Pope Benedict XIV

Benedict XIV Pope (Prospero Lambertini) was born March 31, 1675, at Bologna. On Dec. 9, 1726, while Bishop of Ancona, he was created Cardinal by Pope Benedict XIII., and in 1731 returned to Bologna as Archbishop. He was elected Pope in 1740, and died at Rome May 2, 1758. He was an able, learned, and pious man, an excellent administrator and an authority on liturgical and hymnological matters. In vol. vi., Rome, 1751, of his Opera he published the full text of the Offices for the Maternity and the Purity of the B. V. M. Presumably, therefore, the hymns of these Offices are by him. See further notes on (1) Coelo Redemptor, (2) O stella Jacob, (3) Praeclara custos, and (4) Te mater. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)