Giovanni Andrea Archetti Italian Cardinal Date of Birth: 11.09.1731 Country: Italy

1. Giovanni Archetti: Early Life and Education
2. Elevation to Bishop and Nunciature to Poland
3. Diplomatic Mission to Russia
4. Compromise and Canonization of Mogilev Archdiocese
5. Later Career and Death

Giovanni Archetti: Early Life and Education

Born on September 11, 1731, in Brescia, Italy, Giovanni Archetti pursued higher education at the University of Rome, earning a doctorate in civil and canon law in 1754.

Elevation to Bishop and Nunciature to Poland

In September 1775, Archetti was ordained as a bishop and appointed titular bishop of Chalcedon and nuncio to Poland. Arriving in Warsaw in 1776, he became a prominent opponent of Grand Crown Chancellor Andrzej Hieronim Zamoyski and his proposed reforms. Archetti played a crucial role in leading the conservative faction that rejected the Zamoyski Code in 1780.

Diplomatic Mission to Russia

As nuncio to Poland, Archetti also served as a mediator between Pope Pius VI and Empress Catherine II of Russia. Catherine had previously established the Belarusian Catholic diocese in 1773 and elevated it to the archdiocese of Mogilev in 1782, but the creation lacked canonical approval from Rome. Archetti was dispatched to St. Petersburg in 1783 as an extraordinary ambassador with wide-ranging powers, including addressing the situation of Greek Catholics in Russia, the status of Jesuits, and other issues.

Compromise and Canonization of Mogilev Archdiocese

Diplomatic negotiations resulted in a compromise. Rome approved the archdiocese of Mogilev and accepted Stanislav Bogush-Sestrentsevich as its first archbishop, while Catherine consented to the appointment of Greek Catholic Archbishop I. Lisovsky of Polotsk. Jesuits in Russia were not dissolved but subordinated to diocesan clergy while maintaining their internal structure.

On December 19, 1783, Archetti canonically established the Mogilev archdiocese. On February 22, 1784, Bogush-Sestrentsevich received the metropolitan pallium in St. Catherine's Church in St. Petersburg.

Later Career and Death

Archetti returned to Rome in June 1784 and was elevated to cardinal-priest of Sant'Eusebio in September of the same year. He was appointed papal legate to Bologna and later transferred to the archdiocese of Ascoli Piceno. Archetti participated in the papal conclave of 1799/1800 and was named cardinal-bishop of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto while retaining his archdiocese. He passed away in 1805.