Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti

Who was Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti?

Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti was a Cardinal and theologian of the Roman Catholic Church.

Gotti was born in Bologna. Educated by Jesuits, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of sixteen. After studies in Salamanca in Spain, he was assigned to teach theology and philosophy at various schools of the Dominican Order. In 1688 Gotti was professor of philosophy at the Dominican College of Saint Thomas, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum. He also taught in Mantua and Bologna.

In 1708, Gotti was elected Prior of the Dominican monastery in Bologna. On April 30, 1728, Pope Benedict XIII made him Cardinal Priest and appointed him Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Together with Charles René Billuart, Gotti was the leading proponent of the Thomistic school in his time. His writings include several polemics against Lutherans and Calvinism as well as commentaries on Thomas Aquinas.

Gotti was seen as a serious contender to be elected Pope at the Papal conclave of 1740, when Cardinal Lambertini said to the College of Cardinals "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti; a statesman, Aldrovandi; an honest man, me".