MADRUZZO, CRISTOFORO. — Cardinal and prince-bishop of Trento, born at Castel Nano in Val di Non on 5 July 1512, died at Tivoli on 5 July 1578. Descended from a noble family of Trento, he had a brilliant and rapid career: bishop of Trento (1529), administrator of Bressanone (1542), and cardinal.
In 1556 he was appointed governor of Milan by Filippo II, and in 1561 legate of the Marches by Pius IV. His principal merit, as prince-bishop of Trento, was to have overcome every difficulty and provided for the many needs of provisioning and public security necessary for the successful and peaceful conduct of the Council. Owing to his family and personal position, he desired to act as mediator between the Papacy and the Empire, the Latin and Germanic worlds, the Protestant revolution and the Catholic Reformation, but achieved few results because of a lack of political skill and prudence. Sincerely pious, he was not always understood by many Italian prelates. A friend of cardinals Gonzaga, Sadoleto, Morone, and Pole, there can be no doubt about his Catholic sentiments. Nevertheless, his lack of solid theological training led him to protect and defend innovators and heterodox reformers such as Carnesecchi and Vergerio; and at the Council, because of his positions on the questions of justification and the translation of the Bible, he was unjustly suspected of being the leader of the German, that is, Lutheran, party. Living between the Renaissance movement and the Catholic Reformation, M. was a typical representative of that transitional period.