Pope Innocent IX

Pope Innocent IX
Bishop of Rome
Portrait engraving by Agostino Carracci, 1591
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	29 October 1591
Papacy ended	30 December 1591
Predecessor	Gregory XIV
Successor	Clement VIII
Previous post(s)	Governor of Parma (1556–1558) Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura (1559–1560) Bishop of Nicastro (1560–1575) Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (1572–1585) Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quattro Coronati (1584–1591) Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (1591)
Orders
Ordination	11 March 1544
Consecration	1560
Created cardinal	12 December 1583 by Gregory XIII
Personal details
Born	Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti 20 July 1519 Bologna, Papal States
Died	30 December 1591(1591-12-30) (aged 72) Rome, Papal States
Education	University of Bologna
Coat of arms
Other popes named Innocent

Pope Innocent IX (Latin: Innocentius IX; Italian: Innocenzo IX; 20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti,^[1] was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591.

Prior to his short papacy, he had been a canon lawyer, diplomat, and chief administrator during the reign of Pope Gregory XIV (r. 1590–1591).

He entered the service of the influential Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. As papal legate to Venice, he helped negotiate the formation of the Holy League, an alliance of Spanish and Italian maritime powers to challenge the Ottoman Empire’s control of the eastern Mediterranean, and which resulted in victory at the Battle of Lepanto.