# Michele Lega

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{{Short description|Italian Catholic cardinal (1860–1935)}}

{{Infobox Christian leader
|type                = Cardinal
|image               = Michele Lega-1922.jpg
|caption             = Cardinal Lega pictured in 1922.
|honorific_prefix    = [His Eminence](/source/His_Eminence)
|name                = Michele Lega
|church              = [Roman Catholic Church](/source/Roman_Catholic_Church)
|title               = [Prefect of the Congregation of Sacramental Discipline](/source/Congregation_for_Divine_Worship_and_the_Discipline_of_the_Sacraments)
|appointed           = 20 March 1920
|term_end            = 16 December 1935
|predecessor         = [Filippo Giustini](/source/Filippo_Giustini)
|successor           = [Domenico Jorio](/source/Domenico_Jorio)
|other_post          = {{unbulleted list|[Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati](/source/Cardinal-Bishop_of_Frascati) (1926–35)|[Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals](/source/Vice-Dean_of_the_College_of_Cardinals) (1931–35)}}
|ordination          = 13 September 1883
|consecration        = 11 July 1926
|consecrated_by      = [Pope Pius XI](/source/Pope_Pius_XI)
|cardinal            = 25 May 1914
|created_cardinal_by = [Pope Pius X](/source/Pope_Pius_X)
|rank                = [Cardinal-Deacon](/source/Cardinal-Deacon) (1914–24)<br>[Cardinal-Priest](/source/Cardinal-Priest) (1924–26)<br>[Cardinal-Bishop](/source/Cardinal-Bishop) (1926–35)
|birth_name          = Michele Lega
|birth_date          = 1 January 1860
|birth_place         = [Brisighella](/source/Brisighella), [Papal States](/source/Papal_States)
|death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=y|1935|12|16|1860|01|01}}
|death_place         = [Rome](/source/Rome), [Kingdom of Italy](/source/Kingdom_of_Italy)
|previous_post       = {{unbulleted list|[Dean of the Roman Rota](/source/Dean_of_the_Roman_Rota) (1908–14)|[Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Eustachio](/source/Sant'Eustachio) (1914–24)|[Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura](/source/Prefect_of_the_Apostolic_Signatura) (1914–20)|Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Eustachio ''[pro hac vice](/source/pro_hac_vice)'' (1924–26)}}
|alma_mater          = [Pontifical Roman Athenaeum Saint Apollinare](/source/Pontifical_Roman_Athenaeum_Saint_Apollinare)
|motto               = ''Ut unum sint'' }}

{{Infobox cardinalstyles|
cardinal name=Michele Lega |
dipstyle=His Eminence|
offstyle=Your Eminence|
See=Frascati ([suburbicarian see](/source/suburbicarian_see))|}}

'''Michele Lega''' [S.T.D.](/source/Doctor_of_Sacred_Theology) [J.U.D.](/source/Doctor_of_Canon_and_Civil_Law) (1 January 1860 – 16 December 1935)<ref>[https://data.bnf.fr/fr/16743653/michele_lega/  Bibliothèque Nationale de France website, Profile page]</ref> was a [Cardinal](/source/Cardinal_(Catholicism)) of the [Roman Catholic Church](/source/Roman_Catholic_Church) who served as [Prefect of the Congregation for the Discipline of Sacraments](/source/Congregation_for_Divine_Worship_and_the_Discipline_of_the_Sacraments).

==Early life and priesthood==
Michele Lega was born on 1 January 1860 in [Brisighella](/source/Brisighella), [Italy](/source/Italy). His mother was Countess Giulia Baldini di Rimini, his father was Giacomo Lega, an engineer and he was one of five children.<ref name=FIU>[https://cardinals.fiu.edu/bios1914.htm Florida International University, Biographies section, ''The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church'']</ref>

He was educated at the [Seminary](/source/Seminary) of [Faenza](/source/Faenza) and the [Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare](/source/Pontifical_Roman_Athenaeum_S._Apollinare), where he earned [doctorate](/source/doctorate)s in [theology](/source/theology), [philosophy](/source/philosophy) and a ''doctorate utriusque iuris'' (in both [canon](/source/Canon_law) and civil [law](/source/law) in 1888.<ref name=FIU />

