Mattei

Mattei MARIUS, a noted Roman Catholic prelate, lately the presiding officer of the College of Cardinals at Rome, and in ecclesiastical dignity ranked next to the pope himself, was born at Pergola, States of the Church, Sept. 6, 1792; was educated at Rome, and entered the priesthood in 1814. In 1832 he received his appointment as cardinal. In December, 1860, he became the bishop of Ostia and legate of Velletri. Among other eminent distinctions, he held the post of "archpriest" to the Church of the Vatican, and was the prefect of the commission for the preservation of St. Peter's Church. He died Oct. 8, 1870. Cardinal Mattei was a great favorite of pope Pius IX, and owed most of his distinctions to his friend "the infallible."