March 14, 1543: A Very Rare Letter from Pope Marcellus II, Signed As Cardinal, Translated

Pope Marcellus II reigned from the 9^th to the 30^th of April 1555, making his one of the shortest papacies on record. 

Because of this, knowledgeable sources estimate there may be no more than five or six signed documents attributed to him outside of the Vatican.  His is notoriously known as among the rarest of all papal signatures.

The letter is an incredible addition to this Collection.  With its acquisition the Papal Artifacts includes all but five popes in the past five centuries.

The Letter

The letter is signed by him as Cardinal of  Santa Croce in Jerusalem, (Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme) from Forli 14.3.1543 to Cardinal Rodolfo Pio from Carpi.

Full Text:

My Reverend Father, Illustrious and most respected Lord

The fifteen scudi per month at the behest of our Lord given

By Sir Egidio Zefiro to the Archbishop Goto, are not given

[this time] because with this reliance he should put himself

On his way to the place of the Council, and in order to help

Him when he will stop in Rome, where he should not move—

Having been the Council concluded since a long time—until

Further orders from his Holiness which, as they made clear,

I believe that his Holiness won’t hesitate to increase his

Commission as I already wrote in more detail to the

Archbishop and could not anything further, except to say

That I will always do anything for your benefit, to his soon

Holiness and Cardinal Farnese of ours, as I did until today.

To your Reverend Lordship I humbly commend myself to You

                                                      From Forli, the XIIII of March 1543

                       On the Backside:

To the Reverend and Illustrios Lord of mine, most respected
Monseigneur the Cardinal of Carpi, legate, etc.
In Rome
[note of the chancellery]
1543 18th of March, Rome
From Forlì 14 as indicated from Cardinal of Saint Cross
Response on behalf of the Archbishop Gotho