Pope Urban VII
| Pope Urban VII | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
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Portrait by Jacopino del Conte, c. 1590
| |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | 15 September 1590 |
| Papacy ended | 27 September 1590 |
| Predecessor | Sixtus V |
| Successor | Gregory XIV |
| Previous posts | Archbishop of Rossano (1553) Governor of Fano (1555–1559) Governor of Perugia and Umbria (1559–1560) Apostolic Nuncio to Spain (1565–1572) Apostolic Nuncio to Venice (1573–1577) Governor of Bologna (1576–1577) Papal Legate to Flanders and Cologne (1578–1580) Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcello (1584–1590) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 30 March 1553 by Filippo Archinto |
| Consecration | 4 April 1553 by Girolamo Verallo |
| Created cardinal | 12 December 1583 by Gregory XIII |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Giovanni Battista Castagna 4 August 1521 Rome, Papal States |
| Died | 27 September 1590 (aged 69) Rome, Papal States |
| Other popes named Urban | |
Pope Urban VII (Latin: Urbanus VII; Italian: Urbano VII; 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of the Catholic Church, and leader of the Papal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His papacy is the shortest recognized in history.
Castagna, born in Rome in 1521, was a highly educated man who held various positions within the Catholic Church and the structures of the Papal States of his day. He served as Governor of Fano, Perugia, and Umbria and, as the Archbishop of Rossano, participated in the Council of Trent. Later, he was appointed as the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and Venice and served as the Papal legate to Flanders and to Cologne. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII.
Upon the death of Pope Sixtus V, Castagna was elected as pope on 15 September 1590, taking the name Urban VII. He was known for his charity, public works projects, and strict opposition to nepotism. His papacy was short-lived as he died of malaria on 27 September 1590, after just 12 days in office. Urban VII is remembered for instituting the world's first known public smoking ban, threatening excommunication for those using tobacco in or near a church.
Biography
Giovanni Battista Castagna was born in Rome in 1521 to a noble family as the son of Cosimo Castagna of Genoa and his wife Costanza Ricci-Giacobazzi of Rome.
Castagna studied at universities in Italy. Shortly after finishing his studies at the University of Bologna with the award of a doctorate in civil and canon law, he became an auditor to his uncle, Cardinal Girolamo Verallo, whom he accompanied as datary on a papal legation to France.
Serving as a constitutional lawyer, Castagna entered the Roman Curia during the pontificate of Pope Julius III as the Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura. Though still a layman, on 1 March 1553 he was chosen to be the new Archbishop of Rossano. He quickly received all the minor and major orders, culminating in his ordination to the priesthood on 30 March 1553 in Rome. He then received episcopal consecration a month after, at the home of his uncle Cardinal Verallo.
He served as the governor of Fano from 1555 to 1559, and as the governor of Perugia and Umbria from 1559 to 1560. During the reign of Pius IV, he settled satisfactorily a long-standing boundary dispute between the inhabitants of Terni and Spoleto. Castagna participated in the Council of Trent from 1562 to 1563 and served as the president of several conciliar congregations. In 1565 came an appointment as the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and served there until 1572,[1] resigning his post from his archdiocese in 1573.
Among other positions, Castagna was the Apostolic Nuncio to Venice from 1573 to 1577, governor of Bologna from 1576 to 1577. Apostolic Nuncio to Venice, Papal Legate to Flanders from 1573 to 1577 and to Cologne from 1578 to 1580.
On 12 December 1583 Pope Gregory XIII made Castagna a cardinalate and he became Cardinal-Priest of San Marcello al Corso.
Papacy
Election
After the death of Pope Sixtus V, a conclave was convoked to elect a successor. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany had been appointed a cardinal at the age of thirteen but was never ordained to the priesthood. At the age of thirty-eight, he resigned from the cardinalate upon the death of his older brother, Francesco in 1587, to succeed to the title. There were suspicions that Francesco and his wife died of arsenic poisoning after having dined at Ferdinando's Villa Medici, although one story has Ferdinando as the intended target of his sister-in-law. Ferdinando's foreign policy attempted to free Tuscany from Spanish domination.
