CAPACCINI, FRANCESCO

CAPACCINI, FRANCESCO. - Cardinal, b. in Rome on 14 Aug. 1784, d. there on 15 June 1845. Ordained priest on 19 Sept. 1807, he devoted himself to the study of theology, physics, and astronomy. He remained for some time in Milan as a tutor and was then sent as director of the Observatory in Naples, where he stayed until 1815. Having returned to Rome, Card. Consalvi wished him to be deputy in the Secretariat of Briefs. In 1828 he departed, as legate, first for The Hague and then for Munich. In 1831 Gregory XVI appointed him, alongside Card. Bernetti, deputy of the Secretariat of State. On delicate diplomatic missions he went, in 1837, to Vienna, Berlin, and Bonn. The following year he held the post of secretary of the Academy of Theology at the Roman University. In 1841 he again visited the Netherlands and then The Hague once more. From 1842 to 1844 he was sent to Lisbon as apostolic delegate. Upon his return, on 24 Nov. 1844, he became auditor of the Camera, and finally, on 21 Apr. 1845, cardinal for a brief time.