His Eminence Ercole Cardinal Consalvi (June 8, 1757 – January 24, 1824) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in Rome, and died there also. He was educated at a school operated there by Cardinal York, a direct descendent of the Stuarts whom some Catholics recognized as King Henry IX of England. He became a favorite of the Cardinal's and was helped by him to obtain high office in the Roman Curia while still a young man. June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals during a consistory. ... The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian body, with over 1. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... Henry Benedict Stuart as Cardinal Duke of York Henry Benedict Maria Clement Thomas Francis Xavier Stuart (March 11, 1725 – July 13, 1807), born in Rome, Italy, was the second son of the Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, James Francis Edward Stuart, known as The Old... The House of Stuart or Stewart was a Scottish, and then British, Royal House of Breton origin. ... The Roman Curia is the complex of the organs and the authorities that constitute the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ...

After the French invaded Italy in 1798, Consalvi was jailed, but he later escaped and joined Pope Pius VI in exile. An able diplomat, he played an important role in the conclave that elected Pope Pius VII as Pius VI's successor. Pius VI, né Giovanni Angelo Braschi (December 27, 1717 – August 29, 1799), pope from 1775 to 1799, was born at Cesena. ... Pius VII, O.S.B., born Giorgio Barnaba Luigi Chiaramonti (August 14, 1740 – August 20, 1823), was Pope from March 14, 1800 to August 20, 1823. ...

The new pope named him Cardinal Secretary of State, and in this capacity he negotiated a concordat with Napoleon that greatly improved the position of the Church in France. He also reformed the administration of Rome and to some extent modernized the city. The Cardinal Secretary of State presides over the Vatican Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. ... A concordat is an agreement between the pope and a government or sovereign on religious matters. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...

After the fall of Napoleon, he represented the Pope at the Congress of Vienna and was able to convince the victorious powers to restore the Papal States almost entirely. For the remainder of the pontificate of Pius VII, Consalvi was the virtual ruler of Rome, and his government was characterized by good sense, moderation and concern for the poor. He retired when Pius died in 1823. Yet he still headed the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith at the time of his death the following year, 1824. Although a consummate diplomat and man of the world, Consalvi was both honest and pious and has been called "one of the purest glories of the Church of Rome" (Schaeffer). The Congress of Vienna was a conference between ambassadors from the major powers in Europe that was chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich and held in Vienna, Austria, from October 1, 1814, to June 9, 1815. ... The Papal States (Gli Stati della Chiesa or Stati Pontificii, States of the Church) was one of the historical states of Italy before the peninsula was unified under the crown of Savoy. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The headquarters of the Propaganda fide in Rome, housed by architects Borromini and Bernini: etching by Giuseppe Vasi, 1761 The Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith) is an organ of the Roman Catholic Church responsible for missionary work and related activities. ...

External link

• Catholic Encyclopedia - Ercole Consalvi