Showing posts with label Pope Pius IV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pope Pius IV. Show all posts

7 January 2020

Pope Gregory XIII

Pontiff used his power to change the date overnight


Pope Gregory XIII took his papal name in honour of another reformer, Gregory I
Pope Gregory XIII took his papal name in
honour of another reformer, Gregory I
Pope Gregory XIII was born Ugo Boncompagni on this day in 1502 in Bologna.

Gregory XIII is chiefly remembered for bringing in the Gregorian calendar, which is still the internationally accepted calendar today.

As Ugo Boncompagni, he studied law in Bologna and graduated in 1530. He later taught jurisprudence and among his students were the Cardinals Alessandro Farnese and Carlo Borromeo.

Before he took holy orders, Ugo had an affair with Maddalena Fulchini, who gave birth to his illegitimate son, Giacomo Boncompagni.

Pope Paul III summoned Ugo to Rome in 1538 to work for him in a judicial capacity. He went on to work for Pope Paul IV and Pope Pius IV. Ugo was made Cardinal Priest of San Sisto Vecchio and sent to the Council of Trent by Pius IV.

He was also sent to be legate to Phillip II of Spain and formed a close relationship with the Spanish King.

In 1572, after the death of Pope Pius V, the 70-year-old Cardinal Boncompagni was chosen to be the next pope and assumed the name of Gregory XIII, in homage to Pope Gregory I, who is remembered as a great church reformer.

Mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius was co-writer of the calendar
Mathematician and astronomer Christopher
Clavius was co-writer of the calendar
Following in his namesake’s footsteps, Gregory XIII dedicated himself to reforming the Catholic Church and putting into practice the recommendations of the Council of Trent.

The Roman College of the Jesuits grew under his direction and became an important centre of learning. It is now known as the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Gregory XIII is best known for replacing the Julian calendar, which had been in use since 45 BC, with the calendar produced by astronomer Luigi Giglio and the German Jesuit priest, mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius, making the year slightly shorter.

In the Julian calendar, each year was too long, meaning that the March equinox had slipped back to an earlier date over the centuries.

The Pope decreed in 1582 that the day after Thursday, 4 October would be Friday, 15 October. The new calendar became known as the Gregorian calendar and is now used universally.

Gregory XIII encouraged Phillip II of Spain in his plans to dethrone Elizabeth I of England, causing English Protestants to regard all Catholics as potential traitors.

Detail of the monument to Pope Gregory VIII in the Basilica of St Peter in Rome
Detail of the monument to Pope Gregory VIII in the
Basilica of St Peter in Rome
He equipped an expedition to Ireland to help the Catholics in their struggle with the Protestants, but all the soldiers, sailors and women and children on board the boat were either beheaded or hanged on landing in Kerry, during what became known as the Smerwick Massacre.

In Rome, Gregory XIII had work completed on the magnificent Gregorian Chapel in the Basilica of Saint Peter and extended the Quirinale palace. He appointed his illegitimate son, Giacomo, as Castellan of Sant’Angelo and Gonfalonier of the Church. Venice enrolled Giacomo among its nobles and Phillip II made him one of his army generals. Gregory also helped his son acquire the Duchy of Sora on the border between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples.

To fund these projects, Gregory XIII confiscated houses and properties belonging to the church.

Pope Gregory XIII became ill with a fever in 1585 and died on 10 April, aged 83. He was succeeded by Pope Sixtus V, who found the papacy had been left considerably impoverished.


The campanile of the Basilica of San Sisto Vecchia, where Gregory XIII was priest
The campanile of the Basilica of San Sisto
Vecchia, where Gregory XIII was priest
Travel tip:

The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchia in Piazzale Numa Pompilo in Rome, where Pope Gregory XIII was Cardinal Priest for seven years, is one of 60 minor basilicas in the city. The basilica was built near the Baths of Caracalla in the fourth century and is dedicated to Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred in 258. His relics were transferred to the church from the Catacomb of Callixtus in the sixth century. San Sisto was rebuilt in the 13th century and restored in the 18th century, preserving only the bell tower, apse and a 13th century fresco cycle from the medieval church.

