Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano

Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano
Dean of the College of Cardinals
File:Luigi Oreglia.jpg
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Appointed	30 November 1896
Term ended	7 December 1913
Predecessor	Raffaele Monaco La Valletta
Successor	Serafino Vannutelli
Other posts	Abbot Ordinary of Santi Vincenzo ed Anastasio alle tre Fontane (1877–1913) Camerlengo of the Apostolic Camera (1885–1913) Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia-Velletri (1896–1913) Prefect of the Congregation of Ceremonies (1896–1913)
Orders
Ordination	February 1851
Consecration	13 May 1866 by Lodovico Altieri
Created Cardinal	22 December 1873 by Pope Pius IX
Rank	Cardinal-Priest (1874–84) Cardinal-Bishop (1884–1913)
Personal details
Birth name	Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano
Born	9 July 1828 Bene Vagienna, Kingdom of Sardinia
Died	Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Buried	Campo Verano
Parents	Carlo Giuseppe Luigi Oreglia Teresa Gotti di Selerano
Previous post	Titular Archbishop of Tamiathis (1866–73) Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium (1866–68) Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal (1868–73) Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Anastasia (1874–84) Prefect of the Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics (1876–82) Camerlengo of the College of Cardinals (1882–83) Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina (1884–89) Cardinal-Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina (1889–96) Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals (1889–96)
Alma mater	Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles

Styles of Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano
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Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Palestrina (suburbicarian), Ostia e Velletri (suburbicarian)

Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano (9 July 1828, Bene Vagienna, Italy – 7 December 1913, Rome, Italy) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church in the late nineteenth century. He was Bishop of Ostia e Velletri and Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals from 1896 until his death.

Biography

He was educated in Turin and became a priest in 1851. After that, he soon rose to become domestic prelate of Pope Pius IX by 1857 and was internuncio in the Netherlands from 1863 to 1866. In May of that year he was elected titular archbishop of Tamiathis and served as papal nuncio to Belgium from then until 1868, when he was moved to Portugal. He remained as nuncio until his promotion to the cardinalate when he was returned to Rome.

On 22 December 1873 Oreglia was created a cardinal by Pius IX and two years later he became Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Relics. He participated in the 1878 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIII and that pope appointed him Camerlengo on 27 March 1882. Although Oreglia was forced to relinquish the post a year later, he became Camerlengo once more in 1885 and retained that post right up to his death 28 years later. During this period he rose gradually to become sub-Dean of the College in 1889 and to Dean in 1896.

When Leo XIII died in 1903, Cardinal Oreglia was the sole cardinal elevated by Pope Pius IX. As the only elector in the 1903 conclave with previous experience in electing a pope, and being the leader of the ultraconservative curial faction within the college who wanted a more intransigent pontiff than Leo, Oreglia is widely believed to have played a prominent role in the election of Giuseppe Sarto as Pius X. Indeed, some students of the papacy believe that without the guidance of Oreglia, Cardinal Sarto would have refused the papacy even when he had obtained 55 of the 60 available votes.

Oreglia is also said to have vehemently protested against the announcement by Cardinal Jan Puzyna de Kosielsko regarding the civil veto of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria against the name of Cardinal Mariano Rampolla, Leo's Secretary of State. Oreglia is also rumored to have prohibited the use of the method of election known as accessus in the 1903 Conclave that elected Pope Pius X.

Oreglia retained his positions with the College of Cardinals until his death in 1913 at the age of 85.

External links

• Biography (scroll down to #9)
• Biographical information

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Karl August Graf von Reisach	Cardinal Priest of Santa Anastasia 16 January 1874 – 24 March 1884	Succeeded by Carlo Laurenzi
Preceded by Antonino de Luca	Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina 24 March 1884 – 24 May 1889	Succeeded by Angelo Bianchi
Preceded by Giovanni Battista Pitra	Cardinal Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina 24 May 1889 – 30 November 1896	Succeeded by Lucido Parocchi
Preceded by Raffaele Monaco La Valletta	Cardinal Bishop of Ostia-Velletri 30 November 1896 – 7 December 1913	Succeeded by Serafino Vannutelli