Melchiorre Crivelli (; 1486–1561) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as General

Inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...

in the Duchy of Milan from 1518 to 1553, and as auxiliary bishop of Vercelli, Milan and Vigevano. He was an exponent of the early

Catholic Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

Biography

He was born in Milan and joined the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

in the convent of

Sant'Eustorgio The Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio is a church in Milan in northern Italy, which is in the Basilicas Park city park. It was for many years an important stop for pilgrims on their journey to Rome or to the Holy Land, because it was said to contain th ...

. He studied theology at the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia (, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; ) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest un ...

, obtaining a master's degree. On August 24, 1518,

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

appointed him as General Inquisitor of Milan, even if probably he took the office of Inquisitor only in 1521. In 1538, he compiled the first

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or re ...

in the territory of Italy, published by the Senate of Milan. This list of books dangerous for the Catholic faith included 46 entries, among them books of

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, Christianity, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxfor ...

, Luther,

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the L ...

and

Johannes Oecolampadius Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protestant ...

, as well as the ''Instruction et confession de foy'' of

Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvin T ...

. In 1540, Crivelli was appointed titular bishop of

Thagaste Thagaste (or Tagaste) was a Roman Empire, Roman-Berbers, Berber city in present-day Algeria, now called Souk Ahras. The town was the birthplace of Saint Augustine. History Thagaste was originally a small Numidian village, inhabited by a Berbers, ...

, and

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

. Since 1544 he started serving as auxiliary bishop in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, in a period when the formal bishop of Milano,

Ippolito II d'Este Ippolito (II) d'Este (25 August 1509 – 2 December 1572) was an Italian cardinal (Catholic), cardinal and statesman. He was a member of the House of Este, and nephew of the other Ippolito d'Este, also a cardinal. He despoiled the then 1,400-year ...

, never dwelt in the diocese. The main office of Melchiorre Crivelli as auxiliary bishop was to act as

visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

(i.e. inspector), as well as to perform the liturgical ceremonies where a bishop is required, such as

ordinations Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

, confirmations and consecration of churches. Melchiorre Crivelli was an exponent of the early

, in particular he supported Saint

Antonio Maria Zaccaria Anthony Maria Zaccaria, CRSP (Italian: Antonio Maria Zaccaria; 1502 – 5 July 1539) was an Italian Catholic priest and early leader of the Counter-Reformation. He was the founder of the Barnabites and a promoter of the Passion of Christ, the E ...

, the founder of the

Barnabites The Barnabites (), officially named as the Clerics Regular of Saint Paul (), are a religious order of clerics regular founded in 1530 in the Catholic Church. They are associated with the Angelic Sisters of Saint Paul and the members of the Ba ...

, and the countess

Ludovica Torelli Ludovica Torelli (26 September 1500 – 28 October 1569) was ruling Countess of Guastalla in 1522–1539. A philanthropist, she was instrumental in the founding of two religious institutes for woman: the Angelic Sisters of Saint Paul and the Guasta ...

and her

Angelic Sisters of Saint Paul The Angelic Sisters of Saint Paul () are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Anthony Maria Zaccaria in Milan, Italy in 1535. The order is a female branch of the Barnabite Fathers. Their purpose was to be co-workers with the Barnabite F ...

. In this effort of reformation, he also approved the theological works of , later condemned by the Inquisition. He entered in conflict with the archbishop of Milan,

Giovanni Angelo Arcimboldi Giovanni Angelo Arcimboldi (1485–1555) was an Italians, Italian prelate, who became Bishop of Novara and Archbishop of Milan (1550–1555). ''(in Latin)'' ''(in Latin)'' He was the great-nephew of Guido Antonio Arcimboldi, who was also the Arch ...

, appointed in 1550 and who wanted take control of the inquisition. Crivelli was not confirmed as suffragean (''auxiliary'') bishop by the Arcimboldi, and in 1553 he was dismessed as General Inquistor by 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 ...

. Crivelli moved to

Vigevano Vigevano (; ) is a (municipality) in the province of Pavia, in the Italian region of Lombardy. A historic art town, it is also renowned for shoemaking and is one of the main centres of Lomellina, a rice-growing agricultural district. Vigevano ...

where he served as auxiliary bishop. In February 1560, as soon as

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 156 ...

was appointed administrator bishop of Milan, Crivelli was appointed again as auxiliary bishop of Milan. On 19 May 1560 he consecrated

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 ...

Niccolò Sfondrati, the future

Pope Gregory XIV Pope Gregory XIV (; ; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death, in October 1591. Early career Niccolò S ...

. He died in Milan in a day between 19 August and 7 October 1561, and was buried in the church of Sant'Eustorgio, where his headstone is still present.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crivelli, Melchiorre 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Paul III Dominican bishops Bishops of Milan Inquisitors Counter-Reformation 1486 births 1561 deaths