Tommaso Bernetti | |
|---|---|
| Vice-Chancellor of the Apostolic Chancery | |
 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Appointed | 22 January 1844 |
| Term ended | 21 March 1852 |
| Predecessor | Carlo Maria Pedicini |
| Successor | Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso |
| Other post | Cardinal-Deaconpro illa vice of San Lorenzo in Damaso (1844–52) |
| Previous posts |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1839 by Alessandro Bernetti |
| Created cardinal | 2 October 1826 byPope Leo XII |
| Rank | Cardinal-Deacon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Tommaso Bernetti 29 December 1779 |
| Died | 21 March 1852(1852-03-21) (aged 72) Fermo, Papal States |
Tommaso Bernetti (29 December 1779 – 21 March 1852) was an Italian Roman Catholicprelate andcardinal who served in theSecretariat of State and theRoman Curia during his time in the cardinalate.[1] He came fromFermo and was named a cardinal in 1826 before beginning his work in the Curia. He had worked prior to his time in the cardinalate as apapal legate and governor with a dispensation for not having been apriest at that point.
Tommaso Bernetti was born to thenoblepatriciansCount Salvatore Bernetti and Countess Giuditta Brancadoro inFermo on 29 December 1779. His uncle Cesare Brancadoro on his maternal side was acardinal thatPope Pius VII named in 1801 and his brother Alessandro became a bishop.[1]
Bernetti studied both law and literature at a college in Fermo and later received thetonsure on 21 February 1801. He travelled to Paris as well as toReims and later atFontainebleau alongside his cardinal uncle following theNapoleon-led French invasion ofRome in 1809 that forced his uncle into exile. The pair were able to return to Rome later in 1814 after Pope Pius VII re-entered Rome following his own exile.[1] He was appointed as thepro-legate toFerrara from mid-1815 until 1816 and held a series of other positions such as Governor of Rome andVice-Camerlengo from 1820 until 1826 despite not having been anordainedpriest at that stage. His diplomatic duties also extended to being made an ambassador to the coronation ofCzar Nicholas I of Russia in 1826 and he left Rome on 13 June to join Cardinal Tommaso Arezzo. He was unable to attend the coronation in Moscow for reasons unknown though did meet the czar later in Saint Petersburg instead on 22 October. He returned to Paris following this.[1]
It was during his time in Paris that he learnt thatPope Leo XII intended to elevate him into the cardinalate on 2 October 1826. He arrived in Rome not long after and months later received his red biretta and his title asCardinal-Deacon of San Cesareo in Palatio. Bernetti later participated in the1829 conclave that electedPope Pius VIII and again in the1830-31 conclave that electedPope Gregory XVI.[1] Bernetti during this time served in theSecretariat of State. The separate position of Cardinal Secretary for Internal State Affairs was created by Gregory XVI in 1833 at Bernetti's request, to reduce his workload as the Secretary of State.[2] Bernetti's brother Alessandro ordained him as a priest in 1839. In 1836 he left the Secretariat of State and in 1844 was appointed as theVice-Chancellor for the Apostolic Chancery; in 1844 he opted to become theCardinal-Deacon of San Lorenzo in Damaso reducedpro illa vice.
Bernetti participated in thepapal conclave in 1846 that electedPope Pius IX. He himself had been considered a possible contender and his candidature was supported by the Russians and thePrussians,[3] but he was not a serious contender as he suffered fromgout and was considered too old. Bernetti favored Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti to become pope but soon learnt that theAustrian EmperorFerdinand I wanted to invoke theright of veto against the latter. He realized he had to act fast to secure votes for him and so - in an effort to also prevent his rivalLuigi Lambruschini from being elected - lobbied other cardinals to secure the votes needed for Mastai-Ferretti, therefore leading to his election before the veto could be imposed.[4] He later sought refuge inSant'Elpidio following the assassination ofPellegrino Rossi and later joined Pius IX inGaeta in 1848. In 1849 he returned to his hometown of Fermo and would live there until his death.[1]
Bernetti died in Fermo on 21 March 1852 and his remains were interred inFermo Cathedral.
