The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio: The True Story of a Convent in Scandal (65 page)

60.
Vita della Serva di Dio. La M. Maria Agnese di Gesù. Fondatrice delle Monache Riformate del Terz’Ordine del Padre San Francesco; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 q 1. Kunigunde Anna Helena Maria Josepha, Countess of Lausitz, Princess of Saxony, was born in 1774, and married Giovanni Patrizi-Naro Marchese Montoro. She died in 1828. Cf.
Diario di Roma
, no. 85, 1828.

61.
Sallua’s communication to the cardinal vicar, undated; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 a, fol. 105r–106r.

62.
Sallua’s note, November 5, 1859; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 a, fol. 69r. On the
Congregazione Segreta
, cf. Prattica del S. Tribunale del S. Offi zio nel formare i Processi diversa da quella di tutti gli altri Tribunali Ecclesiastici e Secolari; ibid., Q 2 m, fasc. 3a, no folio.

63.
Sallua’s
relazione informativa
for the
Congregazione Segreta
, November 16, 1859; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 b, fol. 1r–9r.

64.
Fascicolo dei Decreti, Decretum Feria IV, November 16, 1859; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 w f. In this fascicle, which is part of the court files from the Sant’Ambrogio case, there is a copy of all relevant decisions and suggested decisions by the consultors, cardinals, and the pope. The originals are held in the series ACDF SO Decreta 1859–1862.

65.
See “Congregazioni Cardinalizie attuali,” in Moroni,
Dizionario
14 (1842), p. 234.

66.
“According to the intention or opinion.” This Latin expression is used in the documents of the Roman Curia to clarify, limit, or change a decision by referring to the original intent of that decision. Cf.
http://www/treccani.it/vocabolario/ad-mentem
(5/17/2012).

67.
Antonio Ligi-Bussi was born in 1799 and became a Franciscan Minorite. In 1851 he was made titular archbishop of Konya and vicegerent. Cf.
Notizie per ’anno 1857
, p. 217.

68.
Fascicolo dei Decreti, Decretum Feria IV, November 16, 1859; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 w f.

69.
Fascicolo dei Decreti, Decretum Feria III. loco IV, December 6, 1859; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 w f.

70.
Brevissimi cenni delli atti nella causa di S. Ambrogio, undated [probably December 8, 1859]; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 n 1, no folio.

71.
Sallua’s audience with the pope on December 8, 1859, and the pope’s decision on December 11, 1859; ACDF SO St. St. B 6 w f.

72.
Relazione informativa, Elenco delle persone e testimoni esaminati in questa causa, January 1861; ACDF SO St. St. B 7 c.

73.
Vita della serva di Dio. La Maria Agnese Firrao di Gesù; ACDF SO St. St. B6 q 1.

74.
Cf. Wolf,
Inquisition
, pp. 547–60.

75.
Cf. Schwerhoff,
Inquisition
.

76.
Cf. Claus Arnold,
Die Römische Zensur der Werke Cajetans und Contarinis
(
1558–1601
)
. Grenzen der theologischen Konfessionalisierung
(Römische Inquisition und Indexkongregation 10) (Paderborn, 2008), pp. 171–332; Klaus Ganzer, “Aspekte der katholischen Reformbewegungen im 16. Jahrhundert,” in Ganzer, Kirche auf dem Weg durch die Zeit. Institutionelles Werden und theologisches Ringen. Ausgewählte Aufsätze und Vorträge, ed. Heribert Smolinsky und Johannes Meier (Reformationsgeschichtliche Studien und Texte. Supplemental vol. 4) (Münster, 1997), pp. 181–211, here pp. 187–91.

