Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/365

 CAPRARA

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CAPRARA

Giuliano Cesarini and Nicholas of Cusa, he received the titleof Doctor of Both Laws at the age of twenty- one. Soon he became secretary to Martin V, and Apostolic protlionotary. and in 1 123 or 1426 was made cardinal in petto by this pope, though his nomination was not published in scent consistory until 1430. lie had earned this rapid promotion by various polit- ical and military services, notably by his administra- tion of Imola and Forli and by his successful reduc- tion of rebellious Bologna. In the meantime he had become Bishop of Fermo. but for some reason did not go to Rome for the public ceremonies of the cardinal- ate. Despite his protest, and their previous agree- ment with Martin V, the cardinals of the conclave that followed the latter's death (1431) refused to re- cognize Capranica's nomination, and the new pope, Eugene IV, sustained their decision on the ground that the delivery of the hat and assignment of the title were necessary for the validity of a eardinalitial nom- ination. Capranica. having already suffered severe losses at Rome through the en- mity of theOrsini, took refuge first with the Visconti of Milan and later

appealed (1432) to t he Council of Basle for recog- nition of his title. This was granted, lmt to punish him for adhering to the Council Eu- gene I V deprived him of all hon- ours and digni- ties, also of all his possessions. Cap- ranica, t hen served by .Eneas Sylvius as secre- tary, bore himself with moderation and caution, and soon sought a re- conciliation with the pope at Florence (30 April, 1434), who restored to him his offices and goods,

fave him the eardinalitial Title of Santa Croce in lerusalemme, and sent him to the Council at Fer- rara, with special commission to treat with the Greek bishops and theologians concerning the reunion of the Churches. He frequently administered important departments of the States of the Church, always with justice, prudence, and integrity. He executed twelve responsible embassies for the Apostolic See, and was named il 149) Grand Penitentiary and Archpriest of the Latcran. I lapranica was one of the most earnest reformers in the Roman Church, inaugurated the re- storation of primitive fervour among the Cistercians of Tuscany, and drew up for Nicholas V, iii 1 1 !!). a model plan of a general religious reformation (Pastor, Gesch.

d. Papste, Ith ed. I, 394-96). lie was extremely stem and severe in character, and in t he duties of his Office open and free of speech, also quite' fearless, lie insisted on a personal examination of the votes cast for Nicholas V, whose election greatly surprised him, and remonstrated vigorously with Cailistus III for his nepotism, especially in the nomination of Don Pedro Luis Borgia as \ icar (governor) of Spoleto (Pastor, op. cit., tr. II. 161 I. While very libera] to the poor, on the other hand he was austere and rigid towards the worldly prelates ,,f the city and was wont to freely reproach them. His household was a model for cor- rectness and simplicity of life. Capranica was emi- nent as a peacemaker, notably at Genoa, where he healed grievous municipal dissensions, and again be-

tween the Apostolic See and King Alfonso of Naples and the princes of Germany. During the plague of 1456 he remained at Home when many others fled. He took a very prominent pari in all the negotiations for a crusade against the Turks in the hope of restor- ing Constantinople to the Palreologi. To posterity he is best known as the founder of the I lollegio Capra- nica (see Rome), an institution which ho opened in his own palace (the oldest Roman monument of the early Renaissance) for thirty-one poor scholars, sixteen in theology and the liberal arts, anil fifteen in canon law. Its constitutions, drawn up by himself (Rome, 1705, 1879), are praised as a model of their kind; the college itself is the oldest of the Roman colleges and therefore rejoices in the peculiar title of " Almo Col- legio". In 1460 his brother Cardinal Angelo Capra- nica erected nearby a special building for the college (Denifle, Die Universitaten, I. 317 sqq.). He left all his property to ecclesiastical uses, saying: "The Church gave it to me; I give it back, for I am not its master, but its steward. I should indeed have reaped but little profit from the nights spent in studying ecclesiastical discipline if I were to leave to my rela- tives the goods of the Church which belong to the poor" (Pastor, op. cit. II. 192). At his death the Milanese ambassador wrote home that "the wisest, the most perfect, the most learned, and the holiest prelate whom the Church has in our days possessed is gone from us". He added that he was universally considered as (lie next pope (op. cit. II. 194). Pastoi himself says that of all the cardinals of the Renais- sance Age none but Albergati, Cesarini, and Carvajal can be compared with him (ibid., 495). He lies buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, near St. Catherine of Siena. He wrote an excellent opusculum known as "The Art of Dying Well" printed in 1487. In his life by Catalanus (see below) are some notes on the Coun- cil of Basle, and he is said by Mansi (in Moroni) to have written a history of that council, never printed. He also drew up for the instruction of his nephew certain "Rules of Life" that Pastor says reflect his beautiful character.

The most complete recount of his life is found in the rare work of Catalanus, De Vita •' scriptU Dominict Capranica,

Cavtiunti.: Ant l:! <' I I ti'tinni 1'lMtlln, 170.;. ( 'f . DA Blsiici I. Ylt? di t'omini itlusfn. in Mm -, I, Is", a!. (V,.

noni, Mnea • Sylvii Pirr>>h>' < < .■< ; ■• '■ ■■'«■ (Rome, 1893); Pastor, History of the Popi. etc., tr (London, 1891, [1,483- 95 and passim; Ciaconiis-< ium.ini s, lihr ponlilirum. etc., 11.832-41; Eubel in Rdmische QuartaUchrift (1903), XVII, 273-92.

Thomas J. Shahan.

Caprara, Giovanni Battista, statesman and cardinal, b. at Bologna, 2!) May, 1733; d. at Paris, 27 July, 1810. His parents were Count Francesco Raimondo Montecuccoli and Countess Maria Vittoria Caprara; it was from his mother that he took his name. Having entered the ecclesiastical state, he was appointed in 1758 vice-legate of Ravenna, in 17(17 nuncio at Cologne, in 1775 at Lucerne, and in 1785 at Vienna. In this last and most important position he did not always defend with sufficient courage the interests of the Church against the aggressions of the Emperor Joseph II (1765-90), and the imperial ministers Prince Kaunitz and Count Cobenzl. During the summer of 1792 he was made Cardinal-Pries! of the Title of Sant' Onofrio, and in August. 1800, Bishop of Jesi in the Mark of Ancona. When the Concordat between Pius VII (1800 23) and tin- French Republic was concluded (July, 1801), Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, asked for the appointment of a papal legate with residence in Paris. His choice fell upon Cardinal Caprara. undoubtedly because he expected in this way little or no opposition to his plans. Caprara was appointed legate a latere for Prance in August. 1801; he departed at once for his destination and arrived in Paris on the 4th of October. During