Luigi Jacobini

Styles of Luigi Jacobini
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Thessalonica (titular)

Lodovico Jacobini, 1875

Luigi Jacobini (January 6, 1832 – February 28, 1887) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1880 until his death; he was elevated to the cardinalate in 1879.

Biography

Coat of arms of Lodovico Jacobini

Born in Genzano, Lodovico Jacobini studied at the seminary in Albano before being ordained to the priesthood in Rome on September 23, 1854. He then furthered his studies at the Sapienza University in Rome, where he obtained his doctorate in theology (July 20, 1857) and his doctorate in civil and canon law (June 25, 1858). Jacobini then entered the Roman Curia, serving as a staff member in the Secretariat of Ecclesiastical Affairs. He was raised to the rank of Domestic Prelate of His Holiness, and also became Secretary of the Congregations of Propaganda Fide, which at that times also was responsible for relations with Oriental Rites.

In 1862, he was appointed secretary to the first commission for the preparation of the Syllabus. Later named a canon of the Lateran Basilica, Jacobini served as a referendary on the Apostolic Signatura as well. In 1867, he was charged with the weighty task of gathering and publishing the answers of the world's bishops to the questionnaire for the preparation of the First Vatican Council. During the Council, Jacobini was secretary of the preparatory commission for Church discipline, also serving as Undersecretary of the Council from 1869 to 1870.

On March 20, 1874, Jacobini was appointed Titular Archbishop of Thessalonica by Pope Pius IX. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 24 from Cardinal Costantino Patrizi Naro. He was named Nuncio to Austria three days later, on March 27, 1874. Pope Leo XIII created Jacobini Cardinal-Priest of S Maria della Vittoria in the consistory of September 19, 1879. He was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Austrian Order of Sankt Stefan in 1880. On December 16 of that same year, Jacobini was appointed Vatican Secretary of State (essentially the Pope's prime minister) and Administrator of the Wealth of the Holy See.

The Cardinal died in Rome, at age 55, from an illness that had lasted nearly two years. Buried on March 6, 1887, he is buried in the Chapel of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide in the Campo Verano cemetery.

Honours

• Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Kalākaua I, 1881