Lelio Falconieri (1585–1648) 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 ...

Family and early life

Falconieri was born in 1585 in Florence, the tenth of the thirteen children of Paolo Falconieri and his second wife Maddalena degli Albizzi. He was the brother of Don Orazio Falconieri who purchased the Villa Falconieri and commissioned

Francesco Borromini Francesco Borromini (, ), byname of Francesco Castelli (; 25 September 1599 – 2 August 1667), was an Italian architect born in the modern Swiss canton of Ticino

to renovate it. Orazio later commissioned Borromini to renovate the church of

San Giovanni dei Fiorentini The Basilica of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini ("Saint John of the Florentines") is a minor basilica and a titular church in the Ponte ''rione'' of Rome, Italy. Dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the protector of Florence, the new church for the ...

to build a Falconieri family chapel for the burial of the two brothers. He studied law at the University of Perugia and went on to take a doctorate in canon and civil law from the University of Pisa. At a young age he went to Rome and became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

at the Roman Curia and papal prelate during the pontificate of Pope Paul V. In 1619 he became Governor of San Severino and a referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signatura of Justice and of Grace. He became Governor of Spoleto (1621), Vice-governor of

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

(1622) and Governor of the Campagne and Maritime Province (1622).

Pontificate of Urban VIII

Maffeo Barberini was elected

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 ...

at the Papal conclave of 1623 and during his pontificate, Falconieri became the relator of the Sacred Consulta and

commissary general A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

of Umbria and

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

. In 1634 he was elected Titular Archbishop of Tebe and was consecrated on 10 December of that year at the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini by Cardinal Giulio Cesare Sacchetti, brother of his sister-in-law Ottavia Sacchetti.''Ave Papa/Ave Papabile: the Sacchetti family, their art patronage, and political aspirations'' by Lilian H. Zirpolo (Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2005) Between 1635 and 1637 he was named papal nuncio to Flanders, but after being informed in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

that the government of Philip IV of Spain opposed his appointment he returned to Rome on grounds of ill health. He was replaced by an acting nuncio,

Richard Pauli-Stravius Richard Pauli-Stravius (1584/90–1654) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as a papal diplomat (1634–1642) and as Auxiliary Bishop to Ferdinand of Bavaria for the Diocese of Liège (1642–1654) with a titular appointment as bishop of Di ...

. Pope Urban elevated Falconieri to cardinal in the consistory of 1643 and he was named Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria del Popolo later that year.

Later life

Falconieri participated in the Papal conclave of 1644, which elected Pope Urban's successor, Pope Innocent X. Pope Innocent made him Legate in Bologna but after suffering a very serious illness in Florence Falconieri decided to return to Rome. He died on the way at Viterbo on 14 December 1648 and was buried in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falconieri, Lelio 1585 births 1648 deaths 17th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII Clergy from Florence Latin archbishops of Thebes Apostolic Nuncios to Flanders