Church Roman Catholic Church Ordination March 24, 1833 Name Lodovico Altieri | ||
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In office 19 March 1857 - 11 August 1867 Other posts Cardinal-Bishop of Albano (1860-1867)Prefect of the Roman Curia (1861-1867)Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran (1863-1867) Died August 11, 1867, Albano Laziale, Italy | ||
Lodovico Altieri (17 July 1805 – 11 August 1867) was an Italian cardinal and he served as the Camerlengo of the Roman Catholic Church. He belonged to the Altieri family which was one of the noble families of Rome and was a descendant of Pope Clement X.
Contents
His cause of sainthood has commenced and he has been accorded the title Servant of God in order to initiate the formal process.
Early life
Lodovico Altieri was born in 1805 as the son of Paluzzo Altieri and Maria Anna di Sassonia in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood on 24 March 1833.
He was created a Privy chamberlain by Pope Leo XII. In the pontificate of Pope Gregory XVI he was named qualificator of the Congregation of the Holy Office while he served as vicar of the School of Santa Maria in Via Lata. During this time he also served as Secretary of the Congregation of Studies.
Episcopate and cardinalate
He was appointed titular archbishop of Ephesus on 11 July 1836 by Pope Gregory XVI and was consecrated on 17 July of that year by Pope Gregory XVI himself. He was also appointed as the Nuncio to Austria the next day.
Altieri was created a cardinal and was reserved in pectore on 14 December 1840. His name was announced on 21 April 1845 and he was made the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Campitelli (the diaconate was elevated pro hac vice to title). He participated in the conclave of 1846 that elected Pope Pius IX. He was a member of the triumvirate that governed Rome between July 1849 and April 1850 after the short-lived Roman Republic.
He was Secretary of the Congregation for Memorials serving from 1855 to 1857. He was appointed Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church on 19 March 1857 and held the post until his death. He opted for the order of cardinal bishops, taking the suburbicarian see of Albano on 17 December 1860. He was appointed Prefect of the Congregation of the Index by Pope Pius IX on 5 September 1861. He was appointed Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran on 8 March 1863.
Death
During the cholera epidemic that affected his diocese, he assisted the sick and the dying and he himself contracted the malady, dying in 1867. His funeral took place in the church of Santa Maria in Campitelli and he was briefly interred in the cemetery of Albano before being transferred.
Cause of beatification
Altieri gained a reputation for holiness after his death and his cause of canonization was called for. Pope Benedict XVI allowed this through the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 14 March 2009 which began the process and thus allowed for him to be titled as a Servant of God. The diocesan process concluded its business on 26 September 2015.