Prospero Caterini (15 October 1795, in Onano – 28 October 1881, in

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) was an Italian

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Biography

Prospero Caterini was born in Onano, diocese of Acquapendente in the region of

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in what was then the

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. His parents were Francesco Caterini and Maria Domenica Pacelli both from noble families. Prospero's paternal aunt, Maria Antonia Caterini was married to another Pacelli, Gaetano Pacelli thus making Prospero Caterini a relative to the Pacelli family on both his mother's and father's sides. Maria Antonia Caterini and Gaetano Pacelli were the parents of Marcantonio Pacelli, who served as

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

for

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

and deputy minister of interior under

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

from 1851 to 1870 and also founded the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on 20 July 1860. In 1939, Eugenio Pacelli, one of Marcantonio's grandsons was elected to the papacy as Pope

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. The Caterinis themselves traced their nobility to the Cattanei or Cattaneo family, specifically to Gualdo Cattaneo whose family were the Counts of

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in 1520. The name "Caterini" was taken due to the family's devotion to St. Catherine of Alexandria. Those with the surname Caterini later became part of the nobility of Nocera Umbra, Acquapendente and Onano. Near Grotte di Castro in the vicinity of Lake Bolsena, the Caterini family had a castle, the Castle of Santa Cristina where the young seminarian Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII would spend his holidays in the company of the Pacelli-Caterini families. Prospero Caterini completed his studies in Rome. No information has been found as to his ordination history. He served as the substitute secretary of the Sacred Congregation Consistorial and was later the Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Studies. From 1 March 1841 to 28 November 1845, he was Auditor ''Santissimi''. He was a canon of

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and became an Assessor of the Sacred Congregation of the Inquisition.

created him a cardinal on 7 March 1853 and three days later on 10 March, the new cardinal received the

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and the title of Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria della Scala. He became Cardinal-Protodeacon on 6 November 1876 upon the death of the incumbent protodeacon Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli. On 18 December 1876, he opted for and received the title of Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Via Lata previously held by the late Cardinal Antonelli while retaining ''in commendam'' the title to the deaconry of Santa Maria della Scala. On 21 December 1876, he became secretary of the

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. Prospero Caterini participated as a cardinal-elector in the

conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

1878 Events January * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

. As

protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usa ...

, he announced at the end of the conclave the election of Cardinal Gioacchino Pecci as

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. Due to illness however, he was unable to

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the new pope at his papal coronation, the honor instead went to Cardinal Teodolfo Mertel. He died on 28 October 1881 and after the wake held at his deaconry, was buried at the chapel of the confraternity of the Most Precious Blood in Campo Verano cemetery in Rome.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Caterini Carlo. Gens Catherina de terra Balii. Edizioni Scientifiche Calabresi.Rende 2009.

External links

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Caterini, Prospero 19th-century Italian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius IX Protodeacons Our Lady of La Salette 1795 births 1881 deaths Members of the Holy Office Members of the Sacred Congregation of the Council

Biography

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links