Statement from Antonio Pasquale, [1670, Marseille]
Franciscans
Seravezza case
Tunis
Antonio Pasquale, comissionary general of Terra Santa in Marseille certifies that he has made Antonio Di Seravezza, vicar apostolic of Africa and Minor Observant, responsible for the things that have happened in the area of his mission. He has been given the power to act on these cases, whether they are civil or criminal. The originals of the statements by the christians will stay in [Marseiles] but copies will be sent to PF.
Date discussed: 1670-11-10
Additional comments
Date based on the date of the discussion of this document in PF.
Antonio Pasquale
APF SOCG 424, 250r
[1670]
For the minutes of the PF meeting where this matter was discussed, see: APF ACTA 39, f. 197r, 201r-202v (database item 669).
Original; signed; sealed. Date illegible because of the seal
Italian
Statement
754
Origin: Marseille
Destination:
Statement by Antonio Amarroty on behalf of Antonio Di Seravezza, 1670-05-[16], Marseille
Tunis
Seravezza case
Statement by Antonio Amarroty, merchant in Marseille, supporting Antonio Di Seravezza's case. Certified by Nicollas [Nicolas] de Bausset from the Marseille seneschalsy.
Additional comments
Antonio Amarroty
Nicolas de Bausset
APF SC Barbaria 1, 178r-179v
1670-05-[16]
Addressed to [PF]
For the 1669 version of this statement, see: APF SOCG 430, 248r-249v, 255r-256r (database item 734). For the letter sent on the same date from Marseille by Antonio Di Seravezza to Father Chintana, see: APF SC Barbaria 1, 180r-181v (database item 881).
Original; signed
Italian
French
Statement
880
Origin: Marseille
Destination: [Rome]
Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to Father Chintana, 1670-05-16, Marseille
Capuchins
Franciscans
Ransom
Seravezza case
Tunis
Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to Father Chintana, commissioner general of Terra Santa. Many months ago Di Seravezza wrote a letter to Father Benigno Bruni, commissioner general of Italy, that he should have delivered to PF. In this letter he wrote about what happened in Tunis, and asked the commissioner to bring the case to the attention of PF. Now that the pope and the commissioner general have died, he is not sure whether his writings are lost, or did not have their intended effect. Now he sends this letter again to Father Chintanaso, in order for him to bring it to PF. Di Seravezza asks him first to read the letter, in order to inform him on what to do to achieve justice. This mission used to be of the Capuchin Fathers, but PF has since given it to the Minor Observants (as one can read in the attached letter by the vicar general of that order). In Marseiles there is a congregation called Fathers of the mission (CM) that had held the mission 20 years before the Capuchins. The vicar of that mission was Gio' Livigier (Jean Le Vacher), who destroyed the church of Tunis. In the 20 years that he ruled over this mission, he took 28 thousand piastre, and a boat full of stuff with him. The French consul followed his footsteps. Now this congregation (and in particular Le Vacher), asks PF to take the mission from the Minor Observants, and give it to them; the mission however does not do well in the hands of the French. In 20 years they have never freed anyone, while Di Serevezza granted six slaves liberty in only one year. He sends the letters open in order that Chintana can understand what has happend. He should as well read the letter sent by the poor Christians to PF. He asks him to send him the patents by PF, in order to remove any CM priests from the mission, since they have brought great shame. Father Chintana should avoid that the mission falls in other hands, and make sure that Le Vacher pays for the goods he took from the mission, which were worth around 2,500 scudi. He asks Chintana as well to accept the protection of this mission.
