Gabriele Sforza
Gabriele Sforza | |
---|---|
Archbishop of Milan | |
![]() Gravestone for the Archbishop of Milan, Gabriele Sforzain theSanta Maria Incoronata, Milan | |
Church | Catholic Church |
See | Milan |
Appointed | 20 June 1454 |
Term ended | 12 September 1457 |
Predecessor | Timoteo Maffei |
Successor | Carlo da Forlì |
Orders | |
Consecration | 28 July 1454 (Bishop) byGiovanni Castiglione |
Personal details | |
Born | Carlo Sforza 15 June 1423 |
Died | 12 September 1457 Milan | (aged 34)
Buried | Santa Maria Incoronata, Milan |
Gabriele Sforza(bornCarlo Sforza;1423–1457), was a member of theAugustinian Orderwho served asArchbishop of Milanfrom 1445 to his death in 1457.
Family
[edit]His father was GiacomoMuzio Attendolo,who had three marriages and sixteen children: one child with his first wife Antonia Salimbeni, three children with his second wife Caterina Alopo; two children (including Carlo) with his third wife Maria Marzani countess of Celano; and ten children with his mistresses Tamira diCagliand Lucia Terzani daMarsciano.Muzio Attendolo earned the nicknameSforza( "Strong" ) on the battlefield, which became the family surname under his sonFrancesco I Sforza,who was the Duke of Milan from 1450 to 1466.[1]Francesco I Sforza had as sibling Carlo, who took the religious name ofGabriele.[2]
Biography
[edit]Carlo was born on 15 June 1423,[3]inSan Giorgio La Molara.Some sources give his mother as Maria Marzani,[4]while others suggest he was the result of one of his father's extramarital affairs.[5]The name Carlo was given to the child at the baptismal font to please QueenGiovanna II of Naples,in memory of her fatherCharles III of Anjou-Durres.
He spent the early part of his life serving in the military, but soon grew tired of the profession of arms. On 18 January 1442 he entered the Augustinian Monastery of San Salvatore di Selva di Lago, also known as theMonastery of the Holy Saviourat Lecceto,[6]located outsideSiena.He received the sacrament ofHoly ordersand took the name Gabriele di Cotignola or Gabriele Sforza as he is now known. At the monastery he dedicated himself to his studies and wrote various religious epistles, orations, moral treatises, essays on thegospelsand four books onScholastic Theology.His achievements did not go unnoticed, and he was soon appointed to serve as a religious teacher at the Monastery.[3]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/House_of_Sforza_family_tree_%28IT%29_by_shakko.jpg/220px-House_of_Sforza_family_tree_%28IT%29_by_shakko.jpg)
His brother Francesco later obtained for him byPope Nicholas Vthe appointment, on 20 June 1545, as Archbishop of Milan.[7]Gabriele accepted unwillingly, and was consecrated bishop in the church ofSanta Maria Incoronataon 28 July 1454 byGiovanni Castiglionebishop of Pavia.[3]
In 1456 the Archbishop began paying pastoral visits to the parishes of theArchdiocese of Milan.In order to respond to the needs of his people, he urged his brother Francesco to build theOspedale Maggiore,one of the first community hospitals in Europe.[8]
In April 1457 Sforza made a pilgrimage toLoreto,and fell ill on the way back, Gabriele Sforza died on the night between Sunday 11 and Monday 12 September 1457 in his apartment atSanta Maria in Brerain Milan. He was buried in the church ofSanta Maria Incoronata, Milan,which his brother had commissioned. His funerary monument was created byFrancesco Solari.[7]
Because of his dedication to faith, Gabriele Sforza was sometime later considered asblessed,even if he has no liturgical memory.[8]
References
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^Santoro, Caterina (1992).Gli Sforza: La casata nobiliare che resse il Ducato di Milano dal 1450 al 1535.Milano. p. 15.ISBN8848800564.
{{cite book}}
:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Majo, Angelo (1995).Storia della Chiesa Ambrosiana(in Italian). Milano: NED. p. 281.ISBN887023214X.
- ^abcMarcora, Carlo (1954). "Frate Gabriele Sforza, Arcivescovo di Milano".Memorie Storiche della Diocesi di Milano(in Italian).1:236–263.
- ^Lubkin, Gregory.A Renaissance Court: Milan under Galleazzo Maria Sforza.University of California Press, 1994
- ^Rossetti, Edoardo. "Sforza, Carlo",Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani- Volume 92 (2018)
- ^"4231 Italy - Lecceto", Augnet
- ^abAlegiani, Giovan Battista (1763).Il Compendio della Vita del B. Gabriele Sforza(in Italian). Roma: Per Benedetto Franzesi e Gaetano Paperi Con Licenza De' Superiori. p. 124.
- ^abCazzani, Eugenio (1996).Vescovi e arcivescovi di Milano.Milano: Massimo. pp. 210–211.ISBN887030891X.(in Italian)