Filippo Maria Visconti | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Milan | |
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| Church | Catholic Church |
| See | Milan |
| Appointed | 25 June 1784 |
| Term ended | 30 December 1801 |
| Predecessor | Giuseppe Pozzobonelli |
| Successor | Giovanni Battista Caprara |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 31 May 1749 (Priest) |
| Consecration | 27 June 1784 (Bishop) by Antonio Eugenio Visconti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1721-08-19)19 August 1721 |
| Died | 30 December 1801(1801-12-30) (aged 80) |
| Buried | Cathedral of Milan |
| Coat of arms |  |
Filippo Maria Visconti (1721–1801) was theArchbishop of Milan from 1784 to 1801.
Filippo Maria Visconti was born on 19 August 1721 inMassino Visconti, a village nearLake Maggiore which was the original land tenure of theHouse of Visconti, a main noble family of theDuchy of Milan and to which Filippo Maria belonged.[1] Filippo Maria earned adoctorate in Theology, and was ordainedpriest on 31 May 1749. He served as diocesan priest in Milan, first ascanon of theBasilica of San Lorenzo, and later as canon of the majorchapter of theCathedral of Milan, of which in 1783 he was electedprovost.[1] In force of this office he temporarily administered the diocese of Milan after the death of the ArchbishopGiuseppe Pozzobonelli in April 1783.
The Duchy of Milan was part of theHabsburg lands which since 1780 were governed byJoseph II. Joseph II, himself a man ofthe Enlightenment, planned and undertook vigorous and unpopular reforms of the Church in order to make theCatholic Church in his empire the tool of the state, independent of thepapacy.
Accordingly, at the death of Archbishop Giuseppe Pozzobonelli, Joseph II decided to break with the century-old tradition and to choose directly the new archbishop. On 1 September 1783 he appointed as newArchbishop of Milan the temporary administrator of the diocese, Filippo Maria Visconti. The pope initially rejected such dictation, but unable to assert his authority, on 25 June 1784 formally appointed Visconti. Visconti was consecratedbishop on 27 June 1784 in Rome by the hands of Cardinal Antonio Eugenio Visconti,[2] and when in Milan he swore allegiance to Joseph II. Filippo Maria Visconti was never createdCardinal.
Visconti, who was of pleaser and feeble nature, was not able to oppose to the commands of the religious reforms of Joseph II: in particular he accepted the expropriation of theValsolda's tenure and of theCollegio Elvetico which belonged to the Diocese of Milan, the closing of the historicalseminaries founded by SaintCharles Borromeo with the opening of a single seminary inPavia under the control of the government and near toJansenism positions, the reduction of the parishes (25 December 1787) of themonasteries and of theconfraternities, the new law on the marriages which moved them under the State's law and the broad reduction of jurisdiction of the ecclesiastic tribunals.[1]
With the death of Joseph II in 1790 the situation of the Church in Milan slowly improved, the seminaries were re-established, and Visconti re-published theAmbrosianMissal and issue a new text of Christian Doctrine.[3]
In 1793 he ordered to the clergy to sell even valuable religious objects in order to support theWar of the First Coalition againstNapoleon. However Napoleon defeated theAustrians and on 15 May 1796 entered in Milan, founding theTranspadane Republic and commandeering ecclesiastic properties. The population reacted with riots, particularly inBinasco and Pavia, and Visconti, to please the new ruler, tried to calm the turmoils and ordered prayers in all churches in favour of the army of theFrench First Republic. However the situation of the Milanese church got worse and worse due to the openanticlerical orderings of the just createdCisalpine Republic, such as the exclusion of the bishop from the appointments of theparish priests, the prohibition of processions in the streets, the covering of religious images on the wall of the houses, the disband of most chapters and of manyreligious orders.[3]
A brief break occurred between 1799 and 1800 when the Austrians returned in Milan for a few months: Visconti openly rejoiced for the change of rulers who revoked some of the anticlerical measures. However Napoleon re-entered in Milan on 2 June 1800 and Visconti escaped temporally toPadua. Returned in Milan in November 1800, he made himself available to the Cisalpine Republic, which restored its repressive rules against the Church and against the religious sentiment of the population.[3]
In November 1801 Visconti was invited byTayllerand inLyon to participate to the founding of theNapoleonic Italian Republic. On 30 December 1801 Filippo Maria Visconti died there while sitting to a formal banquet, and his remains were translated to Milan and buried in the North nave of the Cathedral of Milan.[4]
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