The dome of the Gregorian Chapel, finished by Giacomo della Porta, in St Peter's Basilica
The dome of the Gregorian Chapel, finished by Giacomo
della Porta, in St Peter's Basilica
Travel tip:

Pope Gregory XIII commissioned the architect Giacomo della Porta to complete the work started by Michelangelo on the chapel in St Peter’s Basilica that was to be named after the pontiff. It has been described as ‘the most beautiful chapel in the world’ because of its marbles, mother-of-pearl, precious stones, gilded bronze, multi-coloured mosaics and stucco ornamentation. The monument to Pope Gregory XIII in white marble, executed by Milanese sculptor Camillo Rusconi, is in the Basilica near the entrance to the Gregorian Chapel. The Pope is portrayed giving his blessing on top of an urn bearing a relief showing the promulgation of the Gregorian calendar in 1852.

Also on this day:

1625: The death of religious composer Ruggiero Giovanelli

1655: The death of Pope Innocent X

1797: The tricolore flag is hoisted for the first time

1920: The birth of actor Vincent Gardenia


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22 November 2018

Alfonso II d’Este – Duke of Ferrara

Tasso’s patron raised Ferrara to the height of its glory


Alfonso II d'Este, a portrait by Girolamo da Carpi
Alfonso II d'Este, a portrait by
Girolamo da Carpi
Alfonso II d’Este, who was to be the last Duke of Ferrara, was born on this day in 1533 in Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna.

Famous as the protector of the poet Torquato Tasso, Alfonso II also took a keen interest in music.  He was also the sponsor of the philosopher Cesare Cremonini, who was a friend of both Tasso and the scientist and astronomer Galileo Galilei.

Although he was married three times, he failed to provide an heir for the Duchy.

Alfonso was the eldest son of Ercole II d’Este and RenĂ©e de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France.

As a young man, Alfonso fought in the service of Henry II of France against the Habsburgs but soon after he became Duke in 1559 he was forced by Pope Pius IV to send his mother back to France because she was a Calvinist.

In 1583 he joined forces with the Emperor Rudolf II in his war against the Turks in Hungary.

Alfonso II was proficient in Latin and French as well as Italian and like his ancestors before him encouraged writers and artists. He welcomed the poet Tasso to his court in Ferrara and he wrote some of his most important poetry while living there, including his epic poem, Gerusalemme Liberata.

As a young man, Alfonso fought in the service of Henry II of France
As a young man, Alfonso fought in the
service of Henry II of France
He was also the patron of poet and dramatist Giovanni Battista Guarini and professor of natural philosophy, Cesare Cremonini.

The composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi served as his court organist and Alfonso II sponsored the concerto delle donne, a group of professional female singers who became renowned for their technical and artistic virtuosity. Their success revolutionised the role of women in professional music, inspiring other, similar groups to be set up in the powerful courts in Italy.

Alfonso II raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point during his reign and had the Castello Estense restored after it suffered earthquake damage in 1570.

After his death in 1597, Alfonso II’s cousin, Cesare d’Este, was recognised as his heir by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. However, Pope Clement VIII refused to recognise Cesare d’Este on the grounds of ‘doubtful legitimacy’ and incorporated Ferrara into the Papal States in 1598. Cesare d’Este and his family were obliged to leave the city and the government of Ferrara was turned over to the Cardinal Legate.

Alfonso II is believed to be the Duke of Ferrara that the poem, My Last Duchess, was based on, written by the English poet, Robert Browning, and published in 1842.

Work on the Castello Estense  began in 1385
Work on the Castello Estense
began in 1385
Travel tip:

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, about 50 kilometres to the north east of Bologna. It was ruled by the Este family between 1240 and 1598. Building work on the magnificent Este Castle in the centre of the city began in 1385 and it was added to and improved by successive rulers of Ferrara until the Este line ended with the death of Alfonso II d’Este.

Hotels in Ferrara by Booking.com



The Monastero del Corpus Domini
The Monastero del
Corpus Domini
Travel tip:

Alfonso II was buried in the Monastero del Corpus Domini in Via Pergolato in the centre of Ferrara, which was founded first as a house for penitent women and then became a Franciscan convent for Poor Clares in 1431. It is the burial place of many other members of the Este family, including Lucrezia Borgia, who was the wife of Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara.

