Friedrich von Hessen-Darmstadt
Encyclopedia
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
who was appointed Crown-cardinal
Crown-cardinal
A crown-cardinal was a cardinal protector of a Catholic nation, nominated or funded by a Catholic monarch to serve as their representative within the College of Cardinals and, if applicable, exercise the jus exclusivae...
of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
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Von Hessen-Darmstadt was born in Darmstadt, Germany, the 12th child of Landgrave Ludwig V von Hessen-Darmstadt
Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1596 to 1626.He was born on 24 September 1577 as the son of George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Magdalene of Lippe....
. Born into a Lutheran family, he converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in 1636 and entered the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. He became Grand Prior of the order in Germany in 1647 then traveled throughout Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
In 1652 he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...
and participated in the Papal conclave of 1655
Papal conclave, 1655
The Papal conclave of 1655 was the papal conclave of Cardinals called on the death of Pope Innocent X. The conclave elected Fabio Chigi, who took office as Alexander VII.- History :...
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He was appointed legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
(with Cardinal Carlo de' Medici
Carlo de' Medici
Carlo de' Medici may refer to:*Carlo de' Medici , illegitimate child of Cosimo de' Medici*Carlo de' Medici , Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, Dean of the College of Cardinals...
) to Queen Christina of Sweden, who had converted to Catholicism and arrived in Rome in November 1655 to celebrations at the Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini is a palace in Rome, facing the piazza of the same name in Rione Trevi and is home to the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.-History:...
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In 1671 he was elected Bishop of Breslau and was then appointed administrator of Breslau for six months from October 1671. Von Hessen-Darmstadt died in Breslau on 19 February 1682.