77.
Cf. Del Col,
Inquisizione
, pp. 509–698; Tedeschi,
Prosecution
.

78.
Cf. Angenendt,
Toleranz
, p. 263; Trusen,
Inquisitionsprozeß
, pp. 168–230, here p. 168.

79.
Over the four centuries from 1542 to 1966, in which the Roman Inquisition was the highest tribunal of the Catholic Church, individual elements of its procedure were altered. Relatively little is known about the Inquisitorial trial, its possible varieties and historical developments, because the archive of the Roman Inquisition has only been accessible to researchers since 1998. Cf. the relevant entries in the collections
L’Apertura
,
L’Inquisizione, L’Inquisizione e gli storici
, and A
dieci anni
. There has been an official guide to the procedure behind book censorship and the Inquisition’s involvement in creating the
Index of Forbidden Books
since 1752, the
Sollicita ac Provida
brought in by the pope. Cf. Wolf, Index, pp. 46–58; Edition and introduction in Wolf/Schmidt (ed.),
Benedikt XIV
. There are no normative guidelines available for a trial by the Holy Office. This means researchers have to take the more painstaking path of analyzing historical sources, and attempting to distill the basic structures of these tribunals from individual trials before the Suprema over the course of the centuries. To date, hardly any work has been done on the Inquisition trials of the nineteenth century, and thus on the immediate context of the Sant’Ambrogio case. There is the added problem that the jurisdictions of the numerous courts and tribunals in the Church and the Papal States were never precisely distinguished from each other, and an official Curia court law was never decreed. Cf. Agostino Borromeo, “Congregazione del Sant’Uffizio,” in
DSI
1 (2011), pp. 389–91, here p. 390: “Conosciamo poco e male l’azione svolta dalla Congregazione nel XIX e nel XX secolo.” See also Adriano Prosperi, “Inquisizione romana,” in
DSI
2 (2011), p. 826: “La storia della Congregazione è storia della sua composizione, dei suoi poteri e delle sue funzioni nel loro modifi carsi attraverso i tempi e i luoghi, ma è anche, naturalmente, storia di come e dove e a carico di chi quei poteri e quelle funzioni sono stati esercitati. Se si tiene conto di questi aspetti … appare tanto più singolare la mancanza di ricerche storiche adeguate fino a tempi recenti.”

80.
Norme per procedere nelle cause del S. Officio (inizio XIX secolo); ACDF SO St. St. D 2 i, no folio [following fol. 105v]. This lists the offenses that fall under
the Inquisition tribunal’s jurisdiction, according to the inquisitors themselves. They include heresy, seduction in the confessional box, polygamy, and the issue of Jews in general.

81.
One consequence of this was that handbooks were written by skilled and experienced inquisitors. Cf. Andrea Errera, “Manuali per inquisitori,” in
DSI
2 (2011), p. 821; Angelo Turchini, “Il modello ideale dell’inquisitore. La
Pratica
del cardinale Desiderio Scaglia,” in Del Col and Paolin (eds.),
Inquisizione
, pp. 187–98.

82.
The cardinal secretary was the formal leader of the proceedings. Cf. Hinschius,
Kirchenrecht
, vol. 1, p. 451. More extensive information in Schwedt,
Kongregationen
, pp. 49–61, here p. 54: “Among the cardinals, the highest-ranking, managing cardinal has held the title of ‘secretary’ of the Congregation during the last 200 years. In the 16th century, the highest-ranking cardinal of the
S. Officium
signed letters and so on as
unus ex Inquisitionibus Generalibus
. It appears that this title was only made official in the first decades of the 17th century, meaning it was no longer dependent on changes of rank within the college of cardinals (for example, through the promotion of a titular church to a cardinalate). So we can speak of the fixed Curia office (independent of changes in rank) of secretary
S. Oficii
during this time. However, it took until the 18th century for this term to be officially entered into the Roman Lists.”

83.
On the Congregation of Cardinals, cf. “Congregazioni Cardinalizie attuali,” in Moroni,
Dizionario
14 (1842), pp. 233–34; Agostino Borromeo, “Congregazione del Sant’Uffizio,” in
DSI
1 (2011), S. 389–91;
Pratica della Curia Romana, che comprende la giurisdizione dei tribunali di Roma
, vol. 2 (Rome, 1815), p. 94; Wolf,
Einleitung
, pp. 36–37. On its members, see
Annuario Pontificio 1860
, pp. 267–69 and
Notizie per l’anno 1861
, pp. 279–81.

84.
Cf. Blouin,
Archives
, p. 7; Wolf,
Einleitung
, p. 41.

85.
Cf. Wolf,
Einleitung
, p. 36. On the conference of consultors and how it operated, see Luigi De Sanctis,
Roma Papale
(Florence, 1865), p. 274: “Ecco come si tengono le congregazioni del S. Uffizio. Ogni lunedì mattina alle 8 le carrozze papali, chiamate volgarmente frulloni, vanno a prendere i consultori, e li conducono al palazzo dell’Inquisizione. Là presieduti dal P. Commissario, e seduti intorno alla tavola ellittica, discutono sulle cause, e dànno i loro voti. Il voto de’ consultori è soltanto consultivo.” Cf also “Congregazioni Cardinalizie attuali,” in Moroni,
Dizionario
14 (1842), p. 233: “La prima [Congregazione] tiene nel lunedì mattina nel palazzo del tribunale, coll’intervento de’ consultori, di monsignor assessore, del p. commissario, del primo compagno di questo, del fiscale ecc., all’effetto di leggere i processi, e le lettere degl’inquisitori
de partibus
; prendonsi le opportune provvidenze, e si preparano le materie per la congregazione de’ Cardinali.” On the consultors in the years 1860–1861, see
Annuario Pontificio 1860
, pp. 267–69, and
Notizie per l’anno 1861
, pp. 279–81.

