Sisto Riario Sforza

Venerable

Sisto Riario Sforza
Cardinal, Archbishop of Naples
ArchdioceseNaples
SeeNaples
Appointed24 November 1845
Installed8 December 1845
Term ended29 September 1877
PredecessorFilippo Giudice Caracciolo
SuccessorGuglielmo Sanfelice d'Acquavilla
Other post(s)
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination1 September 1833
by Filippo Guidice Caracciolo
Consecration25 May 1845
by Mario Mattei
Created cardinal19 January 1846
by Pope Gregory XVI
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Sisto Riario Sforza

(1810-12-05)5 December 1810
Naples, Kingdom of Naples
Died29 September 1877(1877-09-29) (aged 66)
Naples, Kingdom of Italy
Alma mater
Coat of armsSisto Riario Sforza's coat of arms
Ordination history of
Sisto Riario Sforza
History
Diaconal ordination
Ordained byGiuseppe della Porta Rodiani
Date22 December 1832
PlaceRome, Papal States
Priestly ordination
Ordained byFilippo Giudice Caracciolo
Date1 September 1833
PlaceNaples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorMario Mattei
Co-consecratorsLudovico Tevoli
Luigi Maria Cardelli, O.F.M. Ref.
Date25 May 1845
PlaceSaint Peter's Basilica, Papal States
Cardinalate
Elevated byPope Gregory XVI
Date19 January 1846
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Sisto Riario Sforza as principal consecrator
Giuseppe de' Bianchi Dottula4 March 1849
Gennaro di Giacomo4 March 1849
Leonardo Moccia4 March 1849
Giuseppe Pappalardo10 June 1849
Gennaro Acciardi10 June 1849
Luigi Vetta10 June 1849
Camillo Monteforte10 June 1849
Pasquale Taccone14 October 1849
Ignazio de' Bisogno16 December 1849
Ignazio Maria Selitti16 December 1849
Antonio de Simone16 December 1849
Francesco Saverio Petagna16 June 1850
Raffaele Carbonelli16 June 1850
Tommaso Michele Salzano, O.P.12 March 1854
Giandomenico Falcone1 August 1858
Gennaro de Vivo17 May 1874
Salvatore Maria Nisio, Sch. P.3 October 1875

Sisto Riario Sforza (5 December 1810 – 29 September 1877) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal who served as the Archbishop of Naples from 1845 until his death.[1][2][3] Sforza's rapid rise through the Church ranks began with various appointments before he served as the Bishop of Aversa for seven months. He was promoted to the Naples archdiocese and cardinalate. After two months, Sisto became a close supporter of Pope Pius IX and a vocal participant in the First Vatican Council.[2][4]

He opposed Italian unification and was temporarily exiled from Naples after unification when he refused to adhere to the requests that the new government made of him.[3] He used this time in exile to travel and to set up a private network to create periodical publications to oppose the anticlerical press coming from his archdiocese. He was later allowed to return and carried out his duties, such as aiding victims of two cholera epidemics and the 1861 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.[2][4] Towards the end of his life there were rumours that the French, who were preparing for a papal conclave to be held outside of Rome (due to the Italian unification), were aiming to propose Sforza as a papal contender. Sforza died just five months before Pope Leo XIII was elected, despite Pope Leo XIII's objection to becoming pope while Sforza was still alive, as Sforza would have opposed Pecci's candidature.[3][4]

His beatification process was launched in the 1920s and culminated on 28 June 2012, after Pope Benedict XVI recognized his heroic virtue and titled him as Venerable.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ di Domenico, Francesco, La vita del Cardinale Sisto Riari Sforza, Arcivescovo di Napoli, Naples, 1904.
  2. ^ a b c d "Venerable Sisto Riario Sforza". Saints SQPN. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Salvador Miranda. "Consistory of January 19, 1846 (XXVI)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Venerabile Sisto Riario Sforza". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 11 January 2018.