Leonardo Antonelli (6 November 1730 – 23 January 1811) was an Italian Catholic cardinal.

Biography

A native of

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and port town on Italy's Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona, in the Italian region of Marche, and lies approximately 30 kilometres nor ...

, Antonelli was the nephew of Cardinal Nicolò Maria Antonelli. During the early part of his long diplomatic career, he held, among other offices, those of

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

Vatican Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

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 archives in the Castle of San Angelo, Secretary of the Sacred College and Assessor of the

Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...

. He was created Cardinal-priest of

Santa Sabina The Basilica of Saint Sabina (, ) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers, better known as the Dominicans. Santa Sabina is the oldest ex ...

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

in the consistory of 24 April 1775, and later Dean of the Sacred College and Cardinal Bishop of Ostia-Velletri. At the time of the French Revolution, with a view to preventing the suspension of church services, he lent his support to the vote for the civil constitution of the French clergy, decreed by the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

(12 July 1790). In addition to the responsible posts already mentioned, he filled those of grand penitentiary, prefect of the Signature of Justice and of the Congregation of the Index, and pro-secretary of Briefs. He assisted in the preparation of the

Concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 ...

, and was present at the election of Pope Pius VII in 1800, whom he later accompanied to Paris in 1804. He participated in the Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of the French. In 1808, he was banished from Rome by the French to Spoleto and later to Sinigaglia, where he died, leaving to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Congregation of Propaganda bequests for the support of twelve Armenians, Armenian students in the College of Urbano. Though Antonelli has been criticized for arrogating to the papacy too arbitrary a civil power, a perusal of his letter to the bishops of Ireland reveals a more tolerant spirit than is generally attributed to him. Possessed of a rich library, he was the friend and protector of letters, and had as librarian, the learned Francesco Cancellieri. He also acquired some fame as an archaeologist. New Advent website, ''Leonardo Antonelli''
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References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonelli, Leonardo 1730 births 1811 deaths People from Senigallia Deans of the College of Cardinals 18th-century Italian cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Ostia Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina Cardinal-bishops of Porto Members of the Holy Office Members of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Major Penitentiaries of the Apostolic Penitentiary Cardinals created by Pope Pius VI 19th-century Italian cardinals