Girolamo Maria Cardinal Gotti, O.C.D. (born Giovanni Antonio Benedetto Gotti March 29, 1834, Genoa, Italy; died March 19, 1916, Rome, Italy), sometimes erroneously called Giuseppe Gotti, was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in leap years). ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Genoa (Genova in Italian - Zena in Genoese) is a city and a seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Roman Catholic Church, a member of the College of Cardinals which as a body elects a new pope. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ...

Gotti was papabile at the 1903 papal conclave, when he was generally believed to be the most likely opponent of Pope Leo XIII's Secretary of State Mariano Rampolla. Although Gotti did prove to be Rampolla's main challenger in the first four ballots, eventually Giuseppe Cardinal Sarto was elected after seven ballots as Pope Pius X. It is noteworthy that there has never been a Carmelite Pope: indeed Gotti is the only Carmelite cardinal to have been a serious candidate for the papacy since the order was founded around eight centuries ago. Papabile (plural: Papabili) is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe cardinals of whom it is thought likely or possible that they will be elected pope. ... Pope Leo XIII (March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903), born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having succeeded Pope Pius IX (1846–78) on February 20, 1878 and reigning until his death in 1903. ... Mariano Rampolla (Full name Count Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro) was born on August 17, 1843 in Poizzi, Sicily, and died on December 17, 1913, in Rome. ... Pope Saint Pius X ( Latin: ) (June 2, 1835 — August 20, 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). ... Origin and early history Carmelites (in Latin Ordo fratrum Beatæ Virginis Mariæ de monte Carmelo) is the name of a Roman Catholic order founded in the 12th century by a certain Berthold (d. ...

Gotti entered the Order of Discalced Carmelites in 1850 and, after his profession as a religious a year later, completed his studies for the priesthood by 1856. In the following decades Gotti was a lector of philosophy and theology in the local monastery. So able and versatile was he, though, that he also taught mathematics at the local naval academy during this period. He was already regarded as a tireless student and scholar, as well as being an ascetic who, despite the influence he was having, would always sleep on the floor. The Discalced Carmelites, or Barefoot Carmelites, is a Roman Catholic mendicant order. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and gods. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, known today as the father of geometry; shown here in a detail of The School of Athens by Raphael. ...

At the First Vatican Council in 1870 Gotti was advisor to the superior-general of his order and by 1881 he had become superior general himself (he was to retain this position until 1897). He became a counsellor to several curial congregations in Rome during the 1880s and was also Apostolic Examiner of the Roman Clergy during this decade. In 1892 Gotti became titular Archbishop of Petra and at the consistory of November 29, 1895 he was elevated to Cardinal by Pope Leo. The First Vatican Council was summoned by Pope Pius IX by the bull Aeterni Patris of June 29, 1868. ... A Curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i. ... Bishop Richard Pates, current auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Titular Bishop of Suacia. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... // Antiquity Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply sitting together, just as the Greek syn(h)edrion (from which the Biblical sanhedrin was a corruption). ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Gotti became Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops (then known as the Congregation for Bishops and Regulars) in 1896 but was transferred to the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) - where most of his curial experience had been concentrated - three years later. His reputation for piety and learning being undiminished meant that when the seemingly ageless Leo XIII finally seemed in declining health, Gotti was often mentioned as a likely successor even though he was seen as a very different man (much more deeply pious and ascetic) from Pope Leo. The Congregation for Bishops (Congregatio pro Episcopis) is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the selection of new bishops pending papal approval. ... The headquarters of the Propaganda fide in Rome, housed by architects Borromini and Bernini: etching by Giuseppe Vasi, 1761 The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Congregatio pro Gentium Evangelizatione) is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsibile for missionary work and related activities. ...

In the 1903 conclave, when it became clear Rampolla had too many opponents to be able to gain the necessary 42 votes for election, his supporters turned to Cardinal Sarto rather than Gotti, so that Gotti was not to be elected Pope even though some critics who, noting opposition to Rampolla just before Leo's death, had said he was likely to win.

Under Pius X, Cardinal Gotti continued in his role as Prefect of Propaganda Fide until his death in 1916. Although he participated in the 1914 conclave, Gotti, at eighty years of age, was clearly far too old to have another chance of becoming Pope and was never considered papabile. The Papal conclave of 1914 was held to choose a successor Pope Pius X, who had died in the Vatican on 20 August 1914. ...

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Brief biography