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His Eminence Francesco Maria Brancaccio | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal-Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Diocese of Viterbo |
| In office | 1671–1675 |
| Predecessor | Marzio Ginetti |
| Successor | Ulderico Carpegna |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 8 September 1627 by Cosimo de Torres |
| Created cardinal | 28 November 1633 |
| Rank | Cardinal-Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1592-04-15)15 April 1592 |
| Died | 9 January 1675(1675-01-09) (aged 82) Rome |
Francesco Maria Brancaccio (15 April 1592, inCanneto,[1] nearBari – 9 January 1675) was an ItalianCatholiccardinal.[2]
Brancaccio was born on 15 April 1592, the son of Baron Muzio II Brancaccio, governor ofApulia andZenobia in theKingdom of Naples. He was educated by theJesuits inNaples.[3] He was ordained there as apriest in 1619 and was rose through local ecclesiastic ranks until 1627 when he became Bishop ofCapaccio which was then within the Kingdom of Naples. On 8 Sep 1627, he was consecrated bishop byCosimo de Torres,Cardinal-Priest ofSan Pancrazio, withGiuseppe Acquaviva,Titular Archbishop ofThebae, andFrancesco Nappi (bishop),Bishop of Polignano, serving as co-consecrators.[2] While a bishop, he came into conflict with the localfoot guards with whom he had a disagreement about local ecclesiasticjurisdiction.[4] When the disagreement was elevated to armed conflict, acastrato in Brancaccio's employ killed thecaptain of the guard. The Vice-King[5] ordered the bishop to stand trial and he obeyed; making arrangements to travel to Naples to give his account. But rather than travel to Naples he fled in afelucca towards Rome and upon arrival sought an audience withPope Urban VIII to explain his side of the story. Urban agreed to defend the bishop and a furious Kingdom of Naples took custody of all the wealth and assets of Brancaccio's bishopric.
Pope Urban absolved Brancaccio of any crime and ordered that he be returned to Capaccio but the Viceroy in Naples opposed it and urged the pope to send him elsewhere.[4] The Pope, in need of more cardinals loyal to theBarberini cause, instead kept Brancaccio in Rome and he was elevated to the rank of cardinal in his consistory of 28 November 1633.
Now as a cardinal, there were few who would publicly speak ill of Brancaccio, though they may have wanted to. He was restored to his bishopric where he remained until 1635 when yet another conflict with yet another Viceroy saw him resign. While in Naples he worked closely with cardinalsFrancesco Boncompagni andIppolito Aldobrandini.[4]
He becameBishop of Viterbo in 1638; then he became cardinal-bishop ofSabina (1666–68), ofFrascati (1668–71), and finally of Porto e Santa Rufina (1671–75). He attended thepapal conclaves of1644,1655,1667 and1669, which elected popesInnocent X,Alexander VII,Clement IX andClement X respectively.[2]
During his time in Rome he formed theBiblioteca Brancacciana (which later moved to Naples and became that city's first public library – it is now part of theNational Library of Naples) and housed the artistSalvator Rosa.[citation needed]
In 1642Giovanni Gentile dedicated a teaching-collection of music entitledSolfeggiamenti et ricercari a due voci (Solfèges andricercari for two voices – Lodovico Grignani, Rome, 1642) to him. The frontispiece gives him as "CARD. FRANCESCO MARIA / BRANCACCIO. / VESCOVO DI VITERBO" ("Cardinal Francesco Maria Brancaccio,bishop of Viterbo") and in the appendices is acanon in two voices "Cavato dalle lettere vocali del nome, e cognome / DELL'EMINENTISSIMO E REVERENDISSIMO / CARDINALE BRANCACCIO" ("Based on the vocal letters of the name and surname of the most eminent and most reverend / cardinal Brancaccio").[citation needed]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Bishop of Capaccio 1627–1635 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Priest ofSanti XII Apostoli 1634–1663 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Viterbo e Tuscania 1638–1670 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Priest ofSan Lorenzo in Lucina 1663–1666 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Bishop ofSabina 1666–1668 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Bishop ofFrascati 1668-1671 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cardinal-Bishop ofPorto e Santa Rufina 1671–1675 | Succeeded by |
