| Honorific-Prefix: | Bishop |
| Federico Maria Zinelli | |
| Bishop of Treviso | |
| Diocese: | Treviso |
| Appointed: | 23 August 1861 |
| Term End: | 24 November 1879 |
| Predecessor: | Giovanni Antonio Farina |
| Successor: | Giuseppe Callegari |
| Ordination: | 26 December 1827 |
| Consecration: | 9 February 1862 |
| Consecrated By: | Giuseppe Luigi Trevisanato |
| Rank: | Bishop |
| Birth Date: | 23 June 1805 |
| Birth Place: | Venice, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia |
| Death Date: | 24 November 1879 (aged 74) |
| Death Place: | Treviso, Kingdom of Italy |
Federico Maria Zinelli (23 June 1805 – 24 November 1879) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, from 1861 until his death as bishop of Treviso.
A member of the De Fide Commission, Zinelli wrote the third chapter of Pastor aeternus, which defines the doctrine of papal infallibility.
Of noble birth in Venice, Zinelli was ordained a deacon on 22 September 1827 and a priest on 26 December 1827. He became known for his high culture and rigid theological positions.[1]
In 1832, Zinelli published Dei due metodi analitico e sintetico ("Of the two methods analytical and synthetic").[2] He became director of the seminary of Venice, then canon theologian of St Mark's Basilica and vicar general of the Patriarchate of Venice.[1] On 23 August 1861, the Habsburg government of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia nominated him as bishop of Treviso, to succeed Giovanni Antonio Farina, and the appointment was confirmed by Pope Pius IX on 30 September.[3]
Zinelli took part in the First Vatican Council in Rome between 1869 and 1870, interrupted by the Capture of Rome by the forces of Raffaele Cadorna during the Risorgimento. He was appointed as a member of the De Fide Commission, chaired by Luigi Maria Cardinal Bilio, and was the author of the third chapter of Pastor aeternus, which defines the doctrine of papal infallibility.[4]
In April 1875, Zinelli appointed Giuseppe Sarto (the future Pope Pius X) as chancellor of his diocese. In the summer of the same year he was struck down by apoplexy and was almost unable to continue as a bishop.[5] However, he continued in office until his death in 1879, when Giuseppe Sarto issued the following statement:
The body of Zinelli was buried first in a tomb within the new church of Santa Bona di Treviso, which he had had built. In 1931, his remains were moved to the chapel of Our Lady in Treviso Cathedral and are now with those of other bishops of Treviso in the crypt.