CORTESE, TIBURZIO

CORTESE, TIBURZIO. - Bishop, b. at Modena in 1738, d. there on 30 Dec. 1823. Elected bishop of his city in 1786, he devoted himself to the education of the clergy and of the young, reforming the entire organization of the local seminary. During the French invasion he also assumed the governance of the neighboring diocese of Reggio, of the abbey of Nonantola, and of the territory of the Garfagnana. After the fall of the Italian kingdom and the accession of Duke Francesco IV, he stood close to him with counsel and valuable collaboration. In 1821, through the special intercession of the duke himself, Pio VII revoked the Concordat of 1809 between the Holy See and Napoleon, according to which the ancient abbey of Nonantola was to be abolished, and attached it to the bishopric of Modena. Thus, in 1822, upon the death of Bishop Francesco Maria d'Este, C. was appointed commendatory abbot of Nonantola. He restored the abbey, reactivated the seminary founded by s. Carlo Borromeo, and, despite his now advanced age, visited the entire territory as far as Fanano.