Gregorio Barbarigo

Saint Gregorio Barbarigo

Saint Gregorio Barbarigo
Bishop and Confessor
Born (1625-09-16)16 September 1625
Venice, Republic of Venice (modern-day Italy)
Died 18 June 1697(1697-06-18) (aged 71)
Padua, Republic of Venice (modern-day Italy)
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified 6 July 1761, Rome, Papal States by Pope Clement XIII
Canonized 26 May 1960, Vatican City, Rome by Pope John XXIII
Feast 18 June

Gregorio Barbarigo (Gregory Barbarigo; 16 September 1625 - 18 June 1697) was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and scholar.

Life

Early life

Born 16 September 16, 1625 into a noble family of Venice, Gregorio was the eldest child of Venetian Senator Giovanni Francesco Barbarigo and Lucrezia Lion (or Leoni), who died on 19 March 1631, of the plague. His father brought home a cousin, Franchesina Lippomani, to look after the children. His baptismal name was Gregorio Giovanni Gasparo. The other siblings were Elena, Pietro and Antonio. His last name is also listed as Barbadico and Barbadigo. He was a relative of Cardinal Mercantonio Barbarigo (1686), and the uncle of Cardinal Giovanni Francesco Barbarigo (1719). His father instructed him in philosophy and mathematics, while preceptors taught him Latin and Greek, and he also received the rudiments of music.[1]

In 1643, Barbarigo accompanied Venetian ambassador Aloise Contarini to Münster for the negotiations to prepare the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War, which was signed on 24 October 1648. There he became acquainted with Archbishop Fabio Chigi, nuncio in Cologne, and a participant in the negotiations. Then, he went to Holland and Flanders and finally, to Paris. After five years, in July 1648, he returned to Venice and continued his studies in Padua. In 1650, he was elected a member of Collegio dei Savi and initiated his political career, which he did not find satisfying. In the winter of 1653, he went to Rome to ask the advise of Cardinal Chigi, (the future Pope Alexander VII), who recommended that he not retire as a hermit but follow the ecclesiastical career and begin by obtaining a doctorate in law.[1]

Priesthood

Barbarigo obtained a doctorate in utroque iure, both canon and civil law, on 25 September 1655, and was ordained a priest on 21 December 1655, by Gian Francesco Morosini, the patriarch of Venice. He left for Rome at the end of February 1656, called by Pope Alexander VII, who initiated him into the papal service. He was named a domestic prelate of His Holiness. On 21 April 1656, Fr. Barbarigo was appointed Referendary of the Tribunals of the Apostolic Signature of Justice and of Grace. On 9 June 1665, he was given a canonicate in the cathedral chapter of Padua without the requirement of residence. In 1656, at the request of Pope Alexander VII, he organized the assistance to the Romans in the Trastevere area who had been stricken by the plague.[1]

Gregorio Barbarigo

Episcopate

Alexander VII consecrated him as the first bishop of Bergamo on 29 July 1657.[2] Bishop Barbarigo took possession of the diocese on the following 2 September through his procurators, Rodolfo Roncalli, archdeacon; and Giovanni Battista Lavezzali, vicar capitular. He himself arrived there on 27 March 1658. He reorganized the seminary and thoroughly inspected the 279 parishes of the diocese.[1]

He was a successful bishop of Bergamo and Pope Alexander VII promoted him to the cardinalate in 1660. In 1664 he was made bishop of Padua.[2] On entering upon his episcopal duties, he strove to model himself on Saint Charles Borromeo.[3] He was a strong supporter of the work of the Council of Trent. He made the seminaries of Padua and of Bergamo larger and added a library and printing press in Padua.

Barbarigo died in Padua on 18 June 1697.

Veneration

Gregorio Barbarigo was beatified by Pope Clement XIII on 6 July 1761, and canonized, nearly 189 years later, by Pope John XXIII on 26 May 1960, the first saint he canonized. Saint John, who is said to have felt a close kinship with Saint Gregory Barbarigo and to have maintained a lifelong devotion to his work,[4] included him in the General Calendar of 1960, assigning 17 June as his feast day, since 18 June was already assigned to Saint Ephrem the Syrian. The 1969 revision of the calendar, considering the saint was not truly of universal importance, removed his name from the General Roman Calendar, leaving his celebration to local calendars,[5] and giving 18 June, the day of his death, as the day for celebrating him.[6]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Miranda, Salvador, "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church", Florida International University
  2. 1 2 "Sede Vacante 1691", California State University - Northridge
  3. ↑ "Patron Saint", Saint Gregory Barbarigo RC Church Glasgow
  4. ↑ St. Gregory Barbarigo Catholic School, Houma LA
  5. ↑ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 126
  6. ↑ Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 978-88-209-7210-3), p. 325
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