Virgilio Rosario (1499 – 22 May 1559) was an Italian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Virgilio Rosario was born in Spoleto in 1499. He became a doctor of both laws. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and became rector of a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. He then moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, becoming a canon of Sancta Maria at Martyres (i.e. the Pantheon, which was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

as a church in 609 AD). On 27 August 1554 he was elected during the papacy of Pope Julius III as Bishop of Ischia. ''(in Latin)'' He was consecrated as a bishop on 24 February 1555 in the Sistine Chapel by Cardinal Giovanni Michele Saraceni with Ascanio Ferrari, Bishop Emeritus of Montepeloso and Fabio Mirto Frangipani, Bishop of Caiazzo, serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

made him a cardinal priest in the consistory of 15 March 1557.Eubel III, p. 35, no. 12. He received the

red hat Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...

and the titular church of San Simone Profeta on 24 March 1557. He was named Vicar General of Rome ''perpetuo'' in 1558, holding this position until his death. He was a member of the commission of four cardinals charged with judging the case of Cardinal Giovanni Morone. He died suddenly in the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the build ...

in Rome on 22 May 1559. He was buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosario, Virgilio 1499 births 1559 deaths 16th-century Italian cardinals Bishops appointed by Pope Julius III People from Spoleto 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops