Blessed Niccolò Albergati

Niccolò Albergati (1373 – 9 May 1443) was an Italian Carthusian and a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed cardinal and served as a papal diplomat to France and England (1422–23) in addition to serving as the bishop of Bologna from 1417 until his death. He accepted the position as bishop in obedience despite his extreme reluctance to accept the position but carried out his duties with care and attention to educational concerns. But two conflicts in his see caused him to depart and later return and he became known for being close to Pope Martin V and his successor Pope Eugene IV. Both men held Albergati in high esteem and nominated him to crucial positions within the Roman Curia and the diplomatic service to oversee important missions. He had prominent roles in the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence and also attended the Council of Florence. His student Tommaso Parentucelli later became pontiff and assumed the papal name "Nicholas" in honor of his mentor and patron. His other noted student Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini also became pope sometime after Parentucelli. His beatification received confirmation from Pope Benedict XIV on 25 September 1744. Niccolò Albergati was born in 1373 in Bologna to Pier Nicola Albergati who had a notable role in Bolognese communal life. He first studied law at the college in Bologna from 1386 before he commenced his ecclesial studies. He entered the Carthusians in 1394 and was later professed in the San Girolamo di Casara convent near Florence on 25 September 1396. He received the minor orders on 9 June 1403 and was made a subdeacon on 22 September 1403 prior to being made a deacon in 1404. Albergati received his ordination to the priesthood in June 1404. The order's General Chapter in 1407 saw him named as the prior for the San Girolamo di Casara house and in 1412 was made to supervise all Italian houses of the order.