Baptized on 9 April 1735, von Harras graduated from the
Gregoriana in Rome on 29 March 1757 - at that time he was living in the
German College. On 18 February 1758 he became a priest and an auditor of the
Roman Rota. He also served as
Austria's ambassador to the Holy See. He was made a cardinal on 12 July 1779 by
Pope Pius VI and 11 December 1780 granted the
titular church of
San Girolamo degli Schiavoni. On 13 September 1782 he was made cardinal priest of
Santi Nereo e Achilleo and on 7 April 1788 cardinal priest of
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. On 7 April 1788 he was made
Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals. He served as
imperial commissioner at the
papal conclave of 1799 to 1800, presenting
Francis II's objections to the selection of Cardinals
Hyacinthe Sigismond Gerdil and
Carlo Antonio Giuseppe Bellisomi. This was handled by Cardinal Herzan without the use of the formal veto, but by collecting a sufficient number of votes to deny the candidate under consideration the two-thirds vote that he needed to be elected (the 'virtual veto'). That conclave selected
pope Pius VII, who on 12 May 1800 made von Harras bishop of
Szombathely - his appointment ceremony took place on Sunday 18 May 1800 in the monastic
church of San Giorgio Maggiore in
Venice. ==References==