Lelio Biscia (15 June 1575 – 19 November 1638) was an
Italian Catholic cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
.
Early life
Biscia was born on 15 June 1575 in
Rome, the second son of Bernardino Biscia and Vittoria Scapucci. Biscia's father was a minor
noble and a
consistorial lawyer. Biscia followed his father and received legal education before becoming a consistorial lawyer himself at the age of 20.
[''Lelio Biscia'']
by S. Miranda ( Florida International University, last updated May 2012)
Ecclesiastic career
He became a
referendary of the
Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace
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 for any ecclesiastical judgment). In additio ...
and in 1600 he purchased a position as cleric to the
Apostolic Chamber
The Apostolic Camera ( la, Camera Apostolica), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the Stat ...
. He was appointed governor of
Civitavecchia for a year, between 1605 and 1606 and then again between 1609 and 1610. Soon after he was appointed dean of the Apostolic Chamber.
[
Biscia was known as a great collector of books and manuscripts. In 1622, he employed theologian ]Leo Allatius
Leo Allatius (Greek: Λέων Αλλάτιος, ''Leon Allatios'', Λιωνής Αλάτζης, ''Lionis Allatzis''; Italian: ''Leone Allacci, Allacio''; Latin: ''Leo Allatius, Allacius''; c. 1586 – January 19, 1669) was a Greek scholar, theolog ...
to curate his personal library, considered to have been one of the most extensive of its day. Allatius later became Vatican librarian. He was also a patron of mathematician and scientist Benedetto Castelli.
Cardinalate
Biscia was elevated to cardinal by Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...
on 19 January 1626 and was appointed cardinal-deacon of the church of Santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzia the following month.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biscia, Lelio
1575 births
1638 deaths
Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII