'Pope Pius IV' (
March 31,
1499 –
December 9,
1565), born 'Giovanni Angelo de Medici', was
Pope from 1559 to 1565. He is generally believed to be the first pope to have died leaving ''
in pectore'' cardinals unpublished.
Biography
Giovanni Angelo de Medici was born of humble parentage in
Milan, unrelated with the
Medicis of
Florence. His early career connects itself in some measure with the rise of his elder brother,
Gian Giacomo Medici, from the position of a mere ''bravo'' to that of Marchese di
Marignano.
After studying at Bologna and acquiring a reputation as a jurist, he went in 1527 to Rome, and as the favourite of
Pope Paul III was rapidly promoted to the governorship of several towns, the
archbishopric of
Ragusa, the vice-legateship of Bologna, and in April 1549, to the
cardinalate. On the death of
Pope Paul IV, he was elected Pope Pius IV on
December 26, 1559, and installed on
January 6,
1560. His first public acts of importance were to grant a general pardon to the participators in the riot which had closed the previous pontificate, and to bring to trial the nephews of his predecessor, of whom Cardinal
Carlo Carafa was strangled, and
Duke Giovanni Carafa of Paliano, with his nearest connections, beheaded. The process, however, was a clear farce, and
Pius V renegated its acts.
A portrait of Pope Pius IV
On
January 18,
1562 the
council of Trent, which had been suspended by
Pope Julius III, was opened for the third time. Great skill and caution were necessary to effect a settlement of the questions before it, inasmuch as the three principal nations taking part in it, though at issue with regard to their own special demands, were prepared to unite their forces against the demands of Rome. Pius IV, however, aided by
Moroni and
Charles Borromeo, proved himself equal to the emergency, and by judicious management – and concession – brought the council to a termination satisfactory to the disputants and favourable to the pontifical authority. Its definitions and decrees were confirmed by a
papal bull dated
January 26,
1564; and, though they were received with certain limitations by
France and
Spain, the famous Creed of Pius IV, or
Tridentine Creed, remained the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith. The more marked manifestations of stringency during his pontificate appear to have been prompted rather than spontaneous, his personal character inclining him to moderation and ease.
Thus, a warning, issued in 1564, summoning
Jeanne d'Albret, the Queen of
Navarre, before the
Inquisition on a charge of
Calvinism, was withdrawn by him in deference to the indignant protest of
Charles IX of France. In the same year he published a bull granting the use of the cup to the laity of
Austria and
Bohemia. One of his strongest passions appears to have been that of building, which somewhat strained his resources in contributing to the adornment of Rome (including the new
Porta Pia and
Via Pia, named after him, and the northern extension (''Addizione'') of the
rione of
Borgo), and in carrying on the work of restoration, erection, and fortification in various parts of the ecclesiastical states.
On the other hands, others bemoaned the austere Roman culture during this papacy; Giorgio Vasari in 1567 spoke of a time when ''the grandeurs of this place reduced by stinginess of living, dullness of dress, and simplicity in so many things; Rome is fallen into much misery, and if it is true that Christ loved poverty and the City wishes to follow in his steps she will quickly become beggarly...".
[1]
A conspiracy against Pius IV, headed by the Catholic fanatic
Benedetto Accolti (a son of a cardinal ousted by Pius III), was discovered and crushed in 1565.
Pius IV, like many of his predecessors and successor, was a nepotist. Among the relatives he favoured, the main figure is that of
Carlo Borromeo. Under his reign Michelangelo re-built the basilica of
Santa Maria degli Angeli (in the
Diocletian's Baths) and the eponymous
Villa Pia, now known as
Casina Pio IV and headquarters of the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, was designed by
Pirro Ligorio in the
Vatican Gardens.
He died on December 9, 1565, and was buried in Santa Maria degli Angeli. His successor was
Pius V.
Sources
★
I papi. Storia e segreti, , Claudio, Rendina, Newton Compton, 1984,
★ ''Text from the 9th edition (1888) of the
Encyclopædia Britannica''
★
★
Painting in Italy, 1500-1600, , Sydney J., Freedberg, Penguin Books Ltd, 1993,
Notes
1. Freedberg SJ, p429
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