FRANZELIN, GIOVANNI BATTISTA. - Theologian and cardinal, b. 15 April 1816 at Altino (Alto Adige), d. in Rome on 11 February 1886. After completing his gymnasium studies at Bolzano with the Friars Minor, he entered the Society of Jesus at Graz and after teaching at Tarnopol and Lviv. In 1845 he was sent to Rome to the Gregorian University, where, in the school of Giovanni Perrone and Carlo Passaglia, he distinguished himself among his fellow students.
In 1848, because of the anti-Jesuit riots that broke out in Italy, F. was sent to continue his studies in England, at Lord Clifford's castle at Ugbrook, in Devonshire. After a few months he moved on to Louvain. In 1849 he was given the task of teaching Sacred Scripture at the scholasticate of Vals in France. At Le Puy, toward the end of the same year, he received Holy Orders. In 1850 he was recalled to the Roman College as assistant to Fr. Perrone, also teaching Oriental languages, which he possessed perfectly, together with Greek, German, Italian, English, French, and Polish. From 1853 to 1857 he held at the German College the office of prefect of studies and confessor of the students. From 1857 to 1876 he held the chair of dogmatics, succeeding Passaglia. The fruit of his learned lectures were various theological treatises, which won him worldwide fame. He was papal theologian at the Vatican Council (1870), consultor of Propaganda, of the Council, of Extraordinary Affairs, and qualificator of the Holy Office. Pius IX created him cardinal in the Consistory of 3 April 1876, appointing him a member of several Sacred Congregations and later prefect of that of Indulgences.
His most celebrated treatises are: De Eucharistiae sacramentis et sacrificio (Rome 1868); De Sacramentis in genere (ibid. 1868); De Deo trino secundum personat (ibid. 1869); De divina Traditione et Scriptura (ibid. 1870); De Deo uno secundum naturam (ibid. 1870); De Verbo incarnato (ibid. 1870); Examen doctrinae Macaris Bulgakov episcopi schismatici et Iosephi Langen neoprotestantis Bonnenstii (ibid. 1876). These works went through various editions.