The Popes: From St. Peter to Present (Cont.)

17th Century

Supreme Pontiff

Detail 

(dates*, ages, prior name, feast, comment/attributes, etc.)

233. Leo XI

Birth Date: June 2, 1535

Beginning of Reign: April 1, 1605

End of Reign: April 27, 1605

Date of Death: April 27, 1605

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 70

Lived to Approx. Age: 70

Approx. Length of Reign: 26 days

Prior Name (if different): Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

He attempted to reform conclave procedures and eliminated some taxes. This elderly pontiff died just short of a month after his election.

234. Paul V

Birth Date: September 17, 1552

Beginning of Reign: May 16, 1605

End of Reign: January 28, 1621

Date of Death: January 28, 1621

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 53

Lived to Approx. Age: 69

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 15.5 years

Prior Name (if different): Camillo Borghese

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Asserted papal power, condemned heresy, promoted reform, encouraged missions, and worked on St. Peter's. His papacy saw the condemnation of Galileo and the outbreak of the Thirty Years War.

235. Gregory XV

Birth Date: January 9, 1554

Beginning of Reign: February 9, 1621

End of Reign: July 8, 1623

Date of Death: July 8, 1623

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 67

Lived to Approx. Age: 69

Approx. Length of Reign: Nearly 2.5 years

Prior Name (if different): Alessandro Ludovisi

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Founded the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, assisted missionary efforts, fought against heresy, reorganized the papal balloting system, and canonized Sts. Teresa of Avila, Ignatius Loyola, Philip Neri, and Francis Xavier.

236. Urban VIII

Birth Date: early 1568

Beginning of Reign: August 6, 1623

End of Reign: July 29, 1644

Date of Death: July 29, 1644

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 55

Lived to Approx. Age: 76

Approx. Length of Reign: Nearly 21 years

Prior Name (if different): Maffeo Barberini

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

He engaged in various building projects which beatified Rome and enhanced security, commissioned Bernini, supported missions, authorized new religious orders, and confirmed canonical procedures regarding beatification and canonization. His papacy saw much political activity due to ongoing wars.

237. Innocent X

Birth Date: May 7, 1574

Beginning of Reign: September 15, 1644

End of Reign: January 1, 1655

Date of Death: January 1, 1655

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 70

Lived to Approx. Age: 81

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 10 years

Prior Name (if different): Giambattista Pamfili

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

First pope to use a Secretary of State. He fostered supported missionary activity and condemned Jansenism. His papacy witnessed various military strifes.

238. Alexander VII

Birth Date: February 13, 1599

Beginning of Reign: April 7, 1655

End of Reign: May 22, 1667

Date of Death: May 22, 1667

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 56

Lived to Approx. Age: 68

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 12 years

Prior Name (if different): Fabio Chigi

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

His papacy saw much political negotiation, the conversion of the Queen of Sweden, debates over Jansenism and Probabilism. Alexander commissioned Bernini to enclose the piazza of St. Peters with colonnades.

239. Clement IX

Birth Date: January 27, 1600

Beginning of Reign: June 20, 1667

End of Reign: December 9, 1669

Date of Death: December 9, 1669

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 67

Lived to Approx. Age: 69

Approx. Length of Reign: Nearly 2.5 years

Prior Name (if different): Giulio Rospigliosi

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

His papacy saw continued debates over Jansenism, diplomatic tensions, and conflict with the Turks.

240. Clement X

Birth Date: July 12, 1590

Beginning of Reign: April 29, 1670

End of Reign: July 22, 1676

Date of Death: July 22, 1676

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 80

Lived to Approx. Age: 86

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 6 years

Prior Name (if different): Emilio Altieri

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Already elderly when elected pope, Clement attempted to organize resistance against the Turks, suffered pressure from secular powers, and canonized numerous saints.

241. Bl. Innocent XI

Birth Date: May 19, 1611

Beginning of Reign: September 21, 1676

End of Reign: August 12, 1689

Date of Death: August 12, 1689

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 65

Lived to Approx. Age: 78

Approx. Length of Reign: Almost 13 years

Prior Name (if different): Benedetto Odescalchi

Feast Day (if applicable): August 12

He restored papal finances, and sought strict observance of vows, careful selections of clerics, and increased public decency. He also sought to check the Turkish threat. His papacy saw continual conflicts with France.

242. Alexander VIII

Birth Date: April 22, 1610

Beginning of Reign: October 6, 1689

End of Reign: February 1, 1691

Date of Death: February 1, 1691

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 79

Lived to Approx. Age: 81

Approx. Length of Reign: Nearly 16 months

Prior Name (if different): Pietro Ottoboni

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

In his brief pontificate, the elderly pontiff sought rapprochement with France, condemned Jansenism, defended orthodoxy, and reduced taxes.

