Pope Pius IV
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Pius IV, né Giovanni Angelo Medici (March 31, 1499 – December 9, 1565), was Pope from 1559 to 1565.
Biography
Giovanni Angelo Medici was born of humble parentage in Milan, unrelated with the Medicis of Florence. His early career connects itself in some measure with the rise of his elder brother, Gian Giacomo Medici, from the position of a mere bravo to that of Marchese di Marignano.
After studying at Bologna and acquiring reputation as a jurist, he went in 1527 to Rome, and as the favourite of Pope Paul III was rapidly promoted to the governorship of several towns, the archbishopric of Ragusa, the vice-legateship of Bologna, and in April 1549 to the cardinalate. On the death of Pope Paul IV he was elected Pope Pius IV on December 25, 1559, and installed on January 6, 1560. His first public acts of importance were to grant a general pardon to the participators in the riot which had closed the previous pontificate, and to bring to trial the nephews of his predecessor, of whom Cardinal Carlo Carafa was strangled, and the Duke Giovanni Carafa of Paliano, with his nearest connections, beheaded. The process, however, was a clear farce, and later Pius V renegated its acts. Image:Pio IV.jpg On January 18, 1562 the council of Trent, which had been suspended by Pope Julius III, was opened for the third time. Great skill and caution were necessary to effect a settlement of the questions before it, inasmuch as the three principal nations taking part in it, though at issue with regard to their own special demands, were prepared to unite their forces against the demands of Rome. Pius IV, however, aided by Moroni and Charles Borromeo, proved himself equal to the emergency, and by judicious management – and concession – brought the council to a termination satisfactory to the disputants and favourable to the pontifical authority. Its definitions and decrees were confirmed by a papal bull dated January 26, 1564; and, though they were received with certain limitations by France and Spain, the famous Creed of Pius IV, or Tridentine Creed, remained the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith. The more marked manifestations of stringency during his pontificate appear to have been prompted rather than spontaneous, his personal character inclining him to moderation and ease.
Thus, a warning, issued in 1564, summoning Jeanne d'Albret, the Queen of Navarre, before the Inquisition on a charge of Calvinism, was withdrawn by him in deference to the indignant protest of Charles IX of France. In the same year he published a bull granting the use of the cup to the laity of Austria and Bohemia. One of his strongest passions appears to have been that of building, which somewhat strained his resources in contributing to the adornment of Rome, and in carrying on the work of restoration, erection, and fortification in various parts of the ecclesiastical states. A conspiracy against Pius IV, headed by the Catholic fanatic Benedetto Accolti (a son of a cardinal ousted by Pius III), was discovered and crushed in 1565.
Pius IV, like many of his predecessors and successor, was a nepotist. Among the relatives he favoured, the main figure is that of Carlo Borromeo. Under his reign Michelangelo re-built the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (in the Diocletian's Baths) and the epnymous Villa Pia was designed by Pirro Ligorio in the Vatican Palace.
He died on December 9, 1565, and was buried in Santa Maria degli Angeli. His successor was Pius V.
References
- Claudio Rendina, I papi. Storia e segreti, Newton Compton, Rome, 1984.
- Text from the 9th edition (1888) of the Encyclopædia Britannica
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