Luigi Cardinal Amat di San Filippo e Sorso (born June 20, 1796, Sinnai, archdiocese of Cagliari, Sardinia; died March 30, 1878, Rome, Italy) was the dean of the College of Cardinals during the last part of the record long reign of Pope Pius IX. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (550x741, 86 KB) Description: Vestments of a cardinal: red cassock, rochet trimmed with lace, red chimere, apostolical cross. ... A style of office, or honorific, is a form of address which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a title or post, or to the political office itself. ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... Year 1796 (MDCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Country Italy Region Sardinia Province Province of Cagliari (CA) Mayor Elevation 133 m Area 223. ... Sardinia (pronounced ; Italian: ; Sardinian: or Sardinnya) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily). ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (90th in leap years). ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: 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 Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The Dean of the College of Cardinals is the president of the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church and as such is always a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church of the episcopal order. ... Pope Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from his election in June 16, 1846, until his death more than 31 years later in 1878, making him the longest-reigning Pope since the Apostle St. ...

He did his early education wholly in Sardinia, which was unusual for someone who was later to become a major curial official in those days as most curial officials had to come from the Papal States. Between 1815 and 1825, he obtained distinction as a student of both civil and canon law, and became a priest in 1876. From that point on, he rose rapidly, becoming a bishop just one year after his ordination and soon after a nuncio for the Sicilian kingdom (then separate from mainland Italy), and later to Spain. He was expelled when the Papal States broke off diplomatic relations with Spain in 1835, but two years later Pope Gregory XVI elevated him to the rank of cardinal. Coat of arms Map of the Papal States; the reddish area was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, the rest (grey) in 1870. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Canon law is the term used for... Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin Nuntius, meaning any envoy. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Pope Gregory XVI (September 18, 1765 – June 1, 1846), born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846. ...

After his elevation to cardinal, Cardinal Amat continued his previous work as a papal legate in various parts of Italy until the late 1840s. He participated in the conclave that elected Pius IX and in 1852 opted for the order of cardinal bishops. He was Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from later that year until he died. During most of Pius IX' regin Cardinal Amat held control of the police force in the Papal States: it has recently come to light that he sacked many policemen by virtue of their political sympathies early in Pius' reign and was involved in many major political incidents as sympathy within the Papal States for a united Italy increased in the early 1860s. However, Cardinal Amat had considerable success whilst in Bologna in cooling sympathy for socialism in a city that was to become renowned for this in later years. The Sistine Chapel is the location of the conclave. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ...

In 1876 at the age of eighty, Cardinal Amat became the longest-serving cardinal in the Church, and officiated over the conclave of 1878 that elected Pope Leo XIII. He was already in poor health by this time and as it turned out lasted only one month longer than Pius IX. 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. ...

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