Italian cardinal and bishop
Francesco Sforza
Francesco Sforza (1562–1624) was an Italian cardinal and bishop . He was very influential in a number of conclaves.
Biography
Background and early career in the military
A member of the House of Sforza , Francesco Sforza was born in Parma on 6 November 1562, the son of Sforza Sforza and his second wife Caterina de' Nobili, a grand-niece of Pope Julius III . He was count of Santa Fiora , marquis of Varci and Castel Acquaro. He was the nephew of Cardinals Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora , Roberto de' Nobili , and Alessandro Sforza , and the grand-nephew of Pope Paul III .[ 1]
He received a military education under Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma and later at the court of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany . He also studied Latin , rhetoric , mathematics , philosophy , and politics . He married a sister of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. At age 18, he served in Flanders under his cousin Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma ; he commanded Italian troops.[ 1]
Early ecclesiastical career
Following his wife's death, his half-sister Costanza Sforza, duchess of Sora , who was married to Giacomo Boncompagni , the legitimized son of Pope Gregory XIII , encouraged him to pursue an ecclesiastical career. He became a cleric in Rome and rose quickly in the church, first becoming a canon of the cathedral chapter of San Nicola in Carcere before he had even been ordained as a priest .[ 1]
Cardinalate
Pope Gregory XIII made him a cardinal deacon in the consistory of 12 December 1583. He received the red hat and the deaconry of San Giorgio in Velabro on 6 January 1584,[ 1] but later exchanged it for Santa Maria in Via Lata . He participated in the papal conclave of 1585 that elected Pope Sixtus V ; and in the first papal conclave of 1590 that elected Pope Urban VII . Contemporary newspapers reported that a disagreement between Cardinals Ascanio Colonna and Sforza di Santa Fiora during the conclave nearly became violent.[ 2]
In the second papal conclave of 1590 he was a member of the Gregorian faction and threw his support to Niccolò Sfondrati, who was elected Pope Gregory XIV .[ 3] He also participated in the papal conclave of 1591 that elected Pope Innocent IX . In the papal conclave of 1592 , Sforza opposed Philip II of Spain 's candidate, Giulio Antonio Santorio . Sforza'a brother-in-law and French ally, Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany secretly engineered the election of Ippolito Aldobrandini as Pope Clement VIII .[ 4]
From 20 July 1591 until 1597 he was papal legate in Romagna , where he was charged with ridding the province of bandits , which he accomplished. He represented Pope Clement VIII at the baptism of his nephew Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany . He accompanied the pope to Ferrara in 1598. He participated in the first papal conclave of 1605 ,[ 5] where he had been angered by Spain's exclusion of Caesar Baronius . The conclave chose Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici , who had also been excluded after the fact, as Pope Leo XI . He was also present at the second papal conclave of 1605 that elected Pope Paul V . Sforza crowned Pope Paul V in the papal coronation held on 29 May 1605.[ 1]
He was ordained as a priest in 1614. On 13 November 1617 he opted for the order of cardinal priests and received the titular church of San Matteo in Via Merulana . He became the protopriest of the College of Cardinals .[ 1]
He opted for the order of cardinal bishop on 5 March 1618, receiving the Suburbicarian Diocese of Albano . He was consecrated as a bishop by Pope Paul V in the apostolic chapel of the Quirinal Palace on 1 May 1618. He opted for the Suburbicarian Diocese of Frascati on 6 April 1620.[ 1]
He participated in the papal conclave of 1621 that elected Pope Gregory XV and in the papal conclave of 1623 that elected Pope Urban VIII .[ 1]
On 27 September 1623 he opted for the Suburbicarian Diocese of Porto-Santa Rufina . He was Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals .[ 1]
He died in Rome on 9 September 1624. He was buried in San Bernardo alle Terme , the church built by his mother.[ 6]
References
^ a b c d e f g h i Miranda, Salvador . "SFORZA, Francesco (1562-1624)" . The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church . Florida International University . OCLC 53276621 .
^ Hunt, John M. (11 March 2016). The Vacant See in Early Modern Rome: A Social History of the Papal Interregnum . Brill. p. 226. ISBN 9789004313781 .
^ Von Pastor, Lugwig, History of the Popes , V. 22. London, 1932, pp. 346-348
^ Borromeo, Agostino. "Clemente VIII", Enciclopedia dei Papi , Treccani, 2000
^ Eubel, Konrad; van Gulik, Wilhelm. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi [The Catholic Hierarchy of the Middle and Recent Ages] (in Latin). Vol. 3. Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae Regensbergianae. 1913, p. 47
^ "San Bernardo alle Terme", Churches of Rome
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