Pope Leo XI (; 2 June 153527 April 1605), born Alessandro di Ottaviano de' Medici, was head of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and ruler of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

from 1 April 1605 to his death, on 27 April 1605. His pontificate is one of the briefest in history, having lasted under a month. He was from the prominent

House of Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo de' Medici, Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first h ...

originating from

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Medici's mother opposed his entering the priesthood and sought to prevent it by having him given secular honours, but after her death he eventually was ordained a priest in 1567. In his career he served as

's ambassador to the pope,

Bishop of Pistoia The Diocese of Pistoia () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in the Province of Florence. It has existed since the third century. From 1653 to 1954, the historic diocese was the diocese of Pistoia and Prato. The Diocese of Prato ha ...

Archbishop of Florence The Archdiocese of Florence () is a Latin Church metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy.

Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and as the cardinal Prefect for the

Congregation of Bishops and Regulars The Congregation of Bishops and Regulars () was a department of the Roman Curia that, beginning in the late 16th century, managed the diocesan bishops and those individuals, both male and female, and establishments associated with religious orders. ...

. He was elected to the papacy in the March 1605 papal conclave when he was almost seventy. He almost immediately suffered from fever and died 27 days into his papacy.

Biography

Early life

Alessandro di Ottaviano de' Medici was born in

as the son of

Ottaviano de' Medici Ottaviano de' Medici (14 July 1484 – 28 May 1546) was an Italian politician. He was the ancestor of the Princes of Ottajano line of the Medici family. Biography Son of Lorenzo de' Medici and wife Caterina Nerli, he married firstly in 1518 Bar ...

and Francesca Salviati. His family belonged to Medici di Ottajano, a cadet branch of the

. Ottaviano died early in his son's life, and thereafter Alessandro was home schooled by a Dominican priest, Vincenzo Ercolano. Alessandro felt the call to the priesthood, but his mother opposed this since he was the only male in the family. She sent him instead to the court of the

Grand Duke of Tuscany Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

, who appointed him a knight of San Stefano. In 1560 he travelled to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where he commenced a lifelong friendship and collaboration with

Philip Neri Saint Philip Neri , born Filippo Romolo Neri, (22 July 151526 May 1595) was an Italian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Oratory, a society of secular clergy dedicated to pastoral care and charitable work. He is sometimes refe ...

, the future saint. It was Philip who predicted that Alessandro would ascend to the pontificate. His mother died in 1566, at which point he resumed his studies to become a priest. His ordination took place on 22 July 1567.

Priesthood

Alessandro served as the Florentine

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

from 1569 to 1584 and in 1573 was appointed by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

. In March 1573 he received episcopal consecration in Rome. In 1574 he was made

Archbishop of Florence The Archdiocese of Florence () is a Latin Church metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy.

. In 1583 he was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

by Pope Sixtus V and on 9 January 1584 received the title of Cardinal-Priest of

Santi Quirico e Giulitta The Roman Catholic titular church of Santi Quirico e Giulitta (Saints Quiricus and Julietta) in Rome is named after a son and mother who were martyred in 304 AD in Tarsus. The church is located in central Rome behind the Forum of Augustus. The a ...

, after a titular church previously known as

San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane was a church in the Baths of Diocletian in Rome. It was made a titulus by the Roman synod of 1 March 499. According to a list written by Pietro Mallio during the pontificate of pope Alexander III, it was lin ...

. In later years, according to custom he would opt for other titular churches. In 1596

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

sent Alessandro as a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

, where he remained until 1598, when he received word of his appointment as Prefect of the

Pontificate

Papal election

On 14 March 1605, eleven days after the death of Clement VIII, 62 cardinals entered the

conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

. Prominent among the candidates for the papacy were the great

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Caesar Baronius Cesare Baronio, C.O. (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian Oratorian, cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiast ...

and the famous

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

controversialist

Robert Bellarmine Robert Bellarmine (; ; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. He was one of the most important figure ...

, future saint. But

Pietro Aldobrandini Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal and patron of the arts. Biography Pietro Aldobrandini was a cousin of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, and uncle of Cardinals Silvestro a ...

, the leader of the Italian party among the cardinals, allied with the French cardinals and brought about the election of Alessandro against the express wish of King

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

. King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

is said to have spent 300,000

écu The term ''écu'' () may refer to one of several France, French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. The value of the ''écu'' varied considerably over time, and si ...

s in the promotion of Alessandro's candidacy. On 1 April 1605, Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici was elected as pope. He chose to be called Leo XI in honor of his uncle

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

. He was crowned on 10 April 1605 by the

protodeacon Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usa ...

, Cardinal

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'Aqui ...

and he took possession of the

Basilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...

on 17 April 1605.

Death

When he was elected, Leo XI was almost 70 years of age, and he died 27 days later.George L. Williams, ''Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes'', (McFarland & Company, 1998), 75. His death came as a result of fatigue and cold in the ceremony of taking possession of the Basilica of St John Lateran on 17 April; he started suffering from a

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

the following day.

References

External links

* *
Catholic Hierarchy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo 11 Popes Italian popes Cardinal-bishops of Albano Cardinal-bishops of Palestrina Cardinal-bishops of Porto Cardinal-bishops of Sabina Apostolic nuncios to France Roman Catholic archbishops of Florence Clergy from Florence 1535 births 1605 deaths 17th-century popes House of Medici Burials at St. Peter's Basilica