Jean Suau (1503–1566) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

. He started his career as an

ecclesiastical court In organized Christianity, an ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Histo ...

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 ...

before he was consecrated a bishop and later a cardinal. Suau participated in 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 ...

. and 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 ...

Biography

Early life and education

Jean Suau was born in the Castle of Rieumes in

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

in 1503. He studied

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and civil law.

Career

Moving 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, ...

, he became an

, first of the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the build ...

, then of the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic m ...

. On 20 December 1555 he was elected

Bishop of Mirepoix The former Catholic diocese of Mirepoix, in south-west France, was created in 1317 by Pope John XXII from the diocese of Pamiers. It existed until the French Revolution, and was suffragan of the Archbishop of Toulouse. Its see was Mirepoix, Ari� ...

. He was subsequently

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

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 ...

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 December 1555. 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 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 ...

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 January 1556. He participated in the papal conclave of 1559 that elected

. Under Paul IV, he served as

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

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, ...

. He opted for the titular church of

Santa Prisca Santa Prisca is a titular church of Rome, on the Aventine Hill, for Cardinal-priests. It is recorded as the ''Titulus Priscae'' in the acts of the 499 synod. Church It is devoted to Saint Prisca, a 1st-century martyr, whose relics are containe ...

on 26 April 1560. He resigned the government of Mirepoix sometime before 31 January 1561. He later participated in the papal conclave of 1565-66 that elected

Death

He died in the Apostolic Palace on 29 April 1566. He was buried in

Santo Spirito in Sassia Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian language, Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century Titular church, titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in ''Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name fr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suau, Jean 1503 births 1566 deaths 16th-century French cardinals