Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and ruler of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of ...
from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...
, which remains the internationally accepted
civil calendar to this day.
Early biography
Youth
Ugo Boncompagni was born the son of
Cristoforo Boncompagni (10 July 1470 – 1546) and of his wife Angela Marescalchi in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
, where he studied law and graduated in 1530. 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.
Career before papacy
At the age of 36 he was summoned to Rome by
Pope Paul III (1534–1549), under whom he held successive appointments as first judge of the capital,
abbreviator An Abbreviator (plural "Abbreviators" in English and "Abbreviatores" in Latin) or Breviator was a writer of the Apostolic Chancery, Papal Chancery who adumbrated and prepared in correct form Papal bulls, Papal brief, briefs, and papal consistory, co ...
, and vice-chancellor of the
Campagna e Marittima
The Campagna and Marittima Province (Latin ''Campaniæ Maritimæque Provincia'', Italian ''Provincia di Campagna e Marittima'') was one of the seven provinces of the Papal States from the 12th century to the end of the 18th.
The province was est ...
.
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...
(1555–1559) attached him as ''
datarius'' to the suite of Cardinal
Carlo Carafa.
Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...
(1559–1565) made him
Cardinal-Priest of ''
San Sisto Vecchio'' and sent him to the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described ...
.
In the year 1552 Ugo Boncompagni confirmed the paternity of 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
Villa Aurora is an autograph declaration in Latin and Italian dated 22 December 1552 by Ugo Boncompagni (1502-1585, from 1572 Pope Gregory XIII). Here Ugo confirms his paternity of
Giacomo (or Jacopo) Boncompagni (1548-1612) by Maddalena de’ Fucchinis, a servant in the employ of his sister-in-law Laura Ferro. The future Pope explains in detail the circumstances of the boy’s conception, which took place in 1547 in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
, after the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described ...
had moved to that city; his motive was to assure his inheritance rights following the death (in 1546) of his father Cristoforo Boncompagni.
"
He also served as a legate to
Philip II of Spain (1556–1598), being sent by the Pope to investigate the Cardinal of
Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Orur ...
. He formed a lasting and close relationship with the
Spanish King, which aided his foreign policy aims as Pope.
Election as pope
Upon the death of Pope Pius V (1566–1572), the
conclave
A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Ro ...
chose Cardinal Boncompagni, who assumed the name of Gregory XIII in homage to
Gregory the Great, a 6th-century reforming pope. It was a very brief conclave, lasting less than 24 hours. Many historians have attributed this to the influence and backing of the Spanish king. Cardinal Borromeo and the cardinals wishing reform accepted Boncompagni's candidature and so supported him in the conclave while the Spanish faction also deemed him acceptable due to his success as a nuncio in Spain.
Gregory XIII's character seemed to be perfect for the needs of the church at the time. Additionally, his legal brilliance and management abilities meant that he was able to respond and deal with major problems quickly and decisively, although not always successfully.
Pontificate
Reform of the Church
Once in the chair of
Saint Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupa ...
, Gregory XIII dedicated himself to reform of the Catholic Church. He implemented the recommendations of the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described ...
. He mandated that cardinals reside in their
sees without exception, and designated a committee to update the
Index of Forbidden Books. Gregory XIII was also the patron of a new and greatly improved edition of the ''Corpus juris canonici''. In a time of considerable centralisation of power, Gregory XIII abolished the Cardinals
Consistories, replacing them with Colleges, and appointing specific tasks for these colleges to work on. He was renowned for fierce independence; some confidants noted that he neither welcomed interventions nor sought advice. The power of the papacy increased under him, whereas the influence and power of the cardinals substantially decreased.
Gregory XIII also established the
Discalced Carmelites, an offshoot of the
Carmelite Order, as a distinct unit or "province" within the former by the decree "Pia consideratione" dated 22 June 1580, ending a period of great difficulty between them and enabling the former to become a significant religious order in the Catholic Church.
Formation of clergy and promotion of the arts and sciences
Gregory XIII was a generous patron of the
Jesuit colleges in Rome. The Roman College of the Jesuits grew substantially under his patronage, and became the most important centre of learning in Europe for a time. It is now named the
Pontifical Gregorian University. Pope Gregory XIII also founded numerous
seminaries for training priests, beginning with the
German College at
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, and put them in the charge of the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
.
In 1575 he gave official status to the Congregation of the Oratory, a community of priests without vows, dedicated to prayer and preaching (founded by Saint
Philip Neri). In 1580 he commissioned artists, including
Ignazio Danti, to complete works to decorate the
Vatican and commissioned
The Gallery of Maps
The Gallery of Maps (Italian: ''Galleria delle carte geografiche'') is a gallery located on the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard in the Vatican containing a series of painted topographical maps of Italy based on drawings by friar and geogra ...
.
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 St. Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''.
The Gregorian calendar
Pope Gregory XIII is best known for commissioning the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...
