LAMBRUSCHINI, LUIGI. - Cardinal, Barnabite, b. at Sestri Levante on 16 May 1776, d. at Rome on 12 May 1854. He taught philosophy and theology in the Barnabite Colleges at Macerata and Rome. Pius VII, whom he had assisted during the imprisonment at Savona, appointed him examiner theologian of bishops, consultor of the Inquisition, and finally secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Affairs. He was also a valuable collaborator of Cardinal Consalvi in the negotiations with the Neapolitan government. On 3 Oct. 1819 he succeeded Cardinal G. Spina as archbishop of Genoa. In 1821 he induced the insurgents to spare the governor Des Geneys, who had fallen into their hands, and he then exerted himself on their behalf when the reaction set in.
In 1827 he was sent by Leo XII as nuncio to Charles X of France: there he was taken by surprise by the July Revolution. To this revolution, which also took on anticlerical and anticatholic aspects, L. was immediately opposed, not only because of his attachment to the old dynasty, but above all because of his convictions, decidedly contrary to every idea of popular sovereignty and of liberalism. The nuncio's position was moreover very delicate because of the numerous problems that arose following the establishment of the new dynasty and the new regime; among them: that of the recognition of the Orléans by the Holy See, that of the validity of the concordats concluded by Napoleon and by the Bourbons, that of the oath of fidelity to the new regime, and finally that of the French attitude toward the Revolution in the legations and toward the Austrian intervention aimed at repressing it. Although L. did nothing to make relations between France and the Holy See more difficult, although he had anticipated, on his own initiative, the recognition of the new government and many of his attitudes were dictated by the prudence of the Curia rather than by ill will, nevertheless his personal feelings and the support he gave to the archbishop of Paris, regarded as a legitimist, induced the French government to request the removal of the nuncio, who was in fact recalled in July 1831.
On 30 Sept. of the same year he was created cardinal by Gregory XVI and was entrusted with the S. Congregation of Studies. As prefect of this, worried by the modern philosophical and political ideas that were spreading from the universities, he tightened the reins further and kept a closer watch over professors and students. In 1836, upon the resignation of Bernetti, he was chosen secretary of State. It was said, wrongly, that in this office he proved a supine instrument of Austrian policy and that his advent meant the return from Bernetti's broad and understanding policy to the most genuine reactionary absolutism. In reality he knew how to defend pontifical independence even against Vienna (one may recall his attitude regarding the Austrian insurance companies in 1837) and, without compromising on religious questions, he was conciliatory toward France and Piedmont and knew how to yield even on purely temporal questions, such as that concerning certain police measures with regard to travelers disembarking at Civitavecchia. His greatest success in foreign policy he obtained in 1838, when the Austrians and French evacuated Ferrara and Ancona respectively. Even in domestic policy his attitude was not very different from that of Bernetti, intransigent in theory, but tempered in practice. Many, however, were the restrictions he imposed: among other things, recognizing political aims in scientific congresses, he forbade participation in them.
In the Conclave of 1846 he obtained 15 votes on the first scrutiny, but his election was opposed by a strong group of cardinals, led by Bernetti. He was created prefect of the S. Congregation of Rites, bishop of Porto and S. Rufina and of Civitavecchia, secretary of the Briefs and librarian of Holy Church. In 1848 he withdrew from Rome to return there after the restoration. He was favorable to the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Besides Notificazioni, Pastorali, Indulti, Regole, Statuti and Costituzioni for the dioceses and various religious Congregations, the following is to be indicated as an important source: La mia nunziatura in Francia, edited by P. Pirri (Bologna 1934).
Bibliography10 works
Fausto Fonzi