Alessandro Sperelli

Most Reverend Alessandro Sperelli
Bishop of Gubbio
Church	Catholic Church
Diocese	Diocese of Gubbio
In office	1644–1671
Predecessor	Emilio Bonaventura Altieri
Successor	Giulio Spinola
Orders
Consecration	4 May 1642 by Giulio Cesare Sacchetti
Personal details
Born	(1589-05-10)May 10, 1589 Assisi, Italy
Died	19 December 1671(1671-12-19) (aged 82)

Alessandro Sperelli C.O. (1589–1671) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Gubbio (1644–1671),[1] Apostolic Nuncio to Naples (1652–1653), Auxiliary Bishop of Ostia e Velletri (1642–1644), and Titular Bishop of Orthosias in Caria (1642–1644).[1]

Biography

Alessandro Sperelli was born on May 5, 1589 in Assisi, Italy and ordained a priest in the Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri.[2] His nephew Sperello Sperelli would become cardinal in 1699.[3] On 28 Apr 1642, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Urban VIII as Titular Bishop of Orthosias in Caria and Auxiliary Bishop of Ostia e Velletri.[4][2] On 4 May 1642, he was consecrated bishop by Giulio Cesare Sacchetti, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna, with Lelio Falconieri, Titular Archbishop of Thebae, and Giovanni Battista Altieri (seniore), Bishop Emeritus of Camerino, serving as co-consecrators.[2] On 14 Mar 1644, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Urban VIII as Bishop of Gubbio.[1][2] On 23 Oct 1652, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Innocent X as Apostolic Nuncio to Naples; he served as nuncio until 15 Nov 1653.[2] He served as Bishop of Gubbio until his death on 19 Dec 1671.[1][2]

While bishop, he was the principal co-consecrator of Carlo Labia, Archbishop of Corfù (1659).[2]

In 1666, his endowment of his large collection of books and manuscripts to the city led to the formation of the Biblioteca Comunale Sperelliana in Gubbio.

References

1. Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. IV. Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. pp. 183–184. (in Latin)
2. Cheney, David M. "Bishop Alessandro Sperelli, C.O." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved February 14, 2019. ^[self-published]
3. Dizionario biografico universale, Volume 5, by Felice Scifoni, Publisher Davide Passagli, Florence (1849); page 156.
4. Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. IV. Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. p. 265. (in Latin)

External links and additional sources

• Coletti, Chiara (1960–2020). "SPERELLI, Alessandro". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
• Cheney, David M. "Nunciature to Naples". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 15, 2018. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^[self-published]
• Cheney, David M. "Diocese of Gubbio". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved January 4, 2019. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^[self-published]
• Chow, Gabriel. "Diocese of Gubbio (Italy)". GCatholic.org. Retrieved January 4, 2019. (for Chronology of Bishops) ^[self-published]

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Georges Alexandre Dorpowski	Titular Bishop of Orthosias in Caria 1642–1644	Succeeded by Piotr Jan Sokołowski
Preceded by	Auxiliary Bishop of Ostia e Velletri 1642–1644	Succeeded by
Preceded by Orazio Monaldi	Bishop of Gubbio 1644–1671	Succeeded by Carlo Vincenzo Toti
Preceded by Emilio Bonaventura Altieri	Apostolic Nuncio to Naples 1652–1653	Succeeded by Giulio Spinola