Alessandro Franchi

Alessandro Franchi ( born June 25, 1819 in Rome, Papal States, today Italy, † July 31, 1878 ibid ) was Cardinal Secretary of State.

Life

He was born the son of a notary Vincenzo Franchi, studied in the Roman seminary, where he distinguished himself by his considerable talent and successful diligence. This gave Franchi favor with the Cardinal Secretary of State Lambruschini, was by Pius IX. 1846 elevated to Monsignor and sent in 1848 to Emperor Ferdinand of Austria to move him to the voluntary assignment of his Italian countries, which he did not succeed.

In 1853 he was interim charge d'affaires in Madrid, appointed Titular Archbishop of Thessalonica in 1856 and nuncio in Florence. In the same year Franchi was also home Prelate of His Holiness.

At the time, Florence was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In Florence Franchi had a prominent part in the fight against - the unification of Italy, aspiring - Cavour's policy. After the end of the Grand Duchy in 1859 Franchi returned to Rome and was State Secretary for Church Affairs. In 1868 he went to Madrid for the second time, this time as nuncio; called back to Isabella's expulsion in 1869, he participated in the preparations for the First Vatican Council. As 1871 broke the schism in the Armenian Church and the gates favored the anti - infallibilists, Franchi was sent to Istanbul for the Vatican to win the local Sultan and the Patriarch infallibilistischen Hassun to help the general recognition again. He also reached through negotiations with the Grand Vizier Ali Pasha its purpose, but frustrated the death of the latter the execution of the agreed measures.

On December 22, 1873 Franchi was taken as cardinal priest with the titular church of Santa Maria in Trastevere in the College of Cardinals and in 1874 appointed as Prefect of the Congregation De Propaganda fide. After Pius IX. Death, he took part in the conclave of 1878, which Leo XIII. chose. There he was considered papabile, however, was inferior to the future pope in the first ballot. He was appointed by the new pope, Cardinal Secretary of State. In contrast to the more rugged Pius IX. he suggested, with the approval of the Pope a moderate policy towards the European powers and had in Bavaria and Prussia thus already not insignificant successes achieved, when he was suddenly (not without suspicion of poisoning) succumbed on July 30, 1878 by a bout of malaria.