Christopher Numar of Forli (date of birth uncertain; d. at Ancona, 23 March 1528) was an Italian Franciscan, who became Minister general of the Friars Minor and cardinal. Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of central Italy, population 101,909 (2005). ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (83rd in leap years). ... Events June 19 - Battle of Landriano - A French army in Italy under Marshal St. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... The word cardinal comes from the Latin cardo for hinge and usually refers to things of fundamental importance, as in cardinal rule or cardinal sins. ...

In his youth he studied at Bologna and, after joining the Friars Minor, was sent to complete his studies at Paris. In 1507 he was elected vicar provincial of his order at Bologna, in 1514 vicar general of the Cismontane Franciscan families, and in 1517 he became minister general of the whole order of Friars Minor. Less than a month later he was raised, in spite of his protests, to the cardinalate by Pope Leo X, who in presence of the Sacred College paid a splendid tribute to Christopher's great learning and prudence and to his still greater holiness of life. Bologna (IPA , from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Emiliano-Romagnolo) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Pianura Padana, between the Po River and the Apennines, exactly between the Reno River and the Sàvena River. ... Pope Leo X, born Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici (11 December 1475 – 1 December 1521) was Pope from 1513 to his death. ... The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

In 1520 he became Bishop of Alatri and Isernia in Italy, and in 1526 of Riez in Provence. He subsequently fulfilled the office of Apostolic legate to the King of France, and later became Apostolic nuncio and commissary for the construction of the Vatican Basilica, being then invested with the temporal dominion of Bertinoro. Riez is a commune of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département, in France. ... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ... Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro was a Jewish rabbi and a commentator on the Mishnah, commonly known as The Bartenura by Orthodox Judaism Talmud scholars. ...

During the siege of Rome by the soldiers of the Duke of Bourbon in 1527 Christopher suffered many hardships and insults, on account of which he received letters of condolence from Pope Clement VII, Francis I of France, and Henry VIII of England. His remains were transferred from Ancona, where he had taken refuge, to Rome, and placed in the Church of Ara Coeli. Duke of Bourbon is a title in the peerage of France. ... For the antipope (1378–1394) see antipope Clement VII and other Popes named Clement see Pope Clement. ... Francis I (François Ier in French) (September 12, 1494 – March 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ... Henry VIII (28 June 1491 - 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland, from 22 April 1509 until his death. ...

Besides an "Exhortatio ad Galliarum regem Franciscum I in Turcas" and a number of letters addressed to that king and the other rulers concerning the liberation of Clement VII, Christopher is said by Luke Wadding and others to have written several treatises on theological and ascetical questions, all of which appear to have perished during the sacking of Rome. Luke Wadding (1588 - 1657), Irish Franciscan friar and historian, was born in Waterford and went to study at Lisbon. ...

References

• Christopher Numar of Forli - article in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Luke Wadding, Annales Minorum ad annum 1517, XVI, nn. xxiv and xxxv
• Sbaralea, Supplementum, Pt. I (1908), 207
• Picconi, Cenni biografice sugli uomini illustri della francescana provincia di Bologna, I (1894), 380.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.