Pope Gregory XV
pope|English name=Gregory XV|Latin name=Gregorio PP. XV|image=
|birth_name=Alessandro Ludovisi|term_start=
February 9,
1621|term_end=
July 8,
1623|predecessor=
Paul V|successor=
Urban VIII|birth_date=January 9 or 15,
1554|birthplace=
Bologna,
Italy|dead=dead|death_date=
July 8,
1623|deathplace=
Rome,
Italy|other=Gregory}}
Pope Gregory XV (
January 9,
1554,
Bologna –
July 8,
1623),
Pope (
1621-
1623), born
Alessandro Ludovisi, succeeded
Paul V on
February 9, 1621. He was the last Pope
elected by
acclamation.
He was the son of conte Pompeo Ludovisi and Camilla Bianchini, patricians of Bologna, and one of seven surviving siblings. Educated at the
Collegio Romano of the
Jesuits in Rome, he went to the
University of Bologna to get a degree in both
canon and
Roman law, June 1575. There is no sign that he ever took orders: his early career was as a papal jurist in Rome. In 1612
Paul V appointed him
Archbishop of Bologna and sent him in August 1616 as nuncio to the
Duchy of Savoy, to mediate between
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and
Philip III of Spain in their dispute concerning the
Gonzaga marquessate of
Montferrat[The dispute eventually led to the War of the Mantuan Succession, 1628-31]. In September 1616 Paul created him Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Traspontina. Henceforth Cardinal Ludovisi remained at his see in Bologna until he went to Rome after the death of Pope Paul V to take part in the
conclave in which he was chosen.
At the moment of his election, chiefly through the influence of Cardinal Borghese, at his advanced age (he was 67) and with his weak state of health he saw at once that he would need an energetic man, in whom he could place implicit confidence, to assist him in the government of the Church. His nephew
Ludovico Ludovisi, a young man of 25 years, seemed to him to be the right person and, at the risk of being charged with nepotism, he created him cardinal on the third day of his pontificate. On the same day, Orazio, a brother of the pope, was put at the head of the pontifical army. The future revealed that Gregory XV was not disappointed in his nephew. The
Catholic Encyclopedia allows that "Ludovico, it is true, advanced the interests of his family in every possible way, but he also used his brilliant talents and his great influence for the welfare of the Church, and was sincerely devoted to the pope." Gregory secured for the Ludovisi two dukedoms, one for his youngest brother Orzio, made a
Nobile Romano and duca di Fiano, 1621, and the other the ducata di Zagarolo purchased from the
Colonna by his nephew
Ludovico Ludovisi in 1622. A second nephew, Niccolò, was made reigning principe di
Piombino and Lord of the Isola d'
Elba in 1634, having married the heiress, 30 March 1632. Through well-arranged political marriages for Niccolò's offspring, further titles were allied to the Ludovisi clan.
Beyond assisting
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and the Catholic League against the
Protestants, to the tune of a million gold ducats, and
Sigismund III Vasa against the
Turks, he interfered little in European politics. His Constitution against magicians and witches (
Omnipotentis Dei, 20 March, 1623) was the last papal ordinance against
witchcraft. Former punishments were lessened, and the death penalty was limited to those who were "proved to have entered into a
compact with the devil, and to have committed homicide with his assistance" (
CE). He was a learned divine and manifested a reforming spirit; his bull of November 15, 1621,
Aeterni Patris regulated papal elections which were to be secret and in writing; three methods of election were allowed: by scrutiny, compromise and quasi-inspiration. On 6 January 1622, he established the
Congregatio de propaganda fide the missionary arm of the Roman Curia. His pontificate was marked by the
canonization of
Teresa of Avila,
Francis Xavier,
Ignatius Loyola,
Philip Neri, and
Isidore the Farmer. He also beatified
Aloysius Gonzaga and
Peter of Alcantara. He was influential in bringing the Bolognese artist
Guercino to Rome, a landmark in the development of the
High Baroque style. He sat for his portrait bust both to
Gian Lorenzo Bernini and to
Alessandro Algardi, whose restrained bust in a tondo is in the church of S. Maria in Vallicella.
He died in Rome on
July 8,
1623 and was succeeded by
Urban VIII.
|
Coat of Arms of Pope Gregory XV |
*
Catholic Encyclopedia: "Pope Gregory XV"
*Some revised text from the ninth edition (1880) of the
Encyclopædia Britannica.
*
Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Alessandro Ludovisi
*
Genealogy of the Ludovisi: Alessandro Ludovisi, no. F3
