FRANCESCO ALBIZZI. — Cardinal, b. at Cesena in 1593, d. at Rome on 3 Oct. 1684. A lawyer in his native city, he received holy orders after becoming a widower. After a brief stint in diplomacy, he was appointed (1635) assessor of the Holy Office, a position which, apart from a short interval (1636) accompanying Cardinal Ginetti to the Congress of Cologne, he held for a long time, distinguishing himself especially for his activity during the Jansenist controversies. He was in fact the drafter, under Urban VIII, of the bull In eminenti (16 March 1642) which condemned the Augustinus; he fought alongside the Jesuits against the five propositions extracted from that work; he was secretary of the commission appointed in 1653 by Innocent X and finally dictated the text of the bull Cum occasione (31 May 1653) which condemned the five propositions. This activity of his, together with his lack of diplomatic temperament, his caustic spirit, his harsh and often choleric nature, earned him enemies of every kind. Nevertheless, he was created cardinal (2 Dec. 1654) by Innocent X, though he did not engage in any noteworthy political activity. Evidence of his acute legal sense are the works: De iurisdictione quam habent cardinales in ecclesiis suorum titulorum (Rome 1666); Risposta alla Storia della sacra inquisizione di Paolo Servita (Rome 1678); De inconstantia in fide (Rome 1698).
ALBIZZI, FRANCESCO
BIBL.: A. Ciaconius, Vitae et res gestae pontificum romano- Storia della letteratura italiana, VIII, Rome 1785, pp. 281-82; L. Cardella, Memorie, VII, Rome 1793, pp. 109-111; P. Richard, s. V. in DHG, I, cols. 1705-1706. Mario Niccoli