Birth. December 2, 1682. Fossombrone. Baptized on December 3, 1682. Brother of Msgr. Guido Passionei, secretary of the Cipher, of the S.C. Consistorial, and of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
Education. Somaschan Collegio Clementino, Rome (1695-1701; doctorate in philosophy, 1701); La Sapienza University, Rome (doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law).
Early life. Ablegate to present the red biretta to the nuncio in Paris, Filippo Antonio Gualterio, 1706; remained in that city two years and acquired his Jansenistic sympathies, which he had throughout his life. Papal agent to the Peace Conference of The Hague, 1708, and to the one in Utrecht, 1712. Junior lawyer in the Supreme tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace, 1713. Procurator of the Holy See in Baden for the signing of the peace treaty among the Christian princes, 1714; and in Solothurn, 1716. Inquisitor in the Island of Malta, 1717-1719. Pro-secretary of the S.C. of Propaganda Fide, November 1720 until January 1721, when he became ill and returned to Fossombrone. Secretary of Latin Letters.
Sacred orders. Received the subdiaconate, July 6, 1721; diaconate, July 13, 1721.
Episcopate. Elected titular archbishop of Efeso, July 16, 1721. Consecrated, July 25, 1721, Rome, by Cardinal Fabrizio Paolucci. Nuncio in Switzerland, July 30, 1721. Nuncio in Austria, December 23, 1730. Blessed the marriage of the future empress Maria-Theresia, 1738. Member of the Academy of Berlin. Secretary of Apostolic Briefs, 1738.
Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of June 23, 1738; received the red hat and the title of S. Bernardo alle Terme, July 23, 1738. Abbot commendatario of S. Maria di Farfa from 1738. Participated in the conclave of 1740, which elected Pope Benedict XIV. Pro-librarian of the Holy Roman Church, July 10, 1741, in the absence of the librarian, Cardinal Angelo Maria Quirini. Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals, January 29, 1748. Opposed the beatification of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino, S.J., 1754. Librarian of the Holy Roman Church, January 22, 1755 until his death. Opted for the title of S. Prassede, retaining his title in commendam, February 17, 1755. Participated in the conclave of 1758, which elected Pope Clement XIII. Opted for the title of S. Lorenzo in Lucina, retaining in commendam his first title, February 12, 1759. Cardinal protoprete. He was a great enemy of the Society of Jesus and worked tirelessly for its suppression. His 32000-volume library, in his residence of Palazzo della Consulta, was open to everybody. He was the only cardinal whom Voltaire said he longed to become personally acquainted with.
Death. July 5, 1761, Camaldolese monastery, near Frascati. Exposed in the church of S. Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome, where the funeral took place, and buried in the Camaldolese church of S. Bernardo alle Terme, Rome. It is said that the cardinal had fled to the monastery to avoid signing the papal brief condemning the catechism of Fr. Ph. Mésenguy. The pope demanded his signature and this upset the cardinal so greatly that he died a few days later.
Bibliography. Cittadini Fulvi, Maria. "Le amicizie francesi del cardinale Domenico Passionei, Cultura e societ` nel settecento : Atti del X Convegno del Centro di Studi Avellaniti, Fonte Avellana, 1986. Fonte Avellana : Il Centro, 1987-, pp. 11-28; Finch, Urban. Die Luzerner Nuntiatur 1586-1873 : Zur Behördengeschichte und Quellenkunde der päpstlichen Diplomatie in der Schweiz. Luzern ; Stuttgart : Rex Verlag, 1997. (Collectanea Archivi Vaticani ; Bd. 40) (Luzerner Historische Veröffentlichungen ; Bd. 32); Montignano, Maria Castelbarco Albani Visconti Simonetta. Un grande bibliofilo del sec. XVIII, il cardinale Domenico Passionei. Firenze : L.S. Olschki, 1937; Sgreccia, Elio. "Il Cardinale Domenico Passionei dall'incontro con i benedettini di S. Mauro a Parigi (1706) alla residenza nel romitorio di Camaldoli a Frascati, in: Ascetica cristiana e ascetica giansenista e quietista nelle regioni d'influenza avellanita : atti del I Convegno del Centro di studi avellaniti, Fonte Avellana, 1977. . Fonte Avellana : Il Centro, 1978, pp. 27-109; Squicciarini, Donato. Nunzi apostolici a Vienna. Città del Vaticano : Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998, p. 162-164.
Links. Biography, in English; another biography, in German; and his tomb in the church of S. Bernardo alle Terme, Rome.
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