Pope Clement VIII


Clement VIII
Bishop of Rome
Portrait by an unknown Italian artist, 17th century
ChurchCatholic Church
Papacy began30 January 1592[1][2][3]
Papacy ended3 March 1605
PredecessorInnocent IX
SuccessorLeo XI
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination31 December 1580
Consecration2 February 1592
by Alfonso Gesualdo di Conza
Created cardinal18 December 1585
by Sixtus V
Personal details
Born
Ippolito Aldobrandini

24 February 1536
Died3 March 1605(1605-03-03) (aged 69)
Rome, Papal States
Coat of armsClement VIII's coat of arms
Other popes named Clement
Papal styles of
Pope Clement VIII
Reference styleHis Holiness
Spoken styleYour Holiness
Religious styleHoly Father

Pope Clement VIII (Latin: Clemens VIII; Italian: Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death, in March 1605.

Born in Fano, Italy[4] to a prominent Florentine family, he initially came to prominence as a canon lawyer before being made a Cardinal-Priest in 1585. In 1592 he was elected Pope and took the name of Clement. During his papacy he effected the reconciliation of Henry IV of France to the Catholic faith and was instrumental in setting up an alliance of Christian nations to oppose the Ottoman Empire in the so-called Long War. He also successfully adjudicated in a bitter dispute between the Dominicans and the Jesuits on the issue of efficacious grace and free will. In 1600 he presided over a jubilee which saw many pilgrimages to Rome. He presided over the trial and execution of Giordano Bruno and implemented strict measures against Jewish residents of the Papal States. He may have been the first pope to drink coffee.

Clement VIII died at the age of 69 in 1605 and his remains now rest in the Roman church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

  1. ^ http://www.jgray.org/codes/1917CIC.txt [bare URL plain text file]
  2. ^ "Guiding Principles of the Lay Apostolate". 5 October 1957.
  3. ^ Taunton, Ethelred Luke (1906). "The Law of the Church: A Cyclopaedia of Canon Law for English-speaking Countries".
  4. ^ "Clement VIII". w2.vatican.va.