Pope Gregory XIII
Sixtus V | |
---|---|
Orders | |
Ordination | 31 July 1558 by Girolamo Maccabei |
Consecration | 6 August 1558 by Girolamo Maccabei |
Created cardinal | 12 March 1565 by Pius IV |
Personal details | |
Born | Ugo Boncompagni 7 January 1502 |
Died | 10 April 1585 (aged 83) Rome, Papal States |
Previous post(s) |
|
Alma mater | University of Bologna |
Motto | Aperuit et clausit ("Opened and closed") |
Signature | |
Coat of arms | |
Other popes named Gregory |
Papal styles of Pope Gregory XIII | |
---|---|
His Holiness | |
Spoken style | Your Holiness |
Religious style | Holy Father |
Posthumous style | None |
Pope Gregory XIII (
Early biography
Youth
Ugo Boncompagni was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni (10 July 1470 – 1546) and of his wife, Angela Marescalchi, in Bologna,[1] where he studied law and graduated in 1530.[2] He later taught jurisprudence for some years, and his students included notable figures such as Cardinals Alexander Farnese, Reginald Pole and Charles Borromeo. He had an illegitimate son after an affair with Maddalena Fulchini, Giacomo Boncompagni, but before he took holy orders, making him the last Pope to have left issue.[3]
Career before papacy
At the age of 36 he was summoned to Rome by
In the year 1552 Ugo Boncompagni confirmed the paternity of his son Giacomo (or Jacopo). As stated in the online Archivio Digitale Boncompagni Ludovisi: "One of the most valuable items to emerge from the new archival finds from the
He also served as a legate to Philip II of Spain (1556–1598), being sent by the Pope to investigate the Archbishop of Toledo Bartolomé Carranza. He formed a lasting and close relationship with the Spanish king, which aided his foreign policy aims as Pope.[citation needed]
Election as pope
After Pope Pius V (1566–1572) died, the
Pontificate
Reform of the Church
Once in the chair of
Gregory XIII also established the
Formation of clergy and promotion of the arts and sciences
Gregory XIII was a generous patron of the
In 1575 he gave official status to the
Gregory also transformed the Dominican studium founded in the 13th century at Rome into the College of St. Thomas in 1580, as recommended by the Council of Trent. This college was the precursor of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas Angelicum.
The Gregorian calendar
Pope Gregory XIII is best known for commissioning the
Gregory subsequently decreed, by the papal bull Inter gravissimas of 24 February 1582, that the day after Thursday, 4 October 1582 would be the fifteenth, not the fifth, of October. The new calendar replaced the Julian calendar, which had been used since 45 BC. Because of Gregory's involvement, the new calendar came to be known as the Gregorian calendar, and has been almost universally adopted.
Much of the populace bitterly opposed this reform; they feared it was an attempt by landlords to cheat them out of a week and a half's rent. However, the Catholic countries of
However, more than a century passed before
The Gregorian calendar was not accepted in
Foreign policy
Though he feared the invasion of Europe by the
In 1578, to further the plans of exiled English and Irish Catholics such as
Another papal expedition sailed to Ireland in 1579 with a mere 50 soldiers under the command of Fitzmaurice, accompanied by Sanders as papal legate.[citation needed] They took part in the Second Desmond Rebellion. All of the soldiers and sailors on board, as well as the women and children who accompanied them, were beheaded or hanged on landing in Kerry, in the Smerwick Massacre.
In 1580, he was persuaded by English Jesuits to moderate or suspend the Bull Regnans in Excelsis (1570) which had excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England. Catholics were advised to obey the queen outwardly in all civil matters, until such time as a suitable opportunity presented itself for her overthrow.[10]
After the
Gregory XIII was visited by the Tenshō embassy of Japan, becoming the first Pope to have received such an embassy. On behalf of the Japanese ruler Oda Nobunaga, they gifted him with the so-called Azuchi Screens, which were put on display within the Vatican.[12]
Cultural patronage
In Rome Gregory XIII built the Gregorian chapel in the
He appointed his illegitimate son Giacomo,[b] born to his mistress at Bologna before his papacy, castellan of Sant'Angelo and Gonfalonier of the Church; Venice, anxious to please the Pope, enrolled his son among its nobles, and Philip II of Spain appointed him general in his army. Gregory also helped his son to become a powerful feudatary through the acquisition of the Duchy of Sora, on the border between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples.