, initially authored by the doctor/astronomer
Aloysius Lilius and aided by Jesuit priest/astronomer
Christopher Clavius, who made the final modifications. This calendar is more accurate than the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematics, Greek mathematicians and Ancient Greek astronomy, as ...
, which treats each year as 365 days and 6 hours in length, even though the actual length of a year is slightly less (365 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes). As a result, the date of the
vernal equinox Spring equinox or vernal equinox or variations may refer to:
* March equinox, the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere
* September equinox, the spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere
Other uses
* Nowruz, Persian/Iranian new year which be ...
had slowly, over the course of 13 centuries, slipped to 10 March, while the
computus (calculation) of the date of Easter still followed the traditional date of 21 March. Clavius verified this phenomenon.
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
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematics, Greek mathematicians and Ancient Greek astronomy, as ...
, which had been used since 45 BCE. Because of Gregory's involvement, the new calendar came to be known as the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...
, 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 Spain, Portugal,
Poland-Lithuania, and the Italian states complied. France, some states of the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and various Catholic states in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
and
Switzerland (both countries were religiously split) followed suit within a year or two.
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
followed in 1587.
However, more than a century passed before
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Europe accepted the new calendar.
Denmark-Norway, the remaining states of the Dutch Republic, and the Protestant states of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
and Switzerland adopted the Gregorian reform in 1700–01. By that time, the calendar trailed the seasons by 11 days. Great Britain and its American colonies adopted the reformed calendar in 1752, where Wednesday 2 September 1752 was immediately followed by Thursday 14 September 1752; they were joined by the last Protestant holdout,
Sweden, on 1 March 1753.
The Gregorian calendar was not accepted in
eastern Christendom for several hundred years, and then only as the civil calendar.
Foreign policy
Though he feared invasion of Europe by the
Turks, Gregory XIII's attentions were more consistently directed to the dangers from the
Protestants. He encouraged the plans of Philip II to dethrone
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
(reigned from 1558 to 1603), resulting in English Protestants suspecting
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as potential traitors and subversives.
In 1578, to further the plans of exiled English and Irish Catholics such as
Nicholas Sanders
Nicholas Sanders (also spelled Sander; c. 1530 – 1581) was an English Catholic priest and polemicist.
Early life
Sanders was born at Sander Place near Charlwood, Surrey, one of twelve children of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, ...
,
William Allen William Allen may refer to:
Politicians
United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
* William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
* Willia ...
, and
James Fitzmaurice FitzGerald, Gregory outfitted adventurer
Thomas Stukeley with a ship and an army of 800 men to land in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to aid the Catholics against the Protestant plantations. To his dismay, Stukeley joined his forces with those of King
Sebastian of Portugal against Emperor
Abdul Malik of Morocco instead.
Another papal expedition sailed to Ireland in 1579 with a mere 50 soldiers under the command of Fitzmaurice, accompanied by Sanders as
papal legate. 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
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
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.
After the
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French War ...
s of
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...
s in France in 1572, Pope Gregory signaled his approval and celebrated a ''Te Deum'' mass. Three frescoes in the
Sala Regia hall of the Vatican depicting the events were commissioned and painted by
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...
. A commemorative medal was issued with Gregory's portrait and on the obverse a chastising angel, sword in hand and the legend
UGONOTTORUM STRAGES ("Overthrow of the Huguenots").
Gregory XIII was visited by the
Tenshō embassy
The Tenshō embassy (Japanese: 天正の使節, named after the Tenshō Era in which the embassy took place) was an embassy sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582. The embassy was led by ...
of Japan, becoming the first Pope to have received such an embassy.
Cultural patronage
In Rome Gregory XIII built the Gregorian chapel in the
Basilica of St. Peter, and extended the
Quirinal Palace in 1580. He also turned the
Baths of Diocletian into a granary in 1575.
He appointed his illegitimate son
Giacomo, born to his mistress at
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
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
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of ...
and the
Kingdom of Naples.
In order to raise funds for his endeavors, 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.
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
Pope Urban VII ( la, Urbanus VII; it, Urbano VII; 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of the Catholic Church, and ruler of the Papal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His thirteen-day papacy was th ...
(Urban VII),
Niccolò Sfondrati
Pope Gregory XIV ( la, Gregorius XIV; it, Gregorio XIV; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death in October ...
(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 cold sweat and a weak pulse; he received the
Extreme Unction moments before he died.
See also
*
Computus
*
Clavius
*
Cardinals created by Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572–1585) created 34 cardinals in eight consistories.
June 2, 1572
# Filippo Boncompagni
July 5, 1574
# Filippo Guastavillani
November 19, 1576
# Andrew of Austria
March 3, 1577
# Albert of Austria
February ...
Explanatory notes
References
Citations
Sources
* ''Initial text from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia.''
*
*
*
External links
"Papal Library" website:Gregory XIII
rchived
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory 13
1502 births
1585 deaths
Boncompagni
Clergy from Bologna
Italian popes
Popes
16th-century popes
People of the Second Desmond Rebellion
Burials at St. Peter's Basilica