Mario Mattei


Mario Mattei was an Italian Cardinal, of the Roman noble House of Mattei. He became Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1860.

Personal life

Mario Mattei was born on 6 September 1792 in Pergola.
He was educated at the Collegio Ghislieri, a Roman college, and at the La Sapienza University where he received a doctorate in utroque iure) and later attended the Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles in 1810. Around 1817, he was ordained a priest.

Cardinal

He was elevated to Cardinal by Pope Gregory XVI in 1832 and was subsequently appointed to the following posts:
In 1843, Mattei was appointed as Arch-Priest of St. Peter's Basilica and held this position until his death in 1870.
Records indicate that Mattei was appointed Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals twice; between 1834 and 1835 and between 1848 and 1850 and he was also appointed to be the Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1860. He was a participant in the First Vatican Council and in the Papal Conclave of 1846 that elected Pope Pius IX.