Francesco Sforza (cardinal)

Francesco Sforza (1562–1624) was an Italian cardinal and bishop.

A member of the House of Sforza, Francesco Sforza was born in Parma on 6 November 1562, the son of Sforza Sforza and his second wife Caterina de' Nobili. He was count of Santa Fiora, marquis of Varci and Castel Acquaro. He was the nephew of Cardinals Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora, Roberto de' Nobili, and Alessandro Sforza, and the grand-nephew of Pope Paul III.

He received a military education under Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma and later at the court of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He also studied Latin, rhetoric, mathematics, philosophy, and politics. He married the sister of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. At age 18, he served in Flanders under his cousin Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma; he commanded Italian troops.

Following his wife's death, his sister Costanza Sforza, duchess of Sora, who was married to Giacomo Boncompagni, the legitimized son of Pope Gregory XIII, encouraged him to pursue an ecclesiastical career. He became a cleric in Rome and rose quickly in the church, first becoming a canon of the cathedral chapter of San Nicola in Carcere before he had even been ordained as a priest.

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