Achille Grassi was born in
Bologna on 16 February 1456, the son of Baldassarre Grassi, a Bolognese
patrician, and Orsina Bocchi. He attended the
University of Bologna, becoming a
doctor of both laws in 1478. He was also a
canon of the
cathedral chapter of
Bologna Cathedral. He then travelled to
Rome, joining his uncle Antonio, who was an
auditor of the
Roman Rota. When his uncle died in 1491,
Pope Innocent VIII appointed him an auditor of the Roman Rota. In 1503, he became a
chaplain of
Pope Julius II. The pope also named him
rector of San Clemente,
San Giovanni in Persiceto. He then became a
Referendary in the
Roman Curia. He was
consecrated as a
bishop in Rome by Pope Julius II on 13 February 1506. The next day, he was elected
Bishop of Città di Castello. He occupied this see until 1516, when he resigned in favour of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, the future
Pope Clement VII. In 1507, the pope sent him and Cardinal
Antonio Pallavicini Gentili as
nuncios to
Louis XII of France, who was then in
Genoa, to encourage him to make peace with
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1508, after
Giovanni II Bentivoglio's plot to poison the pope was discovered, Grassi was despatched to the
Kingdom of France to ask Louis XII to withdraw his protection of Bentivoglio; Bishop Grassi was successful in carrying out this mission. In 1509, he was nuncio to
Switzerland, especially
Bern to acquire soldiers for use in the
War of the League of Cambrai. In 1510, he was nuncio to the Emperor,
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, and
Sigismund I the Old asking for troops to use against the
Ottoman Empire and addressing other issues facing the
Kingdom of Poland. Pope Julius II made him a
cardinal priest in the
consistory of 10 March 1511. He received the
red hat on 13 March 1511 and the
titular church of
San Sisto Vecchio on 17 March 1511. On 30 May 1511, he was transferred to the
see of Bologna; he occupied this see until 8 January 1518, when he resigned in favour of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici. He remained administrator of the see for the rest of his life. He participated in the
papal conclave of 1513 that elected
Pope Leo X. In November 1514, the new pope named him
legate extraordinary to the
Kingdom of England. He opted for the titular church of
Santa Maria in Trastevere on 6 July 1517. He was
Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals from 1517 to 8 January 1518. He was named also
bishop of
Pomesania on 9 August 1521; he occupied this see until his death. He participated in both the
papal conclave of 1521-22 that elected
Pope Adrian VI and the
papal conclave of 1523 that elected
Pope Clement VII. He died in Rome on 22 November 1523, three days after the election of Pope Clement VII. He was buried in
Santa Maria in Trastevere. ==References==