Additional comments
Antonio Di Seravezza
APF SC Barbaria 1, 180r-181v
1670-05-16
Adressed to Father Chintana
copy; signed
Italian
Letter
881
Origin: Marseille
Destination: Rome
Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to Jean Le Vacher, 1670-05-10, Marseille
Capuchins
Franciscans
Seravezza case
Slave priests
Tripoli
Algiers
Trinitarians
Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to Gio'ni le Vacher [Jean Le Vacher]. He has most likely already heard about the abuse of the consul in Tunis, Gio' Ambrogini [Jean Ambrozin] towards not only Girolamo Da Sassari, but also to himself; Di Seravezza asked the consul to pay the church back the two piastre he has stolen from every ship for the last four years. He had also tried to burn Da Sassari and Di Seravezza, because the latter wanted the consul to change his dishonest life. In order to get justice, he has been forced to go to PF in Marseille, and he stayed there because of the death of Nostro Sig're. He made a statement before the court in Marseille and sent copies to the Grand Council, Monsù di Lion, and to Colbert. Its noted that he will go to Rome after he received their answers, and if they will not do him justice, he will make sure that the pope does. The superior of his own order and the superior of the Capuchins, have assured him that the mission of Tunis and Tripoli have been assigned to the Observants. After this news he has sent two priests to Tripoli, and two others are still waiting to go to Tunis. These superiors also wrote informing him that PF has sent him a letter written by Livorno, but he never received it. He has received letters from the Christians in Tunis who warned him about the complaints that [Jean Le Vacher] wrote about him and Da Sassari; Le Vacher believes that as they left those poor Christians behind, the mission should be assigned to Giuseppe Marini della Pantelleria [Giuseppe Merino], a slave of Mamet Goggia [Filippo Delustria?]. Di Seravezza though has forbidden this priest to say mass for several reasons: a) because he revealed the confessions; b) because he sold the sacrament of Penance; c) because he usurped the jurisdiction of the superior; d) because he married a couple (Catarina and Andrea), while the wife still had a husband; e) because of the business he did with jews; and f) because he helped the consul in his effort to burn Di Seravezza; in response, Di Seravezza states that he did not leave Tunis to abandon the church and the poor souls. The Christians sent him copies of the letters that Ambrogini [Jean Ambrozin] wrote, from this he has come to the understanding that the letters PF wrote to him were taken by Le Vacher. He asks Le Vacher to send the letters to him through Luigi Calaman. He will leave for Rome when he has sent the two priests to Tunis. After pleading his case in Rome, he will go to Tripoli via Malta, in order to inspect the church there, after which he will return to Tunis. He asks forgiveness for the harsh letter that he sent two years previously, which was in response to Le Vacher informing Da Sassari that he was vicar apostolic of the whole of Africa, and that he wanted to visit the churches of Tunis and Tripoli. Le Vacher should have known that the mission of Algiers is seperate from that of Tunis, however he should never have written to him in such a manner; Di Seravezza was also not a superior back then. Ambrogini [Jean Ambrozin] said that when he leaves Tunis, he will take 24,000 scudi with him, a ship full of items, and maybe also the tabernacle. Di Seravezza asks Le Vacher to send any letters for him to Luigi Calaman. Ambrogini [Ambrozin] states that the ships only give 64 aspri to the Chruch of S. Antonio, though everybody knows that it is actually two piastre; he asks Le Vacher to write a declaration of this, since he is well informed on this issue. He also wrote to Genova, Livorno and Malta, to ask for declarations.
Date discussed: 1670-11-10
Additional comments
Maybe the Nostro Sig're he talks about is Antonio Crocet, the representative of PF in Marseille. Or maybe the pope?
Antonio Di Seravezza
APF SOCG 424, 248r-v, 253r-v
1670-05-10
Adressed to Jean Le Vacher
For the minutes of the PF meeting where this matter was discussed, see: APF ACTA 39, 197r, 201r-202v (database item 669).