243. Innocent XII

Birth Date: March 13, 1615

Beginning of Reign: July 12, 1691

End of Reign: September 27, 1700

Date of Death: September 27, 1700

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 76

Lived to Approx. Age: 85

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 9 years

Prior Name (if different): Antonio Pignatelli

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

This elderly pontiff reformed the justice system, enlarged harbors to promote trade, assisted the poor, decreed against nepotism, and handled diplomatic matters with France.

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18th Century

Supreme Pontiff

Detail 

(dates*, ages, prior name, feast, comment/attributes, etc.)

244. Clement XI

Birth Date: July 23, 1649

Beginning of Reign: November 23, 1700

End of Reign: March 19, 1721

Date of Death: March 19, 1721

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 51

Lived to Approx. Age: 72

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 20 years

Prior Name (if different): Giovanni Francesco Albani

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Supported missions, fought heresy, and appointed numerous cardinals. His pontificate witnessed numerous political and military strifes. At one point, a fleet subsidized by the pope to defend against the Turks was turned against him. He was a patron of arts and scholars.

245. Innocent XIII

Birth Date: May 13, 1655

Beginning of Reign: May 8, 1721

End of Reign: March 7, 1724

Date of Death: March 7, 1724

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 66

Lived to Approx. Age: 69

Approx. Length of Reign: Nearly 3 years

Prior Name (if different): Michelangelo dei Conti

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Attempted to resolve tensions with secular powers, decreed against disobedient Jesuits, and rejected Jansenism. He suffered from illness for much of his papacy.

246. Benedict XIII

Birth Date: February 2, 1649

Beginning of Reign: May 29, 1724

End of Reign: February 21, 1730

Date of Death: February 21, 1730

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 75

Lived to Approx. Age: 81

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 5.5 years

Prior Name (if different): Pietro Francesco Orsini

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Reluctant to accept the papacy, Benedict preferred an ascetic life. He condemned luxurious living by clerics, defended orthodoxy, canonized many saints, and continued his pastoral services to his flock. His papacy has been charged with poor administration (due to the individuals he placed in charge of church business).

247. Clement XII

Birth Date: April 7, 1652

Beginning of Reign: July 12, 1730

End of Reign: February 6, 1740

Date of Death: February 6, 1740

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 78

Lived to Approx. Age: 88

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 9.5 years

Prior Name (if different): Lorenzo Corsini

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

An elderly pope who suffered from illness and eventual blindness, he managed to introduce order into papal finances and enlarge the Vatican library. He supported missions and beatified Rome, including the main facade of St. John Lateran and the Trevi fountain. He was the first pope to condemn Freemasonry. His papacy witnessed various strifes in international affairs and the overrun of the papal states.

248. Benedict XIV

Birth Date: March 31, 1675

Beginning of Reign: August 17, 1740

End of Reign: May 3, 1758

Date of Death: May 3, 1758

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 65

Lived to Approx. Age: 83

Approx. Length of Reign: Nearly 18 years

Prior Name (if different): Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

He encouraged education, agriculture, and trade, strove to improve the clergy, and denounced Freemasonry. He was conciliatory in international dealings. During his papacy, the papal states suffered invasion.

249. Clement XIII

Birth Date: March 7, 1693

Beginning of Reign: July 6, 1758

End of Reign: February 2, 1769

Date of Death: February 2, 1769

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 65

Lived to Approx. Age: 76

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 10.5 years

Prior Name (if different): Carlo della Torre Rezzonico

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Upheld papal rights, supported arts and scholarship, defended orthodoxy, and, concerned with public decency, ordered nude statues and images strategically covered. His papacy saw hostility towards the Jesuits.

250. Clement XIV

Birth Date: October 31, 1705

Beginning of Reign: May 19, 1769

End of Reign: September 22, 1774

Date of Death: September 22, 1774

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 64

Lived to Approx. Age: 69

Approx. Length of Reign: Over 5 years

Prior Name (if different): Lorenzo Ganganelli (Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio)

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Pressured, he officially suppressed the Jesuits (which in some areas had attained reputation for dubious teachings). The decision resulted in a blow to education and missionary work, and fear of reprisal by the Jesuits.

251. Pius VI

Birth Date: December 25, 1717

Beginning of Reign: February 15, 1775

End of Reign: August 29, 1799

Date of Death: August 29, 1799

Approx. Age at Beginning of Reign: 58

Lived to Approx. Age: 82

Approx. Length of Reign: Just over 24.5 years

Prior Name (if different): Giovanni Angelo Braschi

Feast Day (if applicable): N/A

Engaged in public works projects. Condemned the decrees of the synod of Pistoia. During his long pontificate, Pius faced pressure from the outside from those who wanted to limit papal jurisdiction and secularize education (governments, atheists, and secularists), disobedience from German bishops, and those who wanted to make the Church independent of the pope. His papacy also suffered from the French Revolution and invasion of the papal states. He was forced into exile and made a prisoner by Napoleon Bonaparte. He died a prisoner.

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