Girolamo Ghinucci

Girolamo Ghinucci[1] (1480 in Siena – 3 July 1541) was an Italian papal administrator, diplomat and Cardinal.

His Eminence Girolamo Ghinucci
Cardinal Bishop Of Worcester
Church	Roman Catholic
Diocese	Worcester
Appointed	26 September 1522
In office	1522–1535
Predecessor	Silvestro de' Gigli
Successor	Hugh Latimer
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of San Clemente Administrator of Tropea
Orders
Created cardinal	21 May 1535 by Paul III
Rank	Cardinal Priest
Personal details
Born	1480 Siena, Republic of Siena
Died	3 July 1541
Nationality	Italian
Previous post	Bishop of Ascoli Piceno (1512-1518) Bishop of Malta (1523-1530) Administrator of Cavaillon (1537-1540)
Coat of arms

Life

Ghinucci was from a Sienese banking family and became a canon of the cathedral chapter there. He then became Secretary to Pope Julius II. He was bishop of Ascoli Piceno from 1512 to 1518. He was an active participant in the Fifth Lateran Council.[2]

Pope Leo X named Ghinucci papal nuncio to England, where Henry VIII retained him for a period as advisor. Ghinucci advised on Henry's moves to divorce Catherine of Aragon.[3] Ghinucci's nephew, Augustine de Augustinis, served as personal physician to Cardinal Wolsey. Augustinis also performed some diplomatic and espionage services for the Cardinal. He later became physician-in-ordinary to Henry VIII.[4]

In 1522, he succeeded Giulio de' Medici, the Cardinal protector of England as Bishop of Worcester (the last of the Italian absentees to hold the see).[5] In September 1525, Bishop Ghinucci was appointed one of Henry's ambassadors in residence in Rome. In November 1526, he was sent on an embassy from Henry to the Holy Roman Emperor in Spain. In October 1529, he was re-accredited to Rome.[6]

He held the bishopric until 1535 when he was deprived of the position by King Henry VIII; also deprived was the Bishop of Salisbury, Lorenzo Campeggio. In the same year he was made a Cardinal by Pope Paul III, and served on commissions to reform the Church.

He also served as Bishop Administrator of the Diocese of Malta from 1523 to 1538. He was Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals from January 7, 1538 to January 10, 1539.[2]

He was involved, with Silvester Prierias, in the papal reaction to Martin Luther after 1518.[7]

He maintained English contacts through Richard Croke.[8]

Ghinucci died in Rome July 3, 1541, Rome and was buried in the basilica of San Clemente al Laterano,[2] where he was Cardinal-protector from 25 January 1537 until his death. A prominent Latin inscription commemorating him is to be seen in the north aisle of the basilica (to the right of the entrance to the sacristy and excavations).

Notes

1. Jerome or Geronimo de Ghinucci, Hieronymus Ghinucci, Girolamo Ginucci
2. Miranda, Salvador. "GHINUCCI, Girolamo (1480-1541)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University.
3. Pollard, A. F., Henry VIII, London. Longmans, Green and Co., 1919
4. Hammond, E.A., "Doctor Augustine, Physician to Cadinal Wolsey and King Henry VIII"
5. Down, Kevin. "The Administration of the Diocese of Worcester under the Italian Bishops, 1427-1535", Midland History, Volume 20, 1995 - Issue 1
6. Henry VIII and the Court: Art, Politics and Performance, (Thomas Betteridge, Suzannah Lipscomb, eds.), Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013, p. 187 n.43ISBN 9781409411857
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-01-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link): Ghinucci drafted Luther's summons to Rome.
8. Correspondence quoted at .

External links

• Table of positions ^{[self-published]}
• Biography