, the murders of
Louis II, Cardinal of Guise
Louis II de Lorraine, cardinal de Guise (6 July 1555, Dampierre – 24 December 1588, Château de Blois) was a French prelate, Cardinal and politician during the latter French Wars of Religion. The third son of François de Lorraine, duke of Gui ...
and of the Duke of Guise by order of Henry III marked the failure of his politic.
In the meantime, on 15 July 1588 he was elected
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 ...
with the title of
Santi Nereo e Achilleo
Santi Nereo ed Achilleo is a fourth-century basilica churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, located in via delle Terme di Caracalla in the rione Celio (rione of Rome), Celio facing the main entrance to the Baths of Caracalla. It has been the tit ...
. In 1590 he changed his title to that of
Santa Maria in Via
Santa Maria in Via is a church in Rome. The church or a chapel existed in the 9th century, but was rebuilt following reports of a miracle. In 1165, it is recorded as Santa Maria in Via, whose appellative means "on the Way", with a reference to ...
.
Having returned to Italy from France in September 1589, he went to Rome where he was charged with not having excommunicated Henry III of France after the murders of the Cardinal of Guise and of the Duke of Guise by order of that king.
Appointed protector of Germany and Hungary, he was a close friend of Saint
Philip Neri
Saint Philip Neri , born Filippo Romolo Neri, (22 July 151526 May 1595) was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. He is sometimes refe ...
and his supporter. He died in
Brescia
Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
on 14 January 1596 and was buried in the Old Cathedral of that town. He left his goods to the hospital of Brescia.