Pope Clement IX
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2014) |
Clement X | |
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Orders | |
Consecration | 29 March 1644 by Antonio Marcello Barberini |
Created cardinal | 9 April 1657 by Alexander VII |
Personal details | |
Born | Giulio Rospigliosi 28 January 1600 |
Died | 9 December 1669 Rome, Papal States | (aged 69)
Previous post(s) |
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Motto | Aliis non sibi Clemens ("Clement to others, not to himself") |
Coat of arms | |
Other popes named Clement |
Pope Clement IX (
Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Rospigliosi family in 1600 and studied at the Seminario Romano and the University of Pisa. He held various positions in the Church, including Titular Archbishop of Tarsus and Apostolic Nuncio to Spain. As a man of letters, he wrote poetry, dramas, and libretti, and was a patron of the artist Nicolas Poussin.
Appointed as a cardinal by Pope Alexander VII, Rospigliosi was elected as Pope Clement IX in 1667. His pontificate was marked by mediation during European wars, and his popularity in Rome stemmed from his charity, humility, and refusal to advance his family's wealth. He beatified Rose of Lima and canonized Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi and Peter of Alcántara, while also creating 12 new cardinals.
Clement IX was a patron of the arts, commissioning works from Gian Lorenzo Bernini and opening the first public opera house in Rome. He attempted to strengthen Venetian defenses against the Turks in Crete, but was unsuccessful in gaining wider support. In 1669, after learning about the Venetian fortress of Candia surrendering to the Turks, Clement IX fell ill and died.
Biography
Early life and education
Giulio Rospigliosi was born in 1600 to the Rospigliosi family, a noble family of Pistoia in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to Giacomo and Caterina Rospigliosi. He studied at the Seminario Romano and later at the University of Pisa as a pupil of the Jesuits, receiving doctorates in theology, philosophy and both canon and civil law in 1623. After receiving his doctorates, he taught theology there as a professor from 1623 to 1625.
Episcopate and cardinalate
Later Rospigliosi worked closely with
Rospigliosi was an accomplished man of letters who wrote poetry, dramas and
Pope Alexander VII appointed him to the cardinalate in 1657 as the Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto Vecchio and was also appointed as the Cardinal Secretary of State in 1655 which he held until 1667.[1]
Pontificate
Papal election
Papal styles of Pope Clement IX | |
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His Holiness | |
Spoken style | Your Holiness |
Religious style | Holy Father |
Posthumous style | None |
The new pope was
When asked about Rospigliosi becoming pope, Cardinal Francesco Albizzi said: "Urban turned the Holy See into a bank; Innocent into a brothel; Alexander into a tavern; this one will make a playhouse of it". Albizzi also alluded to Rospigliosi's passion for music and said, "He will emasculate the Sacred College by giving the hat to all the castrated singers in Europe!"[4] When elected, Rospigliosi received all but two votes since he voted for another while Cardinal Neri Corsini voted for Cardinal Flavio Chigi.
Actions
Nothing remarkable occurred under Clement IX's short administration beyond the temporary adjustment of the disputes between the
.He was popular with the people of Rome, not so much for his erudition and application to business, as for his extreme charity and his affability towards great and small. He increased the goodwill of his subjects by buying off the monopolist who had secured the "macinato", or privilege of selling grain, and as his predecessor had collected the money for the purpose, Clement IX had the decree published in the name of Alexander VII. Two days each week he occupied a confessional in St. Peter's Basilica and heard any one who wished to confess to him. He frequently visited the hospitals, and was lavish in his alms to the poor. In an age of nepotism, he did little or nothing to advance or enrich his family. In his aversion to notoriety, he refused to permit his name to be placed on the buildings erected during his reign.[1]
Other actions
Clement IX confirmed the cultus of
He elevated 12 new cardinals in three consistories; this included Emilio Bonaventura Altieri who would succeed him as Pope Clement X.
Art reforms
As pope, Clement IX continued his interest in the arts. He embellished the city of Rome with famous works commissioned from
Defence against the Turks
Clement IX worked to strengthen Venetian defences against the Turks on the island of Crete. However, he was unable to get wider support for this cause. At the end of October 1669, Clement IX fell ill after receiving news that the Venetian fortress of Candia in Crete had surrendered to the Turks.
Death and burial
Clement IX died in Rome, allegedly of a broken heart, on 9 December 1669. His successor, Pope Clement X (r. 1670–1676), built him an ornate tomb in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Clement IX was seriously ill throughout the
Following his death, the Florentine agent in Rome, writing to Grand Duke
Artistic works
Libretti
- for Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger: I Pastori di Betlemme (1630)
- for Stefano Landi: Il Sant'Alessio (1631–2, 1634)
- for Michele Angelo Rossi: Erminia sul Giordano (1633)
- for (composer unknown): I Santi Didimo e Teodora (1635, 1636)
- for Marco Marazzoli and Virgilio Mazzocchi: Chi Soffre, Speri (1637, 1639)
- for Aurelio Aureli: La Sincerità Trionfante (1638, 1639)
- for Virgilio Mazzocchi: Il San Bonifazio (1638, 1639)
- for Virgilio Mazzocchi: La Genoinda (1641)
- for Luigi Rossi: Il Palazzo Incantato (1642)
- for Virgilio Mazzocchi: Il Sant'Eustachio (1643)
- for Antonio Maria Abbatini and Marco Marazzoli: Dal Male Il Bene (1654, 1656)
- for Marco Marazzoli: Le Armi e Gli Amori (1656)
- for Antonio Maria Abbatini: La Comica del Cielo (1668)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c "Loughlin, James. "Pope Clement IX". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 9 Sept. 2014".
- ^ Roger Parker (ed.): The Oxford illustrated history of opera. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1994, p. 18 f.
- ^ Wolfgang Witzenmann: Article “Mazzocchi, Virgilio.” In: Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed July 6, 2016.
- ^ a b "Pope Clement IX: Proceedings of the Conclave that led to his election". Pickle Publishing. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ John Paul Adams (24 June 2015). "Sede Vacante 1669-1670". CSUN. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
References
- Rendina, Claudio (1993). I papi. Storia e segreti. Rome: Newton & Compton.
- Murata, Margaret (1981). Operas for the Papal Court, 1631–1668. UMI Research Press.
External links
- Media related to Pope Clement IX at Wikimedia Commons
- Works by or about Clement IX at Wikisource
- Notes on 20th-century productions of Rospigliosi's operatic works
- Banca dati Giulio Rospigliosi, maintained by Danilo Romei