GASPARE GRASSELLINI. — Cardinal, born in Palermo on 19 January 1796, died in Frascati in 1875. He held various positions in the Roman Curia, including that of cleric of the Chamber and pro-president of the Congregation of the Census (1840). He was also head of various delegations of the Papal States and governor of Rome in 1847, until he was appointed extraordinary pontifical commissioner for the four legations and pro-legate of Bologna. A staunch defender of the rights and authority of the government, he was always opposed to any innovative tendencies. On 16 June 1856 he was raised to the purple by Pius IX with the deaconry of SS. Vito and Modesto, from which he later passed to that of S. Maria ad Martyres.
Among his works are: Discorso accademico su l'egloga IV di Virgilio (Rome 1838); Discorso sulla storia de' sommi pontefici (ibid. 1842); Discorso accademico sul giudizio avuto da Gesù Cristo innanzi a Caifasso e innanzi a Pilato (ibid. 1844); and Des rapports du pouvoir temporel avec la souveraineté spirituelle des pontifes romaines (Paris 1865).