Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte
Encyclopedia
Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte (November 19, 1730 – February 5, 1803) was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the son of HSH Princess Donna Anna Francesca, Princess of Belmonte in her own right and 1st Princess of the Holy Roman Empire (since 1726) by marriage. She was daughter and heiress of the 5th Prince, and as such was a Grandee of Spain 1st Class, 5th Duchess of Acerenza
Acerenza
Acerenza is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.-History:With its strategic position 800 m above sea-level, Acerenza has been sacked by a series of invaders....
, 8th Marchioness of Galatone
Galatone
Galatone is a town and comune located in Salento, in the province of Lecce , ancient seat of the Marquess of Galatone.-History:...
, 5th Countess of Copertino
Copertino
Copertino is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.-History:Following Charles of Anjou's successful campaign in 1266, the Hohenstaufen tower of Copertino was held first by the de Pratis family and then by Walter VI of Brienne, Duke of Athens, Duke of...
, 7th Baroness of Badolato
Badolato
Badolato is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. As of 2007 Badolato had an estimated population of 3,275.- Territory :The village of Badolato is 30 km from Catanzaro on Calabria's Ionian coast...
, Signore di Veglie
Veglie
-History:Veglie was founded around the 10th century. Veglie was a small village.The tomb founded in Via Novoli in 1957 dates back to the Messapic times it is displayed in a provincial museum...
, Leverano
Leverano
Leverano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the southeastern part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy. Its 2001 population was 13,981.-Population History:-History:...
, San Cosimo etc. HSH Prince Don Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte's father was HSH Prince Don (Giuseppe) Antonio Pignatelli y Aymerich, who was also 2nd Marquess of San Vicente and 3rd Marquess of Argençola, and General of the Imperial Cavalry. He was General Commander of the Austrian Army at the Battle of Bitonto
Battle of Bitonto
The Battle of Bitonto was a Spanish victory over Austrian forces near Bitonto in the Kingdom of Naples in the War of Polish Succession...
in 1734, during the War of Polish Succession, and was created a Knight of the Golden Fleece (Ritter des Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) in 1735, a Knight of the Order of Santiago
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
(Orden de Santiago) and a Knight of the Illustrious Royal Order of St. Januarius
Order of St. Januarius
The Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius is an order of knighthood bestowed by the head of the Royal House of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies...
(L'Insigne Reale Ordine di San Gennaro) (both in 1765).
Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte's aunt on his father's side, Doña Marianna, Countess of Althann, was lady in waiting to the Empress Elizabeth
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress...
, consort of Emperor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
and the mother of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
.
HSH Prince Don Domenico Pignatelli di Belmonte was ordained priest as a member of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence (The Theatines
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
), as Father Domenico Pignatelli on 22 September 1753. He was appointed Lector of Sacred Canons in the House of Studies of SS. Apostoli, Naples, on 12 December, 1755. Thereafter he was appointed, variously, Secretary to the Superior General, Superior of SS. Apostoli, Procurator General, and Co-Adjustor to Father Antonio Francesco Vezzosi, the Superior General of the Theatine Order, on 31 May 1774. He was himself appointed Superior General on 22 April, 1777. He was appointed as Examiner of those appointed to Ecclesiastical Chairs.
In his Episcopate, he was elected Bishop of Caserta
Roman Catholic Diocese of Caserta
The diocese of Caserta is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Naples.-History:...
and chosen as Assistant at the Pontifical Throne on 25 February 1782, being consecrated Bishop on 3 March 1782 in Rome, at the church of San Silvestro al Monte, by Cardinal Innocenzo Conti, Secretary of the Chancery of Apostolic Briefs, assisted by Girolamo Volpi, Titular Archbishop of Neocesarea, and by François de Pierre de Bernis, Titular Bishop of Apollonia
Apollonia
-Places:Albania:* Apollonia, IllyriaBulgaria:* Apollonia, Thrace now SozopolFrance:* Sainte-Apollonie island, Île de Sainte-Apollonie, on the Mayenne river in the French region Pays de la LoireGreece:*Apollonia , a city on Mount Athos...
, Vicar General of Albi. Bishop Domenico was General of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence (The Theatines
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
). He was promoted to the Metropolitan See of Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
and Monreale
Monreale
Monreale is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy, on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called "La Conca d'oro" , famed for its orange, olive and almond trees, the produce of which is exported in large quantities...
on 29 March, 1802, and received the pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
on the same day. He was Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, 1802-1803 (styled as 'President of the Kingdom and Captain General'), during the brief reign of King Ferdinand IV. He was created a Cardinal Priest in the consistory of 9 August, 1802, and received the red biretta on 5 December, 1802, in the chapel of the Seminary of Palermo. He was created a cardinal in place of Paulo Luis Silva, assessor of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, who had been created and reserved In pectore
In pectore
In pectore is a term used in the Catholic Church to refer to appointments to the College of Cardinals by the Pope when the name of the newly appointed cardinal is not publicly revealed...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of 23 February 1801 and died before his name was published.
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Cardinal Domenico was Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George is a Roman Catholic order of chivalry. It was fictively established by Constantine the Great, though in reality it was founded between 1520 and 1545 by two brothers of the Angeli Comneni family. Members of the Angeli Comneni family remained...
, and held the rank of Knight Grand Cross of that Order. He was Knighted in the Illustrious Royal Order of St. Januarius
Order of St. Januarius
The Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius is an order of knighthood bestowed by the head of the Royal House of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies...
(L'Insigne Reale Ordine di San Gennaro).
Cardinal Domenico died of gout before receiving the red hat and title of his cardinalate, and was buried in the church of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence (The Theatines
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
), in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
.
Further reading
- LeBlanc, Jean, Dictionnaire biographique des cardinaux du XIXe siècle : contribution à l'histoire du Sacré Collège sous les potificats de Pie VII, Léon XII, Pie VIII, Grégoire XVI, Pie IX et Léon XIII, 1800-1903. Montréal : Wilson & Lafleur, 2007.
- Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen VI (1730–1799). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1968, p. 152
- Ritzler, Remigium, and Pirminum Sefrin. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volumen VII (1800–1846). Patavii : Typis et Sumptibus Domus Editorialis "Il Messaggero di S. Antonio" apud Basilicam S. Antonii, 1968, pp. 8 and 298.