Francesco Barbaro (Venice, March 16, 1546 – Udine, April 27, 1616) was a catholic Patriarch and Italian diplomat, at the service of the Republic of Venice.

The great-grandson of Francesco Barbaro and son of Marcantonio Barbaro, he was Procurator of San Marco and a patron of Palladio. After his studies, he began a political and diplomatic career that culminated with the position of ambassador at the Court of Savoy from 1578 to 1581.

He later chose an ecclesiastical career.

The Patriarch of Aquileia, Giovanni Grimani, who only had political but not episcopal jurisdiction over the diocese, and who was elderly at the time, asked Pope Sixtus V for a coadjutor. The choice fell on Francesco, thanks to his strong faith and solid political and diplomatic experience. Thus, on 17 October 1585, he was consecrated titular archbishop of Tyre and took control of the Patriarchate of Aquileia.

On Pope Clement VIII’s recommendation, in 1593 Barbaro began the pastoral visit of the diocese, which ended the following year. On 3 October 1593, while the visit was underway, Grimani died and Barbaro was called to officially replace him, becoming Patriarch of Aquileia. He did not interrupt his journey, however, except to go to Udine on 10 April 1593 and to Cividale on 25 April 1593 to formalize his investiture.

In 1595, the diocesan synod convened in the Castle of San Daniele. The synod was marked by a conflict between the religious leaders of Udine and those of Cividale to establish which of the two sees was more important. Barbaro ruled that Cividale had a higher standing, which led to protests from displeased ecclesiastics from Udine. That same year, Barbaro asked and received consent from Clement VIII to appoint his brother Ermolao Barbaro as his coadjutor.

Ermolao was therefore appointed Archbishop of Tyre on 12 February 1596. His speech at the provincial Synod of Udine, held from 19 to 27 October 1596, was instrumental in having the Roman rite accepted, as per the decree of Pope Pius V, by the bishops under him who followed the ancient Aquileian rite. He did the same at the provincial Synod of Cividale on 11 May 1600 and at the Synod of Gorizia on 23 June 1602, which was attended by Slavic and German bishops under his jurisdiction.

”Patriarch Francesco was commendable for having built the new patriarchal palace in Udine and the new seminary for clerics. Before this time, the patriarchal residence had been high on the hill in the middle of the city. Since the Republic of Venice wanted the location for the construction of a fortress, he built a new palace for himself and his successors, where the archbishops of Udine still reside today, and he adorned the halls with portraits of his predecessors. He also built an adjoining church dedicated to the Holy Virgin and Mother of God and in honour of the patron saints of the Diocese of Aquileia. … He also donated his library, which is still used today since he made it available to the public.”

He is buried in the church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Udine, along with his brother Ermolao who succeeded him as Patriarch.

Source: wikipedia.it (https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Barbaro_(patriarca_di_Aquileia))