Giuseppe Antonio Ermenegildo Prisco (8 September 1833 – 4 February 1923) was an Italian 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...

 of the Roman Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Naples.

Biography

Prisco was born in Boscotrecase

Boscotrecase

Boscotrecase is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 20 km southeast of Naples...

, near Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

. He was educated at the Archiepiscopal Seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 of Naples.

He was ordained to the priesthood in September 1856 with an indult

Indult

An indult in Catholic canon law is a permission, or privilege, granted by the competent church authority – the Holy See or the diocesan bishop, as the case may be – for an exception from a particular norm of church law in an individual case, for example, members of the consecrated life seeking to...

 because he had not yet reached the canoncial age

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

. He served as Professor of philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 at the seminary where he himself was taught. He later served as professor of rational law at Ospizio Ecclesiastico di Maria, Naples. He was also Prefect of studies at the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Naples and Examiner of the clergy. He was a representative of Archbishop Guglielmo Sanfelice d'Acquavilla

Guglielmo Sanfelice d'Acquavilla

Guglielmo Sanfelice d'Acquavilla O.S.B.Cas. was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Naples.Sanfelice d'Acquavilla was born in Aversa, Italy, on 14 April 1834....

 to the Società Cattoliche Operaie.

He was created and proclaimed Cardinal-Deacon of S. Cesareo in Palatio by Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

 in the consistory

Consistory

-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....

 of 30 November 1896. He opted for the order of cardinal priests and title of S. Sisto on 24 March 1898.

He was appointed as Archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 of Naples on 24 March 1898 and was consecrated on 29 May 1898 in the Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...

 by Pope Leo. He participated in the conclave of 1903

Papal conclave, 1903

The Papal conclave of 1903 was caused by the death of the 93-year-old Pope Leo XIII, who at that stage was the third-longest reigning pope in history....

 that elected Pope Pius X

Pope Pius X

Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...

. He did not participate in the conclave

Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...

s of 1914

Papal conclave, 1914

The Papal conclave of 1914 was held to choose a successor to Pope Pius X, who had died in the Vatican on 20 August 1914.-Political context:With Europe facing World War I, whoever was selected would face the difficulty of leading the Holy See through the war to end all wars, in which Catholic...

 and 1922

Papal conclave, 1922

After a reign of just eight years, Pope Benedict XV died on 22 January 1922 of pneumonia. At his death there were 61 members of the College of Cardinals. However, later that same day, Enrique Almaraz y Santos, the Archbishop of Toledo, died, leaving a college of 60 cardinals to elect Pope...

 because of poor health. He died on 4 February 1923 of pulmonary disease in Naples at the age of 89.