He was born in
Rome, the eldest son of
Maffeo Barberini and
Olimpia Giustiniani (a niece of
Pope Innocent X), the nephew of cardinal
Carlo Barberini and the grandson of
Taddeo Barberini (a nephew of
Pope Urban VIII). He was the grand-nephew of
Cardinal Francesco Barberini who was also a nephew of Pope Urban. Francesco was also a cousin of
Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena whose mother was his aunt,
Lucrezia Barberini. He gave up his birthright (as eldest son) for an
ecclesiastic career thereby making his brother,
Urbano Barberini, heir to the Barberini estate. When his sister-in-law, Felice Ventimiglia Pignatelli d'Aragona separated from Urbano, she sought refuge with Francesco and joined a convent within his bishopric. She later bequeathed her dowry to the Cardinal. He was created cardinal by
Pope Alexander VIII on 13 November 1690 with the dispensation of having an uncle (
Carlo Barberini) in the Sacred College and for not having yet received the minor orders. He became
dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in December 1734. He died at his Roman palace, at the age of 75. ==Patron of the Arts==