Silvio Antoniani

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Silvio Cardinal Antoniani, J.U.D., (December 31, 1540, Rome – August 16, 1603, Rome) was a musician, canon lawyer, priest and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who spent most of his career in the Roman Curia. The son of a poor wool merchant, his talent with the lyre at a young age drew the attention of many patrons and led to his career in the Church.

Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg funded his education at a young age. Pope Julius III provided Antoniani with room and board at the Apostolic Palace. He met Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, who sponsored his studies at the University of Ferrara, where Antoniani earned a doctorate in civil and canon law in 1556, and was professor of classical literature.

After the death of the Duke of Ferrara, Antoniani returned to Rome and was appointed a professor at Sapienza University by Pope Pius IV. There he met Cardinal Charles Borromeo, who made him his personal secretary. Borromeo encouraged Antoniani to enter the priesthood, and he studied theology under Philip Neri. He was ordained to the priesthood June 17, 1568.

Pope Pius V named Antoniani Secretary of the College of Cardinals, a position he held for twenty four years. Pope Sixtus V named him secretary of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. Pope Clement VIII named him Secretary of Briefs in 1593. He was also Master of the Papal Chamber and a Canon of the Basilica of Saint Peter.

Pope Clement created Antoniani the Cardinal Priest of S. Salvatore in Lauro in the consistory of 1599. He worked to complie the Roman Catechism and helped to revise the Breviary. He was present at the accecptance of the Union of Brest, and two of his writings are inscribed on the north and south faces of the pedistal supporting the Vatican Obelisk in Saint Peter's Square. He died in Rome in 1603, and is interred in S. Maria in Vallicella.

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