To raise funds for his endeavours, Gregory confiscated a large proportion of the houses and properties throughout the states of the Church. This measure enriched his treasury for a time, but alienated a great body of the nobility and gentry, revived old factions, and created new ones, and caused economic and social chaos in the Papal States.[13]
Canonizations and beatifications
The pope canonized four saints during his pontificate and in 1584 beatified his predecessor Pope Gregory VII.
Consistories
During his pontificate, the pope created 34 cardinals in eight consistories; this included naming his nephew Filippo Boncompagni to the cardinalate in the pope's first consistory in 1572. Gregory XIII also named four of his successors as cardinals all in 1583: Giovanni Battista Castagna (Urban VII), Niccolò Sfondrati (Gregory XIV), Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti (Innocent IX), and Alessandro de' Medici (Leo XI).
Death
The pope suffered from a fever on 5 April 1585 and on 7 April said his usual private Mass, still in ill health. He seemed to recover enough that he was able to conduct meetings throughout 8 and 9 April, although it was observed he did not feel well. But a sudden change on 10 April saw him confined in his bed and it was observed that he had a cold sweat and a weak pulse; he received the
See also
- Computus
- Clavius
- Cardinals created by Gregory XIII
Explanatory notes
- ^ Because of the change in calendars initiated by Gregory, dates in this calendar on or before 4 October 1582 are given in the Julian calendar and dates after that are given in the Gregorian calendar.
- bishop of Feltre.
References
Citations
- ^ Borromeo 2002, p. 663.
- ^ a b Crowther 1999, p. 8.
- ^ "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Ugo Boncompagni". Fiu.edu. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ New from 1552: Ugo Boncompagni (=Pope Gregory XIII) confirms his paternity of son Giacomo
- ^ Otilio Rodriguez, OCD, Appendix I: The Third Order of the Teresian Carmel; Its Origin and History, page 129, in Michael D. Griffin, OCD, Commentary on the Rule of Life (superseded) (The Growth in Carmel Series; Hubertus, Wisconsin: Teresian Charism Press, 1981), pages 127-36; and Peter-Thomas Rohrbach, OCDJourney to Carith: The Sources and Story of the Discalced Carmelites, Chapter 6: The Struggle for Existence, page 200 (Washington: ICS Publications)
- ^ "Who Invented the Calendar We Have Today?". Who Invented It. 1 September 2018.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Aloisius Lilius". newadvent.org.
- ^ Henry, Jonathan. "Chapter 3". Earth Science. Clearwater, Fl: Clearwater Christian College, 2010. Print.
- ISBN 9780754632856.
- ^ P. J. Corish, "The origins of Catholic nationalism", part 8, vol. III, pp. 15–18, in The History of Irish Catholicism (Dublin, 1967)
- ^ Schaff, Philip (1910). History of the Christian Church. Vol. VII. Modern Christianity. The German Reformation. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Note 53.
- ISBN 978-0824861773.
- ^ See John Julius Norwich (2012). The Popes.
- ^ "Sede Vacante 1585". 18 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
Sources
- Initial text from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Gregory XIII". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Borromeo, Agostino (2002). "Gregory XIII". In Levillain, Philippe (ed.). The Papacy: An Encyclopedia. Vol. II: Gaius-Proxies. Routledge. pp. 663–665.
- Crowther, Victor (1999). The Oratorio in Bologna 1650–1730. Oxford University Press.
External links
- "Papal Library" website: Gregory XIII
- Monument to Gregory XIII [archived]