More reading:

Why Cesare Cremonini refused to look through Galileo's telescope

How Torquato Tasso came to be seen as Italy's greatest Remaissance poet

Galileo Galilei: The founder of modern science

Also on this day:

1710: The death of composer Bernardo Pasquini

2 October 2016

Saint Charles Borromeo

Great reformer earned appreciation after his death


This painting of Charles Borromeo is in the St. Hermes Church in Ronse, Belgium
This painting of Charles Borromeo is in the St.
Hermes Church in Ronse, Belgium
Charles (Carlo) Borromeo, a leading Catholic figure who led the movement to combat the spread of Protestantism, was born on this day in Milan in 1538. 

Part of the noble Borromeo family, he became a Cardinal and brought in many reforms to benefit the Church, which made him unpopular at the time.

But he was held in high regard after his death and was quickly made a saint by Pope Paul V.

Borromeo was born at the Castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, near Milan. His father was Count of Arona and his mother was part of the Medici family.

He was educated in civil and canon law at the University of Pavia.

When his uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Medici became Pope Pius IV in 1559, Borromeo was brought to Rome and given a post in the Vatican.

The following year the Pope made him a Cardinal and asked him to supervise the Franciscans, Carmelites and Knights of Malta and organise the last session of the Council of Trent, which was being held in Trento to reform the Church and counter the spread of Protestantism.  The Council issued a long list of decrees covering disputed aspects of the Catholic religion as well as denouncing what it considered to be heresies committed in the name of Protestantism.

When Borromeo’s older brother died, the family wanted him to leave the Church and marry and have children to continue the family name, but he would not give up his calling.

However, the death of his brother and also his contact with the Jesuits encouraged him to lead a stricter, more Christian life.

Borromeo was made a bishop in the Sistine Chapel in 1563 and became Archbishop of Milan in 1565.

The colossal statue of Charles Borromeo in his home town of Arona on Lake Maggiore
The colossal statue of Charles Borromeo
in his home town of Arona on Lake Maggiore
Before he left Rome, where he had personally overseen church reforms, a nobleman remarked that the city was ‘no longer a place to enjoy oneself or make a fortune’.

Borromeo also reformed Milan after he arrived, simplifying church interiors, clearing away ornaments and banners and separating the sexes during worship.

He believed that many abuses in the church were caused by the ignorance of the clergymen and he established seminaries for the education of candidates for holy orders.

His reforms met with some opposition and a shot was once fired at him when he was in his own chapel. His survival was later considered to be miraculous.

When famine and plague struck Milan, Borromeo used all his own money and then got himself into debt in order to feed the hungry.

He faced increasing opposition while trying to implement the reforms to the Church dictated by the Council of Trent, but in 1584 he became ill with fever and died soon afterwards at the age of just 46.

Even a biographer who admired him described him as an ‘austere, humourless and uncompromising personality.’

But after Borromeo’s death his popularity increased and he was canonised in 1610 and eventually became venerated as a Saint of Learning and the Arts all over the world.

His nephew, Federico Borromeo, furthered his uncle’s support for learning by founding the Ambrosian Library in Milan.

Many churches, colleges, seminaries and even cities throughout the world have been named after Charles Borromeo.  The city of Saint Charles in Louisiana, for example, is named after him, as is the Brazilian city of SĂ£o Carlos.

Travel tip:

Arona, where Charles Borromeo was born, is a town on Lake Maggiore in the province of Novara. One of its main sights is the Sancarlone, a giant statue of Saint Charles Borromeo made from bronze. It is second in size only to the Statue of Liberty and is believed to have been looked at by the architects of the Statue of Liberty when they were producing their own design.

The Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan
Travel tip:

The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Piazza Pio XI in Milan was established in 1618 to house paintings, drawing and statues donated to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, a library founded in the same building by Cardinal Federico Borromeo a few years before. In addition to works of art, the museum keeps curiosities such as the gloves Napoleon wore at Waterloo and a lock of Lucrezia Borgia’s hair, in front of which famous poets such as Lord Byron and Gabriele D’Annunzio spent a lot of time drawing inspiration. Visit www.leonardo-ambrosiana.it for more information.

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