Pope Leo X


Leo X
Bishop of Rome
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began9 March 1513
Papacy ended1 December 1521
PredecessorJulius II
SuccessorAdrian VI
Orders
Ordination15 March 1513
by Raffaele Sansone Riario
Consecration17 March 1513
by Raffaele Sansone Riario
Created cardinal

by Innocent VIII
Personal details
Born
Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici

11 December 1475
Died1 December 1521(1521-12-01) (aged 45)
Rome, Papal States
BuriedSanta Maria sopra Minerva, Rome
Previous post(s)
SignatureLeo X's signature
Coat of armsLeo X's coat of arms
Other popes named Leo
Ordination history of
Pope Leo X
History
Priestly ordination
Date15 March 1513
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byRaffaele Sansone Riario
Date17 March 1513
Cardinalate
Elevated byInnocent VIII
Date9 March 1489 in pectore (revealed: 23 March 1492)
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Pope Leo X as principal consecrator
Lorenzo Pucci13 December 1513
Baltasar del Río22 October 1515
Pedro de Urieta29 October 1516
Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici21 December 1517
Ferdinando Ponzetti21 December 1517

Pope Leo X (Italian: Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 1475 – 1 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death, in December 1521.[2]

Born into the prominent political and banking Medici family of Florence, Giovanni was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1489. Following the death of Pope Julius II, Giovanni was elected pope after securing the backing of the younger members of the College of Cardinals. Early on in his rule he oversaw the closing sessions of the Fifth Council of the Lateran, but struggled to implement the reforms agreed. In 1517 he led a costly war that succeeded in securing his nephew Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici as Duke of Urbino, but reduced papal finances.

In Protestant circles, Leo is associated with granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica, a practice that was soon challenged by Martin Luther's 95 Theses. Leo rejected the Protestant Reformation, and his Papal bull of 1520, Exsurge Domine, condemned Luther's condemnatory stance, rendering ongoing communication difficult.

He borrowed and spent money without circumspection and was a significant patron of the arts. Under his reign, Marco Girolamo Vida began composing at the Pope's request a Virgilian Latin epic poem about the life of Jesus called the Christiad, progress was made on the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica, and artists such as Raphael decorated the Vatican rooms. Leo also reorganised the Roman University, and promoted Renaissance humanist study of literature, poetry, and Classics. He died in 1521 and is buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. He was the last pope not to have been in priestly orders at the time of his election to the papacy.

  1. ^ Alberigo, Giuseppe (1960). "Leone X, papa". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 2. Istituto Treccani.
  2. ^ Löffler 1910.

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