Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti

Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti (September 5, 1664 – September 18, 1742) was a Cardinal and theologian of the Roman Catholic Church.

Gotti was born in Bologna. Educated by Jesuits, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of sixteen. After studies in Salamanca in Spain, he was assigned to various posts teaching theology and philosophy first in Mantua and then in Bologna in Italy. In 1708, he was elected Prior of the Dominican monastery in Bologna. On April 30, 1728, Pope Benedict XIII made him Cardinal Priest and appointed him Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Together with Charles René Billuart, Gotti was the leading proponent of the Thomistic school in his time. His writings include several polemics against Lutherans and Calvinism as well as commentaries on Thomas Aquinas.

Gotti was seen as a serious contender to be elected Pope at the Papal conclave of 1740, when Cardinal Lambertini said to the College of Cardinals "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti; a statesman, Aldrovandi; an honest man, me".