(10) 1. FORGÁCH DE GHYMES, Ferenc (1566-1615)
Birth. 1566, Esztergom, Hungary. Of a noble family. Son of General Simon Forgách. His last name is also listed as Forgazio and Forgatz. He converted from Protestantism.
Education. Studied theology in Rome.
Priesthood. Ordained (no information found). Canon of the cathedral chapter of Esztergom, 1586. Named ambassador to several countries by Emperor Rudolf II.
Episcopate. Nominated by the king of Hungary (1) bishop of Vesprém, December 22, 1587; never received confirmation from the Holy See (2). Transferred by the king of Hungary to the see of Nyitra, July 10, 1596; preconized, August 2, 1599. Consecrated (no information found). Promoted to the metropolitan and primatial see of Esztergom, November 5, 1607. Royal viceregent of Hungary, 1607; the position was inherent to the primatial see.
Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 10, 1607; never received the red hat and the title. Crowned King Mattias II of Hungary, November 19, 1608 in Pozsony (Pressburg; now Bratislava, Slovakia).
Death. October 16, 1615 (3), Sklené Teplice (Szentkereszt, then in the archdiocese of Esztergom, Hungary; now in the diocese of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia). Transferred to Moravia; against his instructions in his will, his brother Sigismund and the cathedral chapter had him buried in the church of Saint Nicholas.
Links. Brief biographical data , no. 7, in Hungarian; and portrait and brief biography, also in Hungarian.
(1) Hungarian kings had the right to nominate bishops of Hungarian dioceses since the Middle Ages. The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire never had this right. Since 1526, the rulers from the Habsbug family had both titles, of Hungarian king and of Holy Roman emperor, combined in one person. They had the right to nominate bishops by virtue of being Hungarian kings, not emperors.
(2) The pope rejected the nomination because of his age. At that time and until the end of the 17th century, the majority of the Hungarian dioceses were titular because they were under the control of the Turks. The episcopal dignity gave the bishop a seat in the Royal Council.
(3) This is according to Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, IV, 10, and the first site linked above; the second site linked above indicates that he died on October 15, 1615.
(11) 2. LA ROCHEFOUCALD, François de (1558-1645)
Birth. December 8, 1558, Paris. Second of the four sons of Charles de la Rochefoucald, count of Randan, and Fulvie Pico della Mirandola. Baptized shortly after his birth in the parish of Saint-André-des-Arts, Paris. His father died when he was three years old; after his death, the family returned to the household of Queen Caterina de' Medici of France. He and his brother Alexander were destined for ecclesiastical careers at a very young age. Nephew of Jean de La Rochefoucald, abbot of Marmoutier.
Education. Collége de Marmotier, Paris, under the tutorship of his uncle and of Jean Courtier; Jesuit Collége de Clermont, Paris, also under the tutorship of the latter, 1572-1579.
Early life. Vicar general to Cardinal Louis de Lorraine de Guise in the abbey of Tournus, 1569. Received the clerical tonsure, September 23, 1570, Paris. Abbot commendatario of the Benedictine monastery of Tournus, diocese of Châlons-sur-Saône, 1572. Master in the king's chapel, 1579. Traveled to Rome, Bologna and other Italian cities to study and visit their libraries, 1579-1580.
Episcopate. Elected bishop of Clermont-Ferrand, with dispensation for not having yet reached the canonical age, not having received the sacred orders and not having obtained a doctorate, July 29, 1585. Received the minor orders, September 18, 1585; subdiaconate, September 20, 1585; diaconate, September 27, 1585; presbyterate, September 27, 1585. Consecrated, October 6, 1585, church of Sainte-Catherine, Paris, by Girolamo Ragazzoni, bishop of Bergamo, nuncio in France, assisted by Nicolas Fumeé, bishop of Beauvais, and by Aontoine de Couppe, Bishop of Sisteron. Abbot of Saint-Mesmin, near Orléans, from 1604.
Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 10, 1607; received the red hat and the title of S. Callisto, February 1, 1610. Transferred to the see of Senlis, February 15, 1610 (1). Grand almoner of France, September 1618 until February 6, 1632. Director of the Collége de Navarre, Paris, September 10, 1618. Commander of the Order of Saint-Ésprit from 1618. Abbot of Sainte-Geneviève, 1619 to February 2, 1644. Did not participate in the conclave of 1621, which elected Pope Gregory XV. Vice-protector of France before the Holy See, during the absence in France of Cardinal François de Joyeuse, October 1609 to May 1611. Papal commissioner for the reform of the old religious orders in France, April 8, 1622 (2). Resigned government of the diocese before September 19, 1622. President of the Royal Council, September 1622 until 1624 when he was replaced by Cardinal Richelieu. (3). Did not participate in the conclave of 1623, which elected Pope Urban VIII. In 1635, he asked the pope permission to resign the cardinalate and enter the Society of Jesus and end his life as a simple member of the order (4). Did not participate in the conclave of 1644, which elected Pope Innocent X.
Death. February 14, 1645, abbey of Ste. Geneviève, Paris. Buried in the chapel of Saint Jean-Baptiste, in that abbey. His heart was deposited in the church of the Jesuit collège where he studied.
Bibliography. Bergin, Joseph. Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld : leadership and reform in the French Church. New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, 1987; Chapeau, O.S.B. André and Fernand Combaluzier, C.M. Épiscopologe français des temps modernes, 1592-1973. Paris : Letouzey et Ané, 1974, p. 367-368; Desbois, Jean. Biographie du Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld. Paris : E. Figuière, 1923.
Links. His tomb by Philippe Buister, in the chapel of St. Jean Baptiste, abbey of Ste. Geneviève, Paris, France.
(1) According to Bergin, Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld : leadership and reform in the French Church, p. 36, the cardinal exchanged the diocese of Clermont for this one, which was close to Paris and the court, in order to fulfill the obligations of episcopal residence. He also gave up the Abbey of Saint-Mesmin in the exchange. He took possession of the diocese of Senlis in 1613.
(2) These religious orders were the Benedictines, the Augustian Canons, Cluny, and Cîteaux.
(3) According to Bergin, Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld : leadership and reform in the French Church, pp. 64-65, it is unclear when he left the presidency of the council because he failed to formally resign.
(4) Fr. Muzio Vitelleschi, superior general of the Society of Jesus, obtained the consent of Cardinal Barberini but Pope Urban VIII decided against the request. Fr. Vitelleschi was given permission to take the cardinal's vows in his deathbed and to bury him in a Jesuit habit. In his testament, the cardinal left his books and his heart to the Collége de Clermont.
(12) 3. XAVIERRE, O.P., Jerónimo (1546-1608)
Birth. 1546, Zaragoza, Spain. Of an illustrious family. His last name is also listed as Javierre.
Education. Entered the order of Preachers (Dominicans); professed, December 28, 1563, Real Convento de Santo Domingo, Zaragoza; studied in the Dominican school of Tortosa and in Colegio de San Vicente Ferrer, Zaragoza.
Priesthood. Ordained (no information found). Lector of vespers, Dominican school of Tortosa; organized the school's statutes, November 23, 1575. Obtained the title of magister in the Dominican province of Aragón; became its provincial, 1600; rector of Colegio de San Vicente Ferrer, Zaragoza; four times prior of the Royal Convent of Zaragoza. First professor of Prima de teología, University of Zaragoza, May 24, 1585 for fourteen years. Named by the king of Spain visitor of the abbeys and monasteries of the Royal Patronato in Aragón in 1599. Elected master general of his order in its general chapter, Rome, May 13, 1601; sent numerous priests to England to assist the persecuted Catholics and asked the Dominican provincial of Ireland to provide all the spiritual assistance possible to alleviate their situation; founded a Collegio Maggiore in Königsgratz, Bohemia, for the formation of friars to defend the faith against the heretical doctrines of the times. Confessor de estado of King Felipe III of Spain, post that gave him great political influence; from that time, 1605 or 1606, he ceased in practice as master general of his order, and formally when he was promoted to the cardinalate. Member of the Royal Council of State.
Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of December 10, 1607; never went to Rome to receive the red hat and the title (1).
Death. September 8 (2), 1608, Valladolid, while preparing to travel to Italy to assume the post of viceroy of Naples. Transferred to Zaragoza, was buried in a magnificent sepulchre with his kneeling statue over an urn in the chapter and chapel of the patriarchs in the Dominican convent (3). His tomb was badly damaged during the revolutionary events of the 19th century and presently he is buried in the church of San Ildefonso, Zaragoza.
(1) This is according to Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, IV, 10. Cardella, Memorie storiche de' cardinali dellla Santa Romana Chiesa, VI, 142, indicates that Fontana says that he received the title of S. Sisto, but adds that this is contradicted by Chacón, and Frs. Quietif and Echard in their work about the writers of the Order of Saint Dominic, who maintain that he could not have received a title because he never went to Rome. His biography, linked above, says that he was given the title of S.Sisto but also cites a source that states he was never assigned a title.
(2) This is according to Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi, IV, 10. His epitaph indicates that he died on September 2, 1608.
(3) His epitaph reads:
(13) 4. SAVOIA, Maurizio di (1593-1657)
Birth. January 10, 1593, Turin. Fourth son of Carlo Emanuele I "il Grande", duke of Savoy, and Catalina, Infanta of Spain, daughter of King Felipe II of Spain. Relative of Cardinal Amedeo di Savoie (1449).
Education. Educated in the Spanish court.
Sacred orders. (No information found).
Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of December 10, 1607. Abbot commendatario of S. Michele della Chiusa, 1611. Lieutenant-general of Piedmonte, 1615. Abbot commendatario of Casanova, diocese of Saluzzo, 1618. Went to France in 1618 to conclude the marriage of his brother Vittorio Amadeo with Christine of France. Did not participate in the Participated in the conclave of 1621, which elected Pope Gregory XV. Received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Maria Nuova, March 17, 1621. Opted for the deaconry of S. Eustachio, April 19, 1621. Participated in the conclave of 1621, which elected Pope Gregory XV. Participated in the conclave of 1623, which elected Pope Urban VIII; as protector of France, he had a decisive role in the election of Pope Urban VIII. Opted for the deaconry of S. Maria in Via Lata, March 16, 1626. Cardinal protodeacon. Supported by Spain, he maneuvered to obtain the tutelage of his nephew Carlo-Emmanuele, provoking a civil war in Piedmont which lasted until 1642. Resigned cardinalate. Married his niece Princess Ludovica Cristina of Savoy, on August 18, 1642. On November 10, 1642, gave up his deaconry of S. Maria in Via Lata. In the consistory of December 1, 1642, the Pope announced that the Cardinal di Savoia presented to the nuncio in Madrid his resignation to the cardinalate and to his diaconal church and declared his matrimony valid. In the consistory of April 13, 1643, the Pope received per procuratores the resignation and accepted and ratified it. They did not have any children. He became prince de Oneglia.
Death. October 4, 1657, of an apoplexy, in Turin. Buried (no information found). There is a monument to his memory just over the entrance of the church of S. Maria in Via Lata, Rome.
Links. His portrait; and his bust by François Duquesnoy.
(14) 5. GONZAGA, Ferdinando (1587-1626)
Birth. April 27, 1587, Mantua. Second son of Vincenzo I, duke of Mantua. He was 6th duke of Mantua and 4th duke of Montferrato. Brother of Cardinal Vincenzo Gonzaga (1615). Other cardinals of the family are: Francesco Gonzaga (1461); Sigismondo Gonzaga (1505); Ercole Gonzaga (1527); Pirro Gonzaga (1527); Francesco Gonzaga (1561); Giovanni Vincenzo Gonzaga, O.S.Io.Hier. (1578); and Vincenzo Gonzaga (1615).
Education. (No information found).
Sacred orders. (No information found).
Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of December 10, 1607; received the red hat and the deaconry of S. Maria in Domnica, February 15, 1610. Opted for the deaconry of S. Maria in Portico, November 19, 1612. After the deaths of his father, brother and nephew, obtained the investiture as duke of Mantua and Monferrato from the emperor in October 1613. He then resigned the cardinalate and the pope accepted his resignation in the consistory of November 16, 1615. To avoid the extinction of his family, he married Caterina de' Medici, on February 17, 1617, but they did not have any children (1).
Death. October 29, 1626, Mantua. Buried in the subterranean church of Santa Barbara, Mantua.
Bibliography. Brinton, Selwyn. The Gonzaga--Lords of Mantua. London : Methuen, 1927, pp. 193-204
Links. His effigy on a medal, by Gaspare Mola; the diocese of Mantua; and his genealogy, B2 C1 D2.
(1) He had an illegitimate son, Giacinto, by Camilla, daughter of Count Ardizzino Faà of Monferrato. His marriage to her had been kept secret and later denied.
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