Alessandro Ciceri

Alessandro Ciceri, S.J. (28 May 1639 – 22 December 1703), also known as Alessandro Cicero, was an Italian Roman Catholic Jesuit who served as Bishop of Nanking (1694–1703).

Biography Alessandro Ciceri was born in Como on 28 May 1639 and ordained a priest in the Society of Jesus on 10 Oct 1655. He was a relative of Pope Innocent XII. In 1689, he arrived in Asia spending time in Japan and China. Nicolai was not consecrated perhaps due to the fact that the two bishops in China at the time were under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese monarch and Nicolai was named without their approval. Despite the prior nomination of Spinola (who was still en route to China), the King of Portugal, John V, on 3 Oct 1693 selected Ciceri as Bishop of Nanking which was confirmed by Pope Innocent XII on 25 Jan 1694 (Spinola died before reaching China on June 28, 1694).

In 1696, after complaints from the Propaganda Fide, Pope Innocent XII reached a new agreement with the Portuguese monarch which limited the jurisdiction of the three dioceses under Portuguese control (Macau, Nanking, Beijing) to two provinces each and allowed the Vatican to establish Apostolic Vicariates under its direct control in the remaining provinces of China. The Diocese of Nanking now consisted of Jiangnan Province (the present day provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shanghai) and Ho-nan province. Five new vicariates under the jurisdiction of the Propaganda Fide were created.

On 22 Dec 1703, Cerci died in Nanking.