86.
The office of assessor came into being in 1553, and was dependent on that of the commissary. Only later did it gain specific functions, primarily providing a link between the congregation of cardinals and the investigating court. The assessor presented the
Causae
to be decided to the cardinals, noted the decisions from
the first part of the meetings—in which the notary did not take part—and then relayed them to the notary for recording. He gave a talk in the plenary meetings, and prepared a summary for the cardinals and the pope, to enable them to make a decision. Cf. “Congregazioni Cardinalizie attuali,” in Moroni,
Dizionario
14 (1842), p. 233; Agostino Borromeo, “Congregazione del Sant’Uffizio,” in
DSI
1 (2011), pp. 398–91; Andrea Del Col, “Assessore,” in
DSI
1 (2011), p. 107; Hinschius,
Kirchenrecht
, vol. 1, p. 451.

87.
The assessor’s audience with the pope replaced the Thursday meeting known as
Coram Sanctissimo, Feria quinta
. “Congregazioni Cardinalizie attuali,” in Moroni,
Dizionario
14 (1842), p. 233. Cf. also Bangen,
Curie
, p. 122: “Of the specific cases, only the most important belonged here [the
Coram Sanctissimo
]; the rest the assessor presented to the pope for approval after the cardinals’ meeting.” See also Hinschius,
Kirchenrecht
, vol. 1, p. 448, note 5: For “the decisions made during the meetings
in plano
(in the pope’s absence), his approval was gained afterwards, except in the few important cases, which the congregation alone was given to decide, or the matters that were to be dealt with
de stilo
(according to a fixed and constant praxis).”

88.
Cf. Carl Joseph Anton Mittermaier,
Das deutsche Strafverfahren in der Fortbildung durch Gerichts-Gebrauch und Partikular-Gesetzbücher
(Heidelberg, 1827), p. 322.

89.
“Die heutige römische Curie. Ihre Behörden und ihr Geschäftsgang,” in
Zeitschrift für das Recht und die Politik der Kirche
, vol. 2 (Tauchnitz, 1847), pp. 195–250, here p. 216.

90.
Hinschius,
Kirchenrecht
, vol. 1, p. 451.

91.
The commissary was always a Dominican and acted as an ordinary judge, heading the investigating court and leading the trials. He brought the case to trial, divided the work between the consultors, and chaired their meetings. Cf. “Congregazioni Cardinalizie attuali,” in Moroni,
Dizionario
14 (1842), p. 233; Luigi De Sanctis,
Roma papale
(Florence, 1865); Andrea Del Col, “Commissario,” in
DSI
1 (2011), p. 351; Hinschius,
Kirchenrecht
, vol. 1, p. 451; Pianciani,
Rome
, vol. 2, p. 38. See also “P. Commissario e impiegati del S.O.”; ACDF SO St. St. Q 2 d (1), no. 4, no folio.

92.
Also called
Primo
and
Secondo Compagno
. According to Hinschius,
Kirchenrecht
, vol. 1, p. 451, note 1, two committee members, also Dominicans, formed the investigating court alongside the
Commissarius Sancti Officii
. There is a rough list of the specific duties of these officials in a note “P. Commissario e impiegati del S.O.”; ACDF SO St. St. Q 2 d (1), no. 4, no folio: “Fare Processi, ricevere denunzie, e fare esami, ed i Ristretti di Roma, overo quando gli atti siano denunzie, siano esami superiori al numero di tre. Materie da disbrigarsi da tutti i sostituti in generale, ed in particolare dipendentemente dal Cappo Notaro. In generale. Ricevere tutti gli atti che occorrono; fare ristretti delle denunzie, stendere i Ristretti facendo le incombenze prescrittesi, fare i Biglietti per le distribuzioni, e pieghi, e riassumere se vi siano altri privilegii contro le Persone di cui devono fare il Ristretto; e quello che riceve le denunzie deve farne anche il Ristretto.” Cf. also “Congregazioni Cardinalizie attuali,” in Moroni,
Dizionario
14 (1842), p. 225.

93.
Cf. Andrea Del Col, “Notaio,” in
DSI
2 (2011), p. 118.

94.
Research on the role of the fiscal, also called
Advocatus
or
Procurator fiscalis
, and corresponding to the modern-day state prosecutor, is still in its early days. Cf. Beretta,
Galilée
, p. 56; Lucia Piccinno, “Fiscale,” in
DSI
2 (2011), p. 607.

95.
Cf. Vincenzo Lavenia, “Processo,” in
DSI
3 (2011), pp. 1257–63, here p. 1262.

96.
Wolf (ed.),
Prosopographie
, p. 1247.

97.
Ibid., p. 1136.

98.
Riflessione e chiarimenti sull’elezione del Card[inal]e Segretario del S. Offizio; ACDF SO St. St. Q 2 d (1).