Francisco de Borja was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 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...

, and the seventh of ten cardinal-nephew

Cardinal-nephew

A cardinal-nephew is a cardinal elevated by a Pope who is that cardinal's uncle, or, more generally, his relative. The practice of creating cardinal-nephews originated in the Middle Ages, and reached its apex during the 16th and 17th centuries. The word nepotism originally referred specifically to...

s created by Pope Alexander VI

Pope Alexander VI

Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...

.

Borja was born in 1441 in Játiva, Spain

Xàtiva

Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways....

 and was a canon in the cathedral chapter of Valencia. After the election of Rodrigo Borja as Alexander VI by the papal conclave, 1492

Papal conclave, 1492

The papal conclave of 1492 convened after the death of Pope Innocent VIII , elected unanimously on the fourth ballot Cardinal Rodrigo Borja as Pope Alexander VI...

, Francisco went to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, becoming the protonotary apostolic

Protonotary apostolic

In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside of Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pope has conferred this title and its special privileges.-History:In later antiquity there were in...

, and then the treasurer general on September 20, 1493. He was elected bishop of Teano

Roman Catholic Diocese of Teano-Calvi

The diocese of Teano-Calvi is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy, created in 1986. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Naples. The historic diocese of Calvi and diocese of Calvi were united in 1818, forming the diocese of Calvi e Teano.-History:Calvi is the...

 on August 19, 1495 and retained the see until June 5, 1508 when he resigned in favor of his nephew of the same name. There is no evidence he was ever consecrated. Alexander VI elevated Francisco as a cardinal priest on September 28, 1500 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...

and published his cardinalate on October 2 adding the title of S. Cecilia

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th century church in Rome, Italy, devoted to Saint Cecilia, in the Trastevere rione.-History:The first church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd century, by Pope Urban I; it was devoted to the Roman martyr Cecilia, martyred it is said under Marcus...

 on October 5.

He later accumulated a variety of additional benefice

Benefice

A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...

s: first as Abbot

Abbot

The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

 commendatario

In Commendam

In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...

of the monasteries of S. Vincenzo, Volturno, and of S. Stefano di Sermo, then the diocese of Terracina

Roman Catholic Diocese of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno

The Italian Catholic diocese of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno, in Lazio, has existed under this name since 1986. It is the historic diocese of Terracina, Priverno e Sezze, created in 1217, when the diocese of Terracina was combined with the diocese of Priverno and the diocese of Sezze...

 on August 19, 1495, and then the metropolitan see of Cosenza

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano

The Italian Catholic archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano in Calabria has been a metropolitan see since 2001.It was combined with the diocese of Bisignano in 1979. The historical archdiocese of Cosenza, immediately subject to the Holy See, was elevated from a diocese in 1170.-External links:*...

 on November 6, 1499.

He was made papal legate

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

 to Campagna

Campagna

Campagna is a small town and comune of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy.-History:The town, located in a mountainous district, gradually lost importance in the 20th century...

 in 1501, and left Rome on June 22 to retake Rocca di Papa

Rocca di Papa

Rocca di Papa is a small town and comune in the province of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani about 25 km south east of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is bounded by the other communes of Velletri, Rocca Priora, Monte Compatri, Grottaferrata, Albano and Marino...

 and other estates of the Colonna for the papacy. In 1502, he followed Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...

 to Ferrara

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...

 for her marriage to Alfonso d'Este, and became tutor to Alexander VI's youngest son, Giovanni Borgia.

From January 1503 to 1504, Borja held the title of Camerlengo

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals

The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of that body.He administered all property, fees, funds and revenue belonging to the College of Cardinals, celebrated the requiem Mass for a deceased cardinal and was charged with the registry of the Acta Consistoralia.It is...

, and during that time on March 10 he attempted to recover some debts owed to the College of Cardinals

College of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...

. He participated in the papal conclave

Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...

s of September

Papal conclave, September 1503

The papal conclave, September 1503 elected Pope Pius III to succeed Pope Alexander VI. Due to the Italian Wars, the College of Cardinals was surrounded by three potentially hostile armies, loyal to Louis XII of France, Ferdinand II of Aragon, and Cesare Borgia .The participation of thirty-nine...

 and October 1503

Papal conclave, October 1503

The papal conclave, October 1503 elected Giuliano della Rovere as Pope Julius II to succeed Pope Pius III. The conclave took place during the Italian Wars barely a month after the papal conclave, September 1503, and none of the electors had travelled far enough from Rome to miss the conclave...

, before gaining the title of Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo on August 11, 1506.

Along with other cardinals, Borja plotted against Pope Julius II

Pope Julius II

Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...

, and from Ferrara, published in opposition to the pontiff. His signature is also affixed to the document dated March 16, 1511 which attempted to bring the pope to a council in Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

; Borja delegated his authority in absentia to the five other cardinals who attended the council. As a result, Borja was deprived of his cardinalate and excommunicated

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

 by Julius II on October 24, 1511. The other councilars—Cardinals Federico di Sanseverino, Bernardino López de Carvajal

Bernardino López de Carvajal

Bernardino López de Carvajal was a Spanish Cardinal.He was a nephew of Cardinal Juan Carvajal, and advanced rapidly in the ecclesiastical career at Rome, whither he came during the pontificate of Pope Sixtus IV...

, Guillaume Briçonnet

Guillaume Briçonnet (Cardinal)

Guillaume Briçonnet was a French Cardinal.-Life:He was a younger son of Jean Briçonnet, Lord of Varennes, in Touraine, Secretary to the king and collector-general of Customs...

, René de Prie, and Amanieu d'Albret (another cardinal-nephew of Alexander VI)—were also excommunicated, but unlike Borja they lived long enough to be pardoned and have their cardinalates reinstated in 1513 by Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...

. Before death, Borja was briefly protoprete from January 1511, dying on November 4, 1511 in Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....

(where he is buried) before having had the opportunity to learn of his excommunication.