Raffaele Fornari

Raffaele Fornari
Prefect of the Congregation for Studies
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Appointed	7 June 1851
Term ended	15 June 1854
Predecessor	Carlo Vizzardelli
Successor	Giovanni Brunelli
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria sopra Minerva (1851-54)
Orders
Consecration	3 April 1842 by Engelbert Sterckx
Created Cardinal	21 December 1846 (in pectore) 30 September 1850 (revealed) by Pope Pius IX
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth name	Raffaele Fornari
Born	23 January 1787 Rome, Papal States
Died	Rome, Papal States
Buried	Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Parents	Francesco Fornari Teresa Galli
Previous post	Apostolic Internuncio to Belgium (1838-42) Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium (1842) Apostolic Nuncio to France (1842-50) Titular Archbishop of Nicaea (1842-50)
Alma mater	Collegio Romano

Raffaele Fornari (23 January 1787, in Rome, Italy – 15 June 1854, in Rome) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a member of the Papal diplomacy and was nuntius to Belgium in 1842, to France 1842–1851, and prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education 1851–1854.

He was named as a cardinal in pectore in 1846 by Pope Pius IX and the nomination was formally published later in 1850.

Biography

Fornari, who came from a humble background, studied in Rome and was awarded a doctorate in theology. After his ordination to the priesthood, he worked as an economist at the Curia from 1815. In November 1823 Fornari became professor of dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, which he remained until 1838. In addition, he served as Datary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 1835 to 1839. In December 1838 he became Apostolic Internuntius in Belgium.

Pope Gregory XVI appointed him Titular Archbishop of Nicaea on January 24, 1842, and elevated him to Apostolic Nuncio in Belgium on March 21 of the same year. He was consecrated bishop on April 3, 1842 by Cardinal Engelbert Sterckx, Archbishop of Mechelen. Co-consecrators were Cornelius Richard Anton van Bommel, Bishop of Liège, and François-René Boussen, Bishop of Bruges. In January 1843, Fornari became Apostolic Nuncio to France and Papal Assistant to the Throne. In 1846 Fonari was made Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by the Custos of the Holy Land.

In the consistory of December 21, 1846, Pius IX admitted him in pectore to the College of Cardinals. It was not until September 1850 that the creation became public and Cardinal Fornari received the title church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. In June 1851, Pius IX appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for Studies, which he remained until his death in 1854.

References

• Monsagrati, Giuseppe (1997). "Fornari, Raffaele." In: Dizionario biografico degli italiani, Vol. 49. Roma: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana.
• Simon, Aloïs (1956). Correspondance du nonce Fornari, 1838-1843. Bruxelles: Inst. Historique Belge de Rome.

External links

• Biography at The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church