Original; signed
Italian
Latin
Letter
752
Origin: Marseille
Destination: [Algiers]
Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to, 1670-02-25, Marseille
Franciscans
Seravezza case
Slaves (Christian)
Tunis
Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza. It has been seven months since he left Tunis, where he should be vicar apostolic. He has been forced to leave Tunis, because of several incidents that will become clear from the letter that [Tenente?] Bausset will send. He had to abandon the poor church and leave between five and six thousand souls behind, in order to come to Marseille to ask for justice. He would also have gone to Paris, if the circumstances would have allowed him, in order to present his case to the king. The French king protects the Holy Faith in these areas, and would have surely defended it now. However as he did not know how things work in these countries, he went to the consuls of Marseille, after he had arrived in that city. They heard his reasons, and read the testimonies of the merchants and Christian slaves, who had told Di Seravezza that he should go to the officer of justice and make a verbale. He also revealed the case to the nuncio, who brought it to the attention of the king. When he saw that such pious people defended his case, he happily left the officer of justice. Now he hopes that the consulate (which means Mister Pias), will keep account of the goods that Ambrogini [Jean Ambrozin] has taken from the church. He asks for the response to be send to Luigi Calaman. Being a Franciscan, Di Seravezza does not take money, therefore Calaman handles all his letters. This letter is a copy sent by Colbert.
Additional comments
This might be the letter to Father Benigno Bruni that Di Seravezza mentions elsewhere, see: APF SC Barbaria1, 180r-181v (database item 881).
APF SC Barbaria 1, 176r-177v
1670-02-25
For the verbale mentioned in this letter, see: APF SOCG 430, f. 248r-249v, 255r-256r (database item 734).
copy; signed
Italian
Letter
879
Origin: Marseille
Destination: unknown
Statement by Antonio Amarroty about the conflict between Antonio Di Seravezza and Jean Ambrozin, 1669-12-12, Marseille
Tunis
Capuchins
Conversion
Malta
Ransom
Franciscans
Renegades
Seravezza case
Copy of a statement on behalf of Antonio Di Seravezza, a Minor Observant from Rome, who also served as vicar apostolic in Tunis and Tripoli for three years, after he received this authority by Girolamo Da Sassari. In September 1668 he left Tunis for Rome. The French consul in Tunis, Giovanni Ambrogini [Jean Ambrozin] should have collected alms for S. Antonio Abate, in order to buy the necessary things for the church, and also in order to conserve the churchyard; he should also have bought a gift for the Agha. The consul has always been aware of this, but never said anything to the church nor given alms. For this reason Girolamo Da Sassari (the apostolic vicar at the time), threatened to report the case to the pope and the king of France, if the consul would not concede the alms to the church; the consul responded that he did not know any pope, cardinal or king, after which Girolamo Da Sassari was forced to leave. Knowing that his abscence would leave the community without a leader, he [Da Sassari] decided to leave Antonio Di Seravezza in his place. The latter left the bagno of S.ta Lucia and took the room in the house of the consul, that Girolamo Da Sassari had previously used. In December 1669 a French woman called Chiara was ransomed, the greater part was paid by the merchants and slaves. The consul gave the woman a room in his residence very close to his own, and next to the chapel and the altar. When Antonio Di Seravezza said the midnight mass of Easter in the chapel of the consulate, there were many merchants and slaves present, only the consul and Chiara were absent. When he asked the merchants and slaves were they were, they said that the consul had laid in bed with the woman. After this night a servant of the consul named Pietro went to the room of Di Seravezza and asked him to do something about the scandalous situation of his master. At Easter Di Seravezza said mass in all the chapels, after which he went to the consulate where he begged the consul to put the woman on a ship that would soon leave for France. The consul responded, saying that the woman did not want to go to France but to Livorno, in order to be able to travel to Sardinia where her husband lived. Di Seravezza was trying to help