Lorenzo Campeggi (bishop of Cervia)

Lorenzo Campeggi (1474 – 19 July 1539) was an Italian cardinal and diplomat. He also served as Bishop of Cervia from 1500 to 1518.

Born in Milan to Giovanni Campeggi, a jurist, Lorenzo initially pursued a legal career, studying law in Padua and Bologna. He married Francesca Guastavillani, and they had five children, including Alessandro Campeggi, who also became a cardinal. Following his wife's death in 1509, Campeggi entered the ecclesiastical life.

Campeggi's diplomatic career began under Pope Julius II, who employed him on various missions. He served as a papal nuncio to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and later to England in 1518. Pope Leo X appointed him Cardinal-Deacon of San Tommaso in Parione in 1517. He served as Cardinal-Priest of San Anastasia from 1519.

As bishop of Cervia, Campeggi benefited from its revenues, though his responsibilities were often delegated. He played a significant role in the annulment proceedings of Henry VIII of England's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Initially, Campeggi, along with Cardinal Wolsey, was appointed to hear the case. However, Campeggi, under instructions from the papacy due to political pressure from Charles V, Catherine's nephew, delayed the proceedings and ultimately refused to grant the annulment, much to Henry VIII's frustration.

He later participated in the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, working to achieve a reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants, but without success. Campeggi was appointed bishop of Salisbury in 1534 by Henry VIII, who was unaware that Campeggi had been deprived of his bishopric and titles in England because of his actions during the annulment proceedings. He also served as bishop of Bologna from 1523 to 1525, and again from 1532 until his death. He died in Bologna in 1539.