(1806-1876) Cardinal, secretary of state to Pius IX, born Sonnino, Italy; died Rome, Italy. He held various offices under Gregory XVI, and became cardinal, minister of finance, and prefect of the sacred palaces under Pius IX. He arranged the flight of the pope to Gaeta, where he was made secretary of state, and returned to Rome with the pope, 1850. Until 1870 he was practically the temporal ruler of Rome, and vigorously defended the rights of the Holy See. He has been much praised and severely criticized; he was a statesman rather than a churchman, never having been ordained priest, although zealous in his religious duties.
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