the consul, but he took offence and continued in his vice. All the nations started saying that the residence of the French consul was a public brothel, but the consul kept refusing to send the woman away. During Ascension Di Seravezza went to all the bagni to take confessions, after which he returned very tired to the consulate. When passing by the room of the consul, he saw things he cannot describe. He told the consul that he was not living a Christian life, that he would leave his residence, and that the consul should take in mind that his room was so close to the Holy sacrament. The consul responded by stating that he would remove the sacrament, and that he could do whatever he wanted in his own residence; the consul later beat Di Seravezza with a stick and told him that he had to leave his house. He moved to the bagno of S. Leonardo, and the sacrament was also moved. The consul went to the Bey and told him that Di Seravezza had remained in Tunis, in order to make the slaves and renegades flee. Di Seravezza was arrested and beaten up, and as they were about to enslave him, the highest person after the Agha said that he never heard any bad things about Di Seravezza, stating that he risked his own life by going to Malta to mediate for the Christian slaves. He was saved by this person, and he told Di Seravezza that he has always done good things, and that he should not live with the consul anymore. The Agha then went to the consul and orded him to send the woman away, after which she was sent to Livorno. The consul kept trying to condemn Di Seravezza, but with God's help, the Turks kept saving him. In July 1669 Di Seravezza converted two jews, who were named Giuseppe and Angiolo, and stayed in the house of a merchant named Labar. The consul used this situation to his advantage, by saying to the Bey that he already warned him about this, but that he did not want to believe him. The two rennegades were found in the house of Labar. When they were questioned they answered that they were Christians and that they were converted by God. They were tortured and confessed that it had been Di Seravezza who converted them. After being tortured they said that they wanted to become Turks, and because of the consul, these two souls were lost. The consul paid Turks and rennegades to beat Di Seravezza. Afterwards, the merchants and slaves decided that he had to go to Marseille. There in the convent he received a visit from Monsù Pras, who told Di Seravezza that he should be patient, as it would take another year until Ambrozin's consulate would be over. Di Seravezza said that this was too long, and that he could not leave five or six thousand souls without mass or the possibility to confess; Di Seravezza insisted that he [Pras] should think about the interests of the church, and about the Missione della Servitù that had made him chaplain; Monsù Pras only laughed about this, and Di Seravezza said that if he laughed about such a serious matter, he would go to Paris and plead his case to the king. Pras said that he would never reach Paris, and even if he did he would not get an audience. Di Seravezza responded by saying that he would bring his case to Rome. Eventually he decided to stay in Rome, as he did not want to make such a long trip for little purpose. However as it was winter and he was old, he decided to stay in Marseille. After the consuls of the cities visited him, and he told them everything about the case, and they had read the reports from merchants and slaves from Tunis, they told him that justice would be done; they would try to remove Amrozin from the consulate in order to let Di Seravezza resume his position as vicar apostolic.
Date discussed: 1671-08-06
Additional comments
There is also a later version of this document (from 1670); there, the first part is missing. At the end there is another line, saying: "Io Antonio Amarroty Mercante in Marsiglia fu fede e Confesso di hauer/ tradutto a litteram il presente verbale di francesce in Italiano." See: APF SC Barbaria 1, 178r-180v (database item 880).
Nicolas de Bausset
Antonio Amarroty
APF SOCG 430, 248r-249v, 255r-256r
1669-12-12
Adressed to [PF]
For the minutes of the PF meeting where this matter was discussed, see: APF ACTA 41 305r, 330r-338r.
This verbale or statement is also mentioned elsewhere, see: APF SC Barbaria 1, 176r-177v (database item 879). For a later version of the same document (from 1670), see: APF SC Barbaria 1, 176r-177v (database item 880).
