Pope Alexander VI

"Rodrigo de Borja" redirects here. For the Spanish nobleman, see Rodrigo de Borja (Spanish noble).

Pope

Alexander VI

Valentinus ("The Valencian")[1]
Bishop of Rome
Portrait attributed to Pedro Berruguete
(c. 1495, oil on canvas, Vatican Museums)
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began11 August 1492
Papacy ended18 August 1503
PredecessorInnocent VIII
SuccessorPius III
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination1468[2]
Consecration30 October 1471
Created cardinal17 September 1456
by Callixtus III
Personal details
Born
Roderic de Borgia (Rodrigo Borja)

c. 1431
Xàtiva, Kingdom of Valencia, Crown of Aragon
Died18 August 1503(1503-08-18) (aged 72)
Rome, Papal States
BuriedSanta Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli, Rome
NationalityKingdom of Valencia, Aragonese – Spanish
DenominationCatholic Church
Parents
Children
[Note 1]
EducationUniversity of Bologna
Coat of armsAlexander VI's coat of arms
Other popes named Alexander
Papal styles of
Pope Alexander VI
Reference styleHis Holiness
Spoken styleYour Holiness
Religious styleHoly Father
Posthumous styleNone

Pope Alexander VI[Note 2] (born Rodrigo de Borja;[Note 3] c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) (epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian"))[6] was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon, Spain, Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.

Alexander's papal bulls of 1493 confirmed or reconfirmed the rights of the Spanish crown in the New World following the finds of Christopher Columbus in 1492. During the second Italian war, Alexander VI supported his son Cesare Borgia as a condottiero for the French king. The scope of his foreign policy was to gain the most advantageous terms for his family.[7][8]

Alexander is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. As a result, his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate.

  1. ^ See inscription on 5 Ducat piece File:Roma, alessandro VI, 5 ducati, 1492-1503.jpg "Alexander VI Pontifex Maximus Borgia Valentinus" ("The Valencian", his epithet indicating his birth in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (now Spain),
  2. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Alexander VI". www.newadvent.org.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Meyer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Hibbert (2008)[page needed]
  5. ^ Ferdinand Gregorovius (1900). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. Vol. 7, Part 1. London: George Bell. p. 353. ISBN 978-1-108-01509-7.
  6. ^ See inscription on 5 Ducat piece File:Roma, alessandro VI, 5 ducati, 1492-1503.jpg "Alexander VI Pontifex Maximus Borgia Valentinus" ("The Valencian", his epithet indicating his birth in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (now Spain),
  7. ^ Weckman-Muñoz, Luis."The Alexandrine Bulls of 1493" in First Images of America: The Impact of the New World on the Old. Edited by Fredi Chiappelli. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1976, pp. 201–210.
  8. ^ Batllori, Miguel, S.J. "The Papal Division of the World and its Consequences" in First Images of America: The Impact of the New World on the Old. Edited by Fredi Chiappelli. pp. 211–220.


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