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Pope Leo XI

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Pope

Leo XI
Bishop of Rome
Leo XI in a 1605 engraving
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began1 April 1605
Papacy ended27 April 1605
PredecessorClement VIII
SuccessorPaul V
Orders
Ordination22 July 1567
byAntonio Altoviti
ConsecrationMarch 1573
byFrancisco Pacheco de Villena (Toledo)
Created cardinal12 December 1583
byGregory XIII
Personal details
Born
Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici

2 June 1535
Florence,Duchy of Florence
Died27 April 1605(1605-04-27)(aged 69)
Rome,Papal States
Previous post(s)
Coat of armsLeo XI's coat of arms
Other popes named Leo

Pope Leo XI(Italian:Leone XI;2 June 1535 – 27 April 1605), bornAlessandro Ottaviano de' Medici,was head of theCatholic Churchand ruler of thePapal Statesfrom 1 April 1605 to his death, on 27 April 1605.[1]His pontificate is one of the briefest in history, having lasted under a month. He was from the prominentHouse of Medicioriginating fromFlorence.[2]Medici's mother opposed his entering the priesthood and sought to prevent it by having him given secular honours, but after her death he eventually was ordained a priest in 1567. In his career he served asFlorence's ambassador to the pope,Bishop of Pistoia,Archbishop of Florence,Papal legatetoFrance,and as the cardinal Prefect for theCongregation of Bishops and Regulars.He was elected to the papacy in theMarch 1605 papal conclaveand served as pope for 27 days.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici was born inFlorence[3]as the son ofOttaviano de' Mediciand FrancescaSalviati.His family belonged toMedici di Ottajano,a cadet branch of theHouse of Medici.He was also the great-nephew ofPope Leo X.Ottaviano died early in his son’s life, and thereafter Alessandro was home schooled by aDominicanpriest, Vincenzo Ercolano.[4]

Alessandro felt the call to the priesthood, but his mother opposed this since he was the only male in the family. She sent him instead to the court of theGrand Duke of Tuscany,who appointed him aknight of San Stefano.In 1560 he travelled toRomewhere he commenced a lifelong friendship and collaboration withPhilip Neri,the future saint. It was Philip who predicted that Alessandro would ascend to the pontificate. His mother died in 1566, at which point he resumed his studies to become a priest. His ordination took place on 22 July 1567.[5]

Priesthood[edit]

Tomb of Leo XI inSt. Peter's Basilica,byAlessandro Algardi

Alessandro served as the FlorentineambassadortoPope Pius Vfrom 1569 to 1584 and in 1573 was appointed byPope Gregory XIIIBishop of Pistoia.In March 1573 he received episcopal consecration in Rome. In 1574 he was madeArchbishop of Florence.[6]

In 1583 he was made acardinalby Pope Sixtus V and on 9 January 1584 received the title of Cardinal-Priest ofSanti Quirico e Giulitta,after a titular church previously known asSan Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane.In later years, according to custom he would opt for other titular churches.[3][7]

In 1596Pope Clement VIIIsent Alessandro as apapal legatetoFrance,where he remained until 1598, when he received word of his appointment as Prefect of theCongregation of Bishops and Regulars.[8]

Pontificate[edit]

Papal election[edit]

Main article:Papal conclave, March 1605

On 14 March 1605, eleven days after the death of Clement VIII, 62 cardinals entered theconclave.Prominent among the candidates for the papacy were the greathistorianCaesar Baroniusand the famousJesuitcontroversialistRobert Bellarmine,future saint.

ButPietro Aldobrandini,the leader of the Italian party among the cardinals, allied with the French cardinals and brought about the election of Alessandro against the express wish of KingPhilip III of Spain.KingHenry IV of Franceis said to have spent 300,000écusin the promotion of Alessandro's candidacy.[9]

On 1 April 1605, Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici was elected as pope. He chose to be called Leo XI in honor of his unclePope Leo X.[3]He wascrownedon 10 April 1605 by theprotodeacon,CardinalFrancesco Sforzaand he took possession of theBasilica of Saint John Lateranon 17 April 1605.

Death[edit]

When he was elected, Leo XI was almost 70 years of age, and he died 27 days later.[10]His death came as a result of fatigue and cold in the ceremony of taking possession of theBasilica of St John Lateranon 17 April; he started suffering from afeverthe following day.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Leo XI".Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  2. ^"List of Popes,"Catholic Encyclopedia(2009); retrieved 2013-3-15.
  3. ^abcHerbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Pope Leo XI".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  4. ^Richard P. McBrien,Lives of the Popes,(HarperCollins, 2000), 298.
  5. ^"Pope Leo XI". Saints SQPN.{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url=(help)
  6. ^Richard P. McBrien,Lives of the Popes,298.
  7. ^Cornelison, Sallyj (5 July 2017).Art and the Relic Cult of St. Antoninus in Renaissance Florence.Routledge. p. 126.ISBN9781351575645.
  8. ^Levillain, Philippe, ed. (2002)."Leo XI".The Papacy: An Encyclopedia.Vol. 2. p. 929.ISBN9780415922289.
  9. ^Duffy, Eamon (2006).Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes.Yale University Press. p. 236.ISBN0300115970.
  10. ^George L. Williams,Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes,(McFarland & Company, 1998), 75.

External links[edit]

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Pope
1–27 April 1605 		Succeeded by


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