FRANCHI, ALESSANDRO. - Cardinal, b. in Rome on 25 June 1819, d. there on 31 July 1878. A pupil of the Roman Seminary and having earned a doctorate in theology, after sustaining a public disputation he was called by Cardinal Lambruschici to the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs and became a minutante in the Secretariat of State. In 1853 he was sent as chargé d'affaires ad interim to Spain and had a large part in the stipulation of the Concordat with the Holy See.
Elected in 1856 titular archbishop of Thessalonica and apostolic internuncio at the Tuscan court, he remained in Florence until the departure of the Grand Duke (1859). Having returned to Rome, he assumed in 1866 the post of secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs.
In 1868 he went as apostolic nuncio to Spain, and, having left that nation after the abdication of Queen Isabella, he was sent (1871) to Constantinople as extraordinary ambassador to the Sultan. In the Consistory of 22 Dec. 1873 Pius IX created him cardinal, assigning him the title of S. Maria in Trastevere, and the following year he received the prefecture of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide. In the Conclave of 1878 he was among the papabili, and Leo XIII immediately after his election named him Secretary of State; but he was able to hold that most high office only a few months, having been surprised by death.
Bibliography3 worksL. Testé, Préface au Conclave, Paris 1877, p. 222; M. De Cesare, Il Conclave di Leone XIII e il futuro Conclave, Città di Castello 1888, p.
BIBL.: L. Testé, Préface au Conclave, Paris 1877, p. 222; M. De Cesare, Il Conclave di Leone XIII e il futuro Conclave, Città di Castello 1888, p. 244; E. Soderini, Il pontificato di Leone XIII, 3 vols., Milan 1929-33 (see final index).
De, Camillis Mario. “Franchi, alessandro.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. V, col. 1622. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1950. https://azioneromana.com/article/franchi-alessandro.
MLA
De, Camillis Mario. “Franchi, alessandro.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. V, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1950, col. 1622. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/franchi-alessandro.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec5_franchi_alessandro,
author = {De, Camillis Mario},
title = {Franchi, alessandro},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {V},
pages = {1622},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1950},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/franchi-alessandro}
}
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