GIRAUD, BERNARDINO. - Cardinal, b. in Rome on 14 July 1721, d. there on 3 March 1782. Appointed auditor of the Rota in 1763 by Clement XIII, he was elected by the same Pontiff, in 1767, titular archbishop of Damascus and nuncio to Paris. By special commission from Clement XIV, he received in the Pope’s name the solemn profession of Luisa Maria, daughter of the King of France, a Discalced Carmelite in the monastery of S. Dionigi; on that occasion he was granted permission to wear cardinalitial dress.
Created and reserved in petto in the Consistory of 17 June 1771, Clement XIV published his appointment on 19 Apr. 1773 with the title of the S.ma Trinità al Pincio, and sent him as archbishop to Ferrara, where he remained until 1777. He contributed effectively to the election of Pio VI, who wished him to be his auditor and gave him proofs of particular benevolence. G. nevertheless opposed the Pontiff’s journey to Vienna and died before his return. He left the poor as his heirs, and Pio VI acted on their behalf; the Pope used the inheritance to build the Conservatorio Pio in Rome and to establish a drawing school among the Fratelli delle Scuole cristiane at S. Salvatore in Lauro.