Luigi Valenti Gonzaga (15 October 1725 – 29 December 1808) was a

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He was elected to the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

and the Papal diplomacy, and was also

nuntius An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Valenti Gonzaga was born at

Roveredo Roveredo is a municipality in the Moesa Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. Geography Roveredo has an area, , of . Of this area, 8.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 75% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.1% i ...

, in what is now the

province of Mantua The province of Mantua (; Emilian language#Dialects, Mantuan, Emilian language#Dialects, Lower Mantuan: ; Emilian language#Dialects, Upper Mantuan: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of M ...

. He was made cardinal ''

in pectore (Latin for 'in the breast/heart') is a term used in the Catholic Church for an action, decision, or document which is meant to be kept secret. It is most often used when there is a papal appointment to the College of Cardinals without a public ...

'' in April 1776 by 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 ...

, published in May 1776. He was made Cardinal-Priest of

Sant'Agnese fuori le mura The church of Saint Agnes Outside the Walls () is a Titular church, titular churches of Rome, church, a minor basilica in Rome, on a site sloping down from the Via Nomentana, which runs north-east out of the city, still under its ancient name. W ...

in 1778. He took part in the 1799–1800 Conclave as chosen by Pope

Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

.California State University of Northridge website, ''Sede Vacante 1799-1800''
/ref> He was State Secretary in 1740 and was later

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' ...

for the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

from 1747. He was the nephew of Cardinal

Silvio Valenti Gonzaga Silvio Valenti Gonzaga (1 March 1690 – 28 August 1756) was an Italian nobleman and Catholic cardinal. Biography Gonzaga was born in Mantua. He served as papal nuncio to Flanders, 1731–1736, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal ...

(created 1738) and also related to Cesare Guerrieri Gonzaga (created 1738). He died at

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

. He commissioned the architect Camillo Morigia to design a monument to cover the tomb of

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, completed in 1781.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valenti Gonzaga, Luigi 1725 births 1808 deaths Clergy from the Province of Mantua 19th-century Italian cardinals 18th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius VI