He was ordained on 13 September 1883 in the [diocese of Faenza](/source/diocese_of_Faenza). He served as a faculty member of the [Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide](/source/Pontificio_Collegio_Urbano_de_Propaganda_Fide) in Rome from 1887 until 1889. He then held the position of [professor](/source/professor) of philosophy until 1890 as well as being assistant professor of [canon law](/source/canon_law) from 1888 to 1889. He was a faculty member of the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare from 1889 to 1893. He was made [Privy Chamberlain](/source/Monsignor) on 11 August 1897. He was a member of the [Pontifical Commission for the Codification of Canon Law](/source/Pontifical_Council_for_Legislative_Texts) and thus helped edit the 1917 Code of Canon Law. He was the [Dean of the Roman Rota](/source/Dean_of_the_Roman_Rota) from 1908 until 1914.

==Cardinalate==
He was created and proclaimed [Cardinal-Deacon](/source/Cardinal-Deacon) of ''[Sant'Eustachio](/source/Sant'Eustachio)''<ref>[https://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1914.html California State University Northridge website, ''Sede Vacante 1914'']</ref> in the consistory of 25 May 1914. He was one of the cardinal electors in the [conclave of 1914](/source/Papal_conclave%2C_1914) that elected [Pope Benedict XV](/source/Pope_Benedict_XV). He was appointed [Prefect of the Congregation for Discipline of Sacraments](/source/Congregation_for_Divine_Worship_and_the_Discipline_of_the_Sacraments) on 20 March 1920. He also participated in the [conclave of 1922](/source/Papal_conclave%2C_1922) that elected [Pope Pius XI](/source/Pope_Pius_XI). After ten years as a cardinal-deacon he opted for the order of cardinal priests and his deaconry was elevated pro hac vice to title in 1924.

==Episcopate==
He opted for the order of cardinal bishops and the [suburbicarian see of Frascati](/source/Cardinal-Bishop_of_Frascati)<ref>[https://www.diocesifrascati.it/2010/05/10/michele-lega-1926-1935/ Diocesi Suburbicaria Tuscolana, profile page]</ref> on 21 June 1926. He was consecrated on 11 July of that year in the [Sistine Chapel](/source/Sistine_Chapel) by [Pope Pius XI](/source/Pope_Pius_XI). His brother Antonio attended the ceremony.

==Death==
He died in 1935; the funeral took place on 20 December, in the basilica of [Ss. XII Apostoli](/source/Ss._XII_Apostoli), Rome.<ref name=FIU />

==Family==
His brother, [Antonio Lega](/source/Antonio_Lega) was bishop of Cervia and [archbishop](/source/archbishop) of [Ravenna](/source/Ravenna).<ref name=FIU />

His nephew [Igino Lega](/source/Igino_Lega) went on to become a priest; he received the Medaglia D’Oro during WWII and was named as a Servant of God.<ref>[https://www.jesuit.org.sg/mar-21st-igino-lega-sj/ Jesuit.org website, Saints and Martyrs section, profile page]</ref>

==References==
<!--- See Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to create references using <ref></ref> tags which will then appear here automatically -->
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Michele Lega}}
*[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/blega.html Catholic Hierarchy] [[Wikipedia:Verifiability#Reliable sources|{{sup|{{small|[''self-published'']}}}}]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{succession box |
before=[Vincenzo Vannutelli](/source/Vincenzo_Vannutelli) |
title=[Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura](/source/Apostolic_Signatura)|              
after=[Augusto Silj](/source/Augusto_Silj) |                            
years=15 December 1914 – 20 March 1920}}
{{succession box |
before=[Filippo Giustini](/source/Filippo_Giustini) |
title=[Prefect of the Congregation for Discipline of Sacraments](/source/Congregation_for_Divine_Worship_and_the_Discipline_of_the_Sacraments)|              
after=[Domenico Jorio](/source/Domenico_Jorio) |                            
years=20 March 1920 – 16 December 1935}}
{{s-end}}

{{Cardinals created by Pius X}}
{{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= Italy}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lega, Michele}}
Category:1860 births
Category:1935 deaths
Category:20th-century Italian cardinals
Category:Cardinal-bishops of Frascati
Category:Members of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments
Category:Prefects of the Apostolic Signatura
Category:Cardinals created by Pope Pius X
Category:People from Brisighella
Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michele Lega](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Lega) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Lega?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.