Caesar Baronius

Cesare Baronio (Latin Caesar Baronius ) ( born August 30, 1538 Sora in Neapolitan, † June 30, 1607 in Rome ) was an Italian cardinal and church historian.

Baronius was one of the first students of St. Philip Neri and member of the Congregation of the Oratory of this donated whose Praepositus he was in 1593.

After long study of sources Baronius could begin in 1588 to publish his major work, the " Annales ecclesiastici a Christo nato ad annum 1198 ," in Rome. Five years later, the last of the twelve volumes of this great work of church history appear. Despite numerous errors that church history remains solely by the amount of the notified deeds still a treasure trove of church history knowledge.

Between 1646 and 1676 the Oratorian Odoricus Raynaldus wrote a sequel ( in nine volumes ) of the " Annals ", which reached down to the year 1565; Augustin Theiner led them with an addition to the years 1572 to 1585 on. Between 1864 and 1883 revised Theiner the " Annals " completely and gave them out in 37 volumes.

The fame of this performance gave the Baronius Would a papal confessor and Apostolic protonotary, Cardinal ( 1596) and librarian of the Roman Church.

In the papal election in March 1605 Baronius reached a simple majority, but stubbornly refused on the grounds that he was unworthy, so finally Alessandro Ottaviano de ' Medici was elected.

At the age of 69 years Cesare Baronio died on 30 June 1607.

In January 2008, on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. the beatification process for Cesare Baronio resumed.

Works (selection)

• Roman Martyrology. Plantin, Antwerp 1586 (full text).
• Annales ecclesiastici a Christo nato ad annum 1198th Rome 1588-93 ( 12 volumes )