Antonelli, Leonardo
Antonelli, Leonardo
Cardinal, b. at Sinigaglia, 6 November 1730; d. 23 January, 1811, nephew of Cardinal Nicolo Maria Antonelli. During the early part of his long diplomatic career he held among other offices those of canon of the Vatican Basilica, Prefect of archives in the Castle of San Angelo, Secretary of the Sacred College and Assessor of the Holy Office. He was created Cardinal-Priest of St. Sabina by Pius VI in the consistory of 24 April, 1775, and later Dean of the Sacred College and Bishop of Ostia and Velletri. At the time of the French Revolution, with a view to preventing the suspension of church services, he lent his support to the vote for the civil constitution of the French clergy decreed by the National Assembly of France (12 July, 1790). In addition to the responsible posts already mentioned, he filled those of grand penitentiary, prefect of the Signature of Justice and of the Congregation of the Index, and pro-secretary of Briefs. He assisted in the preparation of the Concordat, and was present at the election of Pius VII (1800), whom he later accompanied to Paris (1804). He was banished from Rome by the French (1808) to Spoleto and later to Sinigaglia, where he died, leaving to the Congregation of Propaganda bequests for the support of twelve Armenian students in the College of Urbano. Though Antonelli has been criticized for arrogating to the papacy too arbitrary a civil power, a perusal of his letter to the bishops of Ireland reveals a more tolerant spirit than is generally attributed to him. Possessed of a rich library, he was the friend and protector of letters, and had as librarian the learned Cancellieri. He also acquired some fame as an archaeologist.
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CANCELLIERI, Cenotaphium Leonardi Antonelli Cardinalis (Pesaro, 1825).
F.M. RUDGE Transcribed by John Fobian In memory of Joe Natoli
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Antonelli, Leonardo
cardinal-bishop of Velletri and Ostia, and dean of the Sacred College, was born at Sinigaglia, Nov. 6, 1730. His attachment to the Jesuits met with opposition from pope; Clement XIV, who had abolished this order. It has been said of Antonelli that he came into the world a hundred years too late. Acting as if Europe were still under the temporal and spiritual power of the pope, he fulfilled the functions of prefect of the Propaganda with all the bias of a Roman- prelate of the 13th century. During the French Revolution he was one of the chiefs of the assembly of the State, and proposed, in concert with the fiscal Barbieri, more extreme measures. In the meantime, he supported the vote of Jan. 15, 1791, for the sanction of the civil constitution of the clergy, decreed by the National Assembly of France, July 12, 1790. In 1800 he concurred in the election of Pius VII, and accompanied that pontiff on his voyage to Paris in 1804. He was driven from Rome in 1808 by the French, but was conveyed to Spoleto, and died at Sinigaglia, Jan. 23, 1811. In his youth he had written the pope’s brief of interdiction of the duke of Parma, which gave to Voltaire the idea of a piquant article entitled Le Royaume mis en Interdit. Nevertheless, his letter to the bishops of Ireland showed that he held the same opinions of intolerance that were ascribed to him earlier. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.