13 Facts About Tommaso Bernetti

Tommaso Bernetti was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and cardinal who served in the Secretariat of State and the Roman Curia during his time in the cardinalate.

Tommaso Bernetti came from Fermo and was named a cardinal in 1826 before beginning his work in the Curia.

Tommaso Bernetti had worked prior to his time in the cardinalate as a papal legate and governor with a dispensation for not having been a priest at that point.

Tommaso Bernetti's uncle Cesare Brancadoro on his maternal side was a cardinal that Pope Pius VII named in 1801 and his brother Alessandro became a bishop.

Tommaso Bernetti travelled to Paris as well as to Reims and later at Fontainebleau alongside his cardinal uncle following the Napoleon-led French invasion of Rome in 1809 that forced his uncle into exile.

Tommaso Bernetti was appointed as the pro-legate to Ferrara from mid-1815 until 1816 and held a series of other positions such as Governor of Rome and Vice-Camerlengo from 1820 until 1826 despite not having been an ordained priest at that stage.

Tommaso Bernetti arrived in Rome not long after and months later received his red biretta and his title as Cardinal-Deacon of San Cesareo in Palatio.

Tommaso Bernetti participated in the papal conclave in 1846 that elected Pope Pius IX.

Tommaso Bernetti himself had been considered a possible contender and his candidature was supported by the Russians and the Prussians, but he was not a serious contender as he suffered from gout and was considered too old.

Tommaso Bernetti favored Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti to become pope but soon learnt that the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I wanted to invoke the right of veto against the latter.

Tommaso Bernetti realized he had to act fast to secure votes for him and so - in an effort to prevent his rival Luigi Lambruschini from being elected - lobbied other cardinals to secure the votes needed for Mastai-Ferretti, therefore leading to his election before the veto could be imposed.

Tommaso Bernetti later sought refuge in Sant'Elpidio following the assassination of Pellegrino Rossi and later joined Pius IX in Gaeta in 1848.

Tommaso Bernetti died in Fermo on 21 March 1852 and his remains were interred in the Fermo Cathedral.