Scipione Cardinal Rebiba

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Scipione Cardinal Rebiba (1504 – July 23, 1577) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chieti on March 16, 1541, created a Cardinal on December 20, 1555, appointed Archbishop of Pisa in 1566, Bishop of Albano in 1573 and Bishop of Sabina e Poggio Mirteto in 1574.

Cardinal Rebiba is a notable figure in the history of the apostolic succession in the Roman Catholic Church. More than 91% of the world’s more than 4,000 Catholic bishops alive today trace their episcopal lineage back to Rebiba.

In the early 18th century, Pope Benedict XIII, whose orders were descended from Rebiba, personally consecrated at least 139 bishops for various important European sees, including German, French, English and New World bishops. These bishops in turn consecrated bishops almost exclusively for their respective countries, effectively causing other episcopal lines to die out.

It is widely believed that Gian Pietro Cardinal Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV, consecrated him but supporting documentation has not been found and therefore the episcopal genealogies stop at Rebiba.