He was consequently opposed to the election of any candidate supported by Spain. He persuaded Cardinal Alessandro Peretti di Montalto, grand-nephew of Sixtus V, to switch his support from Cardinal Marco Antonio Colonna, which brought the support of the younger cardinals who had been appointed by the Sixtus.[2]
Castagna, a seasoned diplomat, moderate and of proven rectitude, was elected as pope on 15 September 1590 and selected the pontifical name of "Urban VII".[2]
Activities
Urban VII was known for his charity to the poor. He subsidized Roman bakers so they could sell bread below cost, and restricted the spending on luxury items for members of his court. He subsidized public works projects throughout the Papal States. Urban VII was strictly against nepotism and he forbade it within the Roman Curia.[3]
His short reign gave rise to the world's first known public smoking ban, as he threatened to excommunicate anyone who "took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose".[4]
Death
Urban VII died in Rome on 27 September 1590[5] of malaria.[6] He had reigned for only 12 days[7] and died before he could be crowned.[6] He was buried at St. Peter's Basilica. His remains were transferred to Santa Maria sopra Minerva on 21 September 1606.[8]
His estate, valued at 30,000[9] to 32,000 scudi,[8] was bequeathed to the Confraternity of the Annunziata alla Minerva[9][10] for use as dowries for poor young girls.[8]
See also
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Pope Urban VII — Giambattista Castagna, born at Rome, 4 Aug., 1521; elected pope, 15 September, 1590; died at Rome, 27 September, 1590. His father, Cosimo, was a Genoese nobleman; his mother, Costanza Ricci, was a Roman and sister of Cardinal Jacovazzi. He studied civil and canon law at various universities of Italy and graduated as doctor of both laws at Bologna. Soon after he became auditor of his uncle, Cardinal Girolamo Verallo, whom he accompanied as datary on a papal legation to France. On his return to Italy, Julius III made him referendary of the Segnatura di Giustizia and on 1 March, 1553, appointed him Archbishop of Rossano. He was ordained priest 30 March, and consecrated bishop by Cardinal Verallo, 4 April. Julius III sent him as governor to Fano in 1555, and under Paul IV he was for a short time Governor of Perugia and Umbria. During the reign of Pius IV he settled satisfactorily a long-standing boundary dispute between the inhabitants of Terni and Spoleto. From 1562 to 1563 he assisted at the Council of Trent, where he was made president of various congregations and manifested great prudence and learning. In 1565 he accompanied the cardinal-legate Buoncompagni (afterwards Gregory XIII) to Spain, where he remained seven years as papal nuncio at the Court of Philip II. On his return to Italy he voluntarily resigned the archiepiscopal See of Rossano in January, 1573, and was sent by Gregory XIII as nuncio to Venice, whence he was transferred as governor to Bologna in 1577. A year later he was sent as legate extraordinary to Cologne, to represent Gregory XIII at the peace conference between Philip II and the United Provinces. Upon his return to Rome he was appointed Consultor of the Holy Office and the Ecclesiastical State. On 12 December, 1583, Gregory XIII created him cardinal priest with the titular Church of S. Marcello, and on 8 October, 1584, appointed him legate of Bologna. During the reign of Sixtus V (1585-90) he was highly influential. On 19 November, 1586, he became Inquisitor-General of the Holy Office.
Sixtus V having died 27 August, 1590, the cardinals, 54 in number, entered the conclave at the Vatican on 7 September, and elected Cardinal Castagna as pope on 15 September. The news of his election was a cause of universal joy. The new pontiff was not only highly esteemed for his piety and learning, he had also, in the many important and difficult positions which he filled as archbishop and cardinal, manifested extraordinary prudence and administrative ability. He chose the name Urban in order that this name, which in Latin signifies "kind", might be a continuous reminder to him to show kindness towards all his subjects. One of his first acts was to have a list made of all the poor in Rome that he might alleviate their needs. He also gave liberal alms to those cardinals whose income was insufficient, paid the debts of all the monts-de-piété in the Ecclesiastical State, and ordered the bakers of Rome to make larger loaves of bread and sell them cheaper, indemnifying their losses out of his own purse. Desirous of checking the luxury of the rich, he forbade his chamberlains to wear silk garments. In order to give occupation to the poor, he ordered the completion of the public works that had been commenced by his predecessor. He appointed a committee of cardinals, consisting of Paleotti, Fachinetti, Lancelotti, and Aldobrandini, for the reform of the Apostolic Datary. Strongly opposed to nepotism, he expressed his purpose never to appoint any of his relatives to an office in the Curia and forbade them to make use of the title "Excellence", which it was customary to give the nearest relatives of the pope. A few days after his election he became seriously ill. The faithful united in prayers for his recovery; public processions, expositions of the Blessed Sacrament, and other pious exercises were conducted. The pope confessed and communicated every day of his illness. He once expressed a desire to remove to the Quirinal, where the air was purer and more wholesome, but, when told that it was not customary for the pope to be seen in the city before his coronation, he remained in the Vatican. He died before the papal coronation could take place and was buried in the Vatican Basilica. On 22 September, 1606, his remains were transferred to the Church of S. Maria sopra Minerva, where a magnificent monument was erected in his honour. His temporal possessions, consisting of 30,000 scudi, he bequeathed to the Archconfraternity of the Annunciation to be used as dowries for poor girls.
References
- Back to citation Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Urban VII". Encyclopedia Britannica
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Pirie, Valérie Pirie. The Triple Crown: An Account of the Papal Conclaves, London. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1935.
- Back to citation "Pope Urban VII". Saints SQPN. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- Back to citation "Public smoking ban: Europe on the move" (PDF). European Society of Cardiology. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2011.
- Back to citation "Urban VII", The Holy See, vatican.va. Accessed 25 February 2024.
- Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Walsh, Michael J. (2003). The Conclave: A Sometimes Secret and Occasionally Bloody History of Papal Elections. Lanham, Md.: Sheed & Ward. p. 124. ISBN 9781580511353.
- Back to citation Pham, John-Peter (2004). Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 32. ISBN 9780195178340.
- Back to citation occurrence 8.0 Back to citation occurrence 8.1 Back to citation occurrence 8.2 Reardon, Wendy (2004). The Deaths of the Popes: Comprehensive Accounts, Including Funerals, Burial Places and Epitaphs. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 198. ISBN 9780786415274.
- Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 Black, Christopher F. (1989). Italian Confraternities in the Sixteenth Century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 128. ISBN 9780521364874.
- Back to citation Esposito, Anna (Spring 1994). "Ad dotandum puellas virgines, pauperes et honestas: Social Needs and Confratemal Charity in Rome in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries". Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme. 18 (2): 5, 7. JSTOR 43444896.
External links
- Media related to Urbanus VII at Wikimedia Commons