Blessed Rinaldo da Concorezzo

Rinaldo da Concorezzo (1245 - 18 August 1321) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and archbishop who served as the Bishop of Vicenza from 1296 until his 1303 appointment as the Archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia holding that until his death. Rinaldo served as a close confidant to Pope Boniface VIII before the latter was elected as pontiff and is known for attempting to secure the rehabilitation of the Knights Templar. His beatification received formal confirmation on 18 August 1852 from Pope Pius IX after the latter approved his local 'cultus' - or popular and enduring devotion. Rinaldo da Concorezzo was born to nobles in Milan in 1245. In his adolescence he completed his studies in Bologna and began to teach canon law in Lodi from October 1286. The Bishop of Lodi - in May 1287 - summoned him for legal expertise and Rinaldo later gained the academic title of "Magister" in 1295. In 1289 he entered the staff of the Vice Chancellor of the Roman Curia Cardinal Pietro Peregrosso and he became an heir of the cardinal in the latter's will after he died in 1295. Rinaldo became a private aide and later the chaplain to Cardinal Benedetto Caetani who became Pope Boniface VIII in 1294. Boniface VIII appointed him as the Bishop of Vicenza on 13 October 1296 to the disappointment of the locals who - in defiance - chose their own appointee but the pontiff's decision soon prevailed and Rinaldo received his episcopal consecration and was installed as bishop. The French monarch Charles of Valois - as well as the pope - called on Bishop Rinaldo and asked him to travel to Florence to support the 'blacks' faction. He later went as the Vicar of Romagna in 1302 and was later made the province's rector. He finished that term in 1305 and was almost killed on one occasion.