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Pope Sixtus V
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Sixtus V (1520-1590) was pope from 1585 to 1590. A keenly intelligent man of driving energy and determination, he left his clear impress on the internal organization of the Church and on the physical character of Rome.
Felice Perreti, who became Sixtus V, was born on Dec. 13, 1520, in the village of Grottammare in the Mark of Ancona. His parents were poor, and as a boy he did the hard physical work of a peasant. At the age of 14 he entered the Conventual Franciscans. In his studies, which he pursued in various cities of northern Italy, he manifested a clear and forceful intelligence. In 1547 he was ordained a priest at Siena and the following year received his doctorate in theology from the University of Fermo. His abilities as a preacher and his deep concern for reform in the Church brought him to the attention of prominent churchmen in Rome, including two who subsequently became popes, Pius IV and Pius V. Twice appointed inquisitor in Venice, in 1557 and 1560, Perreti was forced to withdraw from the post because his sternness aroused much antagonism.
Pope Pius V advanced Perreti in several ways, in 1566 by making him bishop of Sant' Agata de' Goti and vicar general of the Conventual Franciscans, in 1570 by appointing him a cardinal, and in 1571 by assigning him to the See of Fermo. On April 24, 1585, Perreti was elected pope and took the name Sixtus V.
Sixtus's short reign of 5 years was filled with enormous achievements. He reorganized the curial system at the Vatican, unifying and amplifying the system of congregations and thereby centralizing the Church's business in Rome. He established 70 as the maximum number for the College of Cardinals, a rule changed in 1958 by Pope John XXIII. With his practical sense he insisted that bishops visit the Holy See periodically to render an account of their dioceses. Impatiently setting aside the scholarship of experts, he took upon himself the enormous task of preparing a revised edition of St. Jerome's translation of the Bible. So marred with mistakes was his work that it had to be corrected under Pope Clement VIII. A master of urban planning, Sixtus changed the face of Rome. By a series of roads which cut through all obstacles, he linked the outlying areas of the city with the central metropolis. He raised obelisks, brought fresh water by tunnel and aqueduct 14 miles from Palestrina, built the Lateran Palace, and finished the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
Sixtus pursued foreign policy with equal vigor. Against the potential bloc of massive Spanish influence he worked to preserve France as a strong nation. Only with misgiving did he support the Armada of Philip II against England (1588). There is probably no other pope about whom so many anecdotes are told. Sixtus died on Aug. 27, 1590.
Further Reading
Although research calls for some modification, the best modern comprehensive study of Sixtus V is Ludwig Pastor, History of the