[RIARIO SFORZA (Sisto, 1810-1877, Cardinal, from 1845 Archbishop of Naples)]

Document, in Latin with translation, issued in his name, certifying, after examining two witnesses and searching the records of Sta. Maria in Cosmedin in Naples, that Michele di Lauro, son of the late Giuseppe of the Diocese of Gaeta, resided in Naples "from infancy till the year 1836 ... being free from all impediment and matrimonial bond, and in other respects not prohibited by law from contracting ... marriage", printed with manuscript additions, heading with the Archbishop's titles, his cardinal's hat in red with his arms below, blind papered seal of his Court and stamp of his Archives, signatures include Pro-Archivist Maria Ruffo, V.C. Balzano for the Vicar Ecclesiastic, and Notary Ciarlone, fee 1 ducato 5 grani, 1 side 11¾" x 7¾" and conjugate blank held folded by seal, Naples, 4th June

The Cardinal was forced into exile when the Bourbons fell, put under house arrest when he returned in 1861 on a charge of attempting their restoration, and again exiled from 1862 to 1866. In 1870 he opposed Papal Infallibility as a dogma. Leo XIII said he would never have been elected in 1878 if Cardinal Sforza had lived.

Item Date:  1846

Stock No:  54553      £325

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