Scipione Rebiba

Scipione Rebiba
Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina
Appointed	5 May 1574
Term ended	23 July 1577
Predecessor	Giovanni Ricci
Successor	Giacomo Savelli
Orders
Consecration	14 May 1541
Created Cardinal	20 December 1555
Rank	Cardinal-Bishop
Personal details
Birth name	Scipione Rebiba
Born	(1504-02-03)3 February 1504 San Marco d’Alunzio
Died	23 July 1577(1577-07-23) (aged 73)
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Chieti (1541 – 1551) Titular Bishop of Amyclae (1541 – 1551) Bishop of Mottola (1551 – 1556) Cardinal-Priest of S. Pudenziana (1556 – 1565) Archbishop of Pisa (1556 – 1560) Archbishop of Troia (1560) Cardinal-Priest of S. Anastasia (1565 – 1566) Titular Patriarch of Constantinople (1565 – 1573) Cardinal-Priest of S. Angelo in Pescheria (1566 – 1570) Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria in Trastevere (1570 – 1573) Cardinal-Bishop of Albano (1573 – 1574)
Coat of arms

Scipione Rebiba (3 February 1504 – 23 July 1577) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

He is of particular ecclesiastical significance since more than 95% of all living Catholic bishops trace their episcopal lineage back to him.

Scipione Rebiba was born in the village (borgo, vico) of San Marco d'Alunzio, in Sicily. He studied in Palermo, enjoying a benefice in the Church of S. Maria dei Miracoli.

He was appointed titular Bishop of Amyclae (a suffragan of Patras in the Peloponnesus) by Pope Paul III on 16 March 1541, on the recommendation of Bishop Gian Pietro Carafa, so that he could serve as Carafa's auxiliary bishop in the diocese of Chieti.

On February 22, 1549, Cardinal Carafa was named by Pope Paul III to be Archbishop of Naples, but the opposition of the Emperor Charles V prevented him from taking possession of his see until July 1551. Cardinal Carafa, who was active in Rome as one of the six cardinals of the Roman Inquisition (1542-1555), nonetheless retained possession of the See of Naples, and in 1551 appointed his friend Scipio Rebiba as his Vicar to administer the diocese on his behalf. Rebiba was also promoted in the episcopacy to the see of Motula on 12 October 1551. He was thus a bishop of a See in the Kingdom of Naples. With the full support of the head of the Inquisition in Rome, Rebiba introduced the Roman Inquisition into Naples and was granted the office of Commissary of the Roman Inquisition.

Rebiba was immediately appointed Governor of Rome (5 July 1555) after his patron, Gian Paolo Carafa, was elected pope on 23 May 1555. He served only a few months, until the next Consistory for the elevation of cardinals.

Rebiba was created a cardinal during the consistory of 20 December 1555. He was assigned the Church of S. Pudenziana, which he held from 24 January 1556 until February 7, 1565, when he was translated to the Church of S. Anastasia. These translations had to do with the prestige of a particular church as well as with its disposable income.

Rebiba was appointed Archbishop of Pisa by Paul IV on 13 April 1556 and took possession of that metropolitan see on 29 April 1556, through a procurator.