The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Biographical Dictionary
Pope Pius IV (1559-1565)
Consistory of January 6, 1563 (III)

(22) 1. GONZAGA, Federico (1540-1565)

Birth. 1540, Mantua. Of the dukes of Mantua. Posthumous son of Federico II Gonzaga and Margherita Paleologa, marchioness of Monferrato. Venetian patrician. Called the Cardinal of Monferrato. Nephew of Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga (1527). Other cardinals of the family are: Francesco Gonzaga (1461); Sigismondo Gonzaga (1505); Pirro Gonzaga (1527); Francesco Gonzaga (1561); Giovanni Vincenzo Gonzaga, O.S.Io.Hier. (1578); Scipione Gonzaga (1587); Ferdinando Gonzaga (1607); Vincenzo Gonzaga (1615).

Education. University of Bologna, Bologna.

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of January 6, 1563; received the red hat and the title of S. Maria Nuova, deaconry pro illa vice elevated to title, after March 4, 1563.

Episcopate. Administrator of the diocese of Mantua, with dispensation for not having yet reached the canonical age, June 4, 1563. Legate in Mantua, 1564. Granted the title of bishop of Mantua, October 16, 1564. Never received the episcopal consecration.

Death. February 21, 1565, at 1 p.m., Mantua. Buried in the cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Mantua (1).

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, V, 53-54; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1630, II, col. 1669; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1935; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, III, 40, 74 and 234.

Links. His genealogy, A1 B4; and Tuscany.

(1) This is the text of his epitaph taken from Chacón, Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm: FEDERICO. FEDERICI. DVCIS. FILIO. POSTHVMO. GONZAGÆ. MANTVÆ. EPISC. CARDINALI. LEGATO. ACERBISSIMA. MORTE. EREPTO. ANNO. ÆTAT. XXV. SALVTIS. HUMANÆ. MDLXV.

(23) 2. MEDICI, Ferdinando de' (1549-1609)

Birth. July 30, 1549, Florence. Of the dukes of Tuscany. Son of Cosimo I de' Medici and Leonor Álvarez de Toledo. He was the father of Cardinal Carlo de' Medici (1615); and great-uncle of Cardinals Giancarlo de' Medici (1644) and Leopoldo de' Medici (1667).

Education. (No information found).

Sacred orders. (No information found).

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of January 6, 1563; received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Maria in Domnica, May 15, 1565. Participated in the conclave of 1565-1566. Legate in Perugia, 1571 to 1588. Participated in the conclave of 1572. Protector of Spain. Opted for the deaconry of S. Eustachio, May 10, 1585. Opted for the deaconry of S. Maria in Via Lata, January 7, 1587. Cardinal protodeacon. Grand duke of Tuscany and duke of Siena, October 19, 1587. At the death of his brother Francesco, grand duke of Tuscany, without successors, the cardinal ascended the throne and asked the pope to accept his resignation to the cardinalate in order to secure the succession; he submitted his resignation on November 28, 1588. He married Chrétienne de Lorraine, May 5, 1589.

Death. February 22, 1609, Florence. Buried in the Medici Chapel, church of S. Lorenzo, Florence.

Bibliography. Cardella, Lorenzo. Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa. Rome : Stamperia Pagliarini, 1793, V, ; Chacón, Alfonso. Vitæ, et res gestæ Pontificvm Romanorum et S. R. E. Cardinalivm ab initio nascentis Ecclesiæ vsque ad Vrbanvm VIII. Pont. Max. 2 volumes. Romae : Typis Vaticanis, 1630, II, col. ; Eubel, Conradus and Gulik, Guglielmus van. Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, Münich : Sumptibus et Typis Librariae Regensbergianae, 1935; reprint, Padua : Il Messagero di S. Antonio, 1960, III, 40,

Links. Portrait, tomb and biography, in English; his portrait by Agnolo di Cosimo, called Bronzino, Galleria Nazionale d'D'Arte Antica, Rome; his portrait by Tommaso Manzuoli, Pinacoteca del Palacio Municipal, Comune de Prato; his portrait and his wife's by Tiberio Titi, Collezione Giovanni Pratesi, Florence; his portrait by Francescos Bruder; his equestrian statue, Florence; his monument, Livorno, Italy.