Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Cicala (1510–1570) was an

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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 ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Giovanni Battista Cicala was born in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

on 6 June 1510, the son of Edoardo Cicala. His family was related to the Cybo and Doria families. He studied under his relative Odoardo Cicala, who later became Bishop of Sagona. Cicala moved to

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, where he was named

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

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 2 September 1535 he was appointed an

abbreviator An abbreviator (plural "abbreviators" in English, ''abbreviatores'' in Latin) or breviator was a writer of the Papal Chancery who adumbrated and prepared in correct form Papal bulls, briefs, and consistorial decrees before these were written out ' ...

of apostolic letters. From 8 March 1540 until 1551 he was an

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

of the Apostolic Camera. On 5 December 1543 he was named administrator of the see of Albenga, while retaining the office of auditor. 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 ...

as a

on 21 December 1543 in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

. On 13 January 1547 he arrived at 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 ...

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...

made him 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 ...

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 20 November 1551. He received the

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and the

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 ...

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on 4 December 1551. On 13 March 1553 he was named

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 ...

in Campagna. He resigned the administration of Albenga on 30 March 1554, in favor of his nephew Carlo Cicala. He was administrator of the see of Mariana from 30 March 1554 until 13 September 1560, when he resigned in favor of his nephew Nicola Cicala. He was a participant in the papal conclave of April 1555 that elected

Pope Marcellus II Pope Marcellus II (; 6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 1555 to his death, 22 days later. He succeeded Pope Julius III. Before his ...

; the papal conclave of May 1555 that elected

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

; and the papal conclave of 1559 that elected

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

. With Cardinals Giovanni Michele Saraceni and Gianbernardino Scotti, he was charged with resolving a dispute between the Canons Regular of the Lateran and the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

, resolving the issue in favor of the former. He was administrator of the see of Sagona from 1565 to 1567. He opted for the titular church of

Sant'Agata dei Goti Sant'Agata dei Goti is a titular church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to the martyr Agatha of Sicily and the home of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata’s (Stigmatines) General Curia. The ''diaconia'' is assigned to Cardinal Raymond Leo Bur ...

on 7 November 1565. He participated in the papal conclave of 1565-66 that elected

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

. In 1567, he replaced Cardinal Michele Bonelli as the man in charge of examining the cause for the

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of Diego di San Nicola. On 30 April 1568 he opted for the order of

cardinal bishop 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. C ...

s, receiving the suburbicarian see of Sabina. He died in Rome on 8 April 1570. He was buried in Santa Maria del Popolo.

Biography

References

Further reading