GOTTI (Antonio), Girolamo Maria. – Cardinal, born in Genoa on 30 March 1834, died in Rome on 19 March 1916. He entered the Order of the Discalced Carmelites at a young age, taking the name Fra’ Girolamo Maria dell’Immacolata Concezione. After being ordained a priest, he taught philosophy in the Order’s schools and mathematics at the Naval School in Genoa.
A theologian at the Vatican Council (1869), he was appointed procurator general of the Order in 1871 and prior general in 1881, reappointed in 1887 for the prudent action he had taken in reviving the Order.
Leo XIII appointed him in 1892 titular archbishop of Petra and sent him as internuncio to Brazil, and on 29 November 1895 he created him cardinal with the title of S. Maria della Scala. After serving as prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, he became prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in 1902, where he carried out tireless and intelligent activity to promote Catholic missions. In the 1903 conclave he received seventeen votes for the papacy.