Copy
Italian
Statement
734
Origin: Marseille
Destination:
Letter from Antonio Di Seravezza to [the nuncio to France, Pietro Bargellini], 1669-12-01, Marseille
Conversion
Franciscans
Renegades
Seravezza case
Tunis
Letter from Antonio Di Serauezza to the nuncio to France, Pietro Bargellini. It has been four months since he left Tunis. He writes to inform the nuncio about the tyranny and cruelty of the consul [Jean Ambrozin], who has driven away two vicar apostolics because they asked him to give back the money that he took from the church. They hoped he would stop living a dishonest life, which not only shocked the Christians but also the Turks (as one can learn from the statements written by the merchants and slaves, that he had sent to the nuncio). He is afraid though that the nuncio has not received the letters, because he never got an answer. He sent his letters to the nuncio through Calaman (a merchant), and to Monsu del Ormo, who would give them to both the nuncio and the duchess of Agaglion, who would then inform the queen. As he did not receive any response, he decided to go to Monsu Prata, because he knew the consulate of Marseille. They told him that if he would go to Paris, Colbert would make sure that he would not get an audience, since he received letters from the consul in Tunis. The consul himself eventually got hold of the letters that the merchants wrote against him. He called all the merchants to the consulate and threathened to give them 500 lashes and enslave them, if they did not drop their charges against him. He would never be able to abuse his power and to remain in his position, if it were not for the protection of Colbert. In order for Di Seravezza to return to Tunis, he wants Antonio Crocet, a Minor Observant, commissary of Terra Santa and an agent of PF in Marseille, to make the consul pay back the money, and to remove him from the position. The consul also told other rennegades that when he was no longer consul, he was planning on converting. Monsu Prat informs all of this to Colbert, who defends himself by saying that he trusts the letters of the consul, which despite being very well written, are actually full of lies. The consul should work as chaplain (as all consuls used to do), and he should also pay back the goods he took. If he does not, then Prata should be forced to pay it back. He writes that the answer to his letter should be adressed to Luigi Calaman.
Date discussed: 1670-11-10
Additional comments
The nuncio says in APF SOCG 424, 244r (database item 749), that he sent the original letter of Antonio Di Seravezza to PF.
Antonio Di Seravezza
APF SOCG 424, 247r-v
1669-12-01
Adressed to [Pietro Bargellini]
For the minutes of the PF meeting where this matter was discussed, see: APF ACTA 39, 197r, 201r-202v (database item 669).
See for the letter of the nuncio to France, Pietro Bargellini, who sent this letter, adressed to him, to PF: APF SOCG 424, 244r (database item 749).
See for the statement that is mentioned in this letter made by the merchants in Mareilles for Antonio Di Seravezza and against the consul: APF SOCG 430, 247r-v (database item 733).
Original; signed
Italian
Letter
751
Origin: Marseille
Destination: [Paris]
Statement by Delebar, Delorme, Guiraud, Reymond, Boisson, Amarroty, Casthellane about the conflict between Antonio Di Seravezza and Jean Ambrozin, 1669-07-28, Marseille
Tunis
Franciscans
Capuchins
Seravezza case
Statement from Delebar, Delorme, Guiraud, Reymond, Boisson, Amarroty, Casthellane. They declare that Hierosme de Sasseri [Girolamo Da Sassari] and Antoine de Saravezza [Antonio Di Seravezza] were forced to flee from Tunis because of the violent persecution of Jean Ambrozin, the consul in Tunis. Da Sassari had to leave because he demanded that Ambrozin give money to the church. Di Seravezza had to leave for the same reason but also because he wanted to burn a woman that was living with the French consul. In the statement, it is noted that Di Seravezza did many things for the poor Christian slaves, he even went to Malta to secure better treatment for the Turkish slaves there, so that the Turks would treat their Christian slaves better.
Date discussed: 1671-08-06
Additional comments
These people where probably merchants as mentioned in APF SOCG 253r-v (database item 736). Here is also being described that it was Antonio Di Seravezza himself who sent this letter to PF.
Delebar Delorme Guiraud, Reymond Boisson, Amarroty Casthellane
APF SOCG 430 247r-v
1669-07-28
Adressed to [PF]
For the minutes of the PF meeting where this matter was discussed, see: APF ACTA 41 305r, 330r-338r.
Copy
French
Statement
733
Origin: Marseille
Destination: