(2) 1. PRIULI, Antonio Marino (1707-1772)

Cardinalate. Created cardinal priest in the consistory of October 2, 1758; received the red hat and the title of S. Maria della Pace, July 13, 1759. Opted for the title of S. Marco, April 19, 1762. Transferred to the see of Padua, April 6, 1767. Participated in the conclave of 1769, which elected Pope Clement XIV.

Death. October 26, 1772, Treville. Exposed and buried in the cathedral of Padua.

(3) 2. PIERRES DE BERNIS, François-Joachim de (1715-1794)

Birth. May 22, 1715, Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche, diocese of Nîmes, France. Of a noble but impoverished family. Grand-uncle of Cardinal Anne-Louis-Henri de La Fare (1823).

Education. Seminary of St.-Sulpice, Paris (completed his studies in 1734). Received the insignias of the clerical character.

Early life. For his family connections he was named canon of the cathedral chapters of Brioude and Lyons. Member of the Académie Française, November 26, 1744. In his youth he lived a very worldly life. He acquainted himself with the wealthy and met the future Madame de Pompadour. Thanks to her friendship, he was appointed French ambassador to Venice in 1752.

Sacred orders. Received the subdiaconate from the patriarch of Venice. King Louis XV named him minister of State in early 1757 and minister of foreign affairs in June 1757. He negotiated the treaty of alliance of France and Austria against England and Prussia on May 1, 1756, which produced the Seven Years War. The unpopular war and the loss of Madame de Pompadour's friendship forced him in November 1758 to submit his resignation to the king, who banished him in December 1758 to one of his four abbeys, Vic-sur-Aisne, Soissons.

Cardinalate. Created cardinal deacon in the consistory of October 2, 1758. No deaconry was assigned to him. During the six years of forced retirement he received the diaconate and was ordained a priest.

Episcopate. Elected archbishop of Albi, July 9, 1764. Consecrated (no information found). Ambassador of France before the Holy See, 1769-1791. Participated in the conclave of 1769, which elected Pope Clement XIV. Opted for the order of priests and the title of S. Silvestro in Capite, June 26, 1769. He has received more blame than he deserves in the suppression of the Society of Jesus by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. It is known that he regretted the measure, and that as ambassador of France he tried to avert it by assisting the wavering pope in securing the delays for which he had asked. But the pressure exercised by the Bourbons of Spain, Naples, and France, and the passive attitude and tacit consent of Austria ended the negotiations abruptly. Opted for the order of bishops and the suburbicarian see of Albano, retaining the administration of Albi, April 18, 1774. Participated in the conclave of 1774-1775, which elected Pope Pius VI. During the French Revolution, he celebrated, in the national church of S. Luigi dei Francesi, a solemn funeral for King Louis XVI, who had been executed on the guillotine. He offered refuge in his palace to the French princes and clergy in exile in Rome. Resigned the administration of his archdiocese rather than take the constitutional oath. Apostolic visitor of the French foundations, December 10, 1793.

Death. November 3, 1794, Rome. Exposed in the church of S. Marcello, Rome, where the funeral took place, and buried in the church of S. Luigi dei Francesi, Rome. Pope Pius VI bestowed on him the epithet "Protector of the Church of France". Later, transferred to the cathedral of Nîmes and buried there; his heart and entrails remained buried in the church of S. Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.

Links. Biography, in English; another biography, in French; his tomb in the cathedral of Nîmes, France.

©1998-2009 Salvador Miranda.