Sisto Visdomini (or ''Vicedomini'', , c. 1523–1590) was

Bishop of Modena 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 ...

from 1571 to 1590.

Life

Sisto, son of Menapace, was born in

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

to the important family ''Vicedomini'' originating from Cosio in

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...

. Sisto was the fourth son, his elder brother, Pietrantonio, after a long political career became Vicegerent of Rome. Pierantonio was born in 1523, so Sisto was born after that year. Sisto entered young in 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 ...

, where he studied till to pass successfully a public

disputation Disputation is a genre of literature involving two contenders who seek to establish a resolution to a problem or establish the superiority of something. An example of the latter is in Sumerian disputation poems. In the scholastic system of e ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1564. In 1569 he was appointed as

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 ...

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

. As suggested by Cardinal Giovanni Gerolamo Morone, who had just resigned from the bishopric of Modena, on 16 November 1571

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

appointed Sisto

bishop of Modena 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 ...

. He was consecrated bishop on 16 December 1571 by

Alfonso Rossetti Alfonso Rossetti (died 1577) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Ferrara (1563–1577) ''(in Latin)'' and Bishop of Comacchio (1559–1563). ''(in Latin)'' Biography On 22 October 1548, Alfonso Rossetti was appointed during the p ...

, bishop of

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, the capital of the

Duchy of Ferrara The Duchy of Ferrara (; ; ) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno River, including the city of Ferrara. The territory that was part ...

where Modena was located. Sisto Visdomini was a typical prelate of the

Counter-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 ...

, less tolerant of dissent than his two predecessors. As suggested by the

Council of Trento The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been ...

, Sisto held two

synods A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

, in 1572 and in 1575. In 1580 the Duke

Alfonso II d'Este Alfonso II d'Este (22 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este. Biography Alfonso was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of F ...

asked the Pope to remove Sisto, but between 1581 and 1583 he sent Sisto as own ambassador to Spain. Returned to Modena, Sisto reorganized some female convents, and in 1588 he introduced in the town the

Order of Minims The Order of Minims (; abbreviated OM), known in German-speaking countries as the Paulaner Order (), are a religious order of friars in the Catholic Church, founded by Francis of Paola in fifteenth-century Italy. The order soon spread to France, ...

. Sisto was an introverted and shy person, and he spent a lot of time in the village of

Fiumalbo Fiumalbo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southwest of Bologna and about southwest of Modena. Fiumalbo borders the following municipalities: Coreglia Antelminelli, Abe ...

, in the mountains above Modena. Sisto Visdomini died in Modena on 27 September 1590 and he was buried in front of the main altar of the local church of San Domenico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Visdomini, Sisto 1590 deaths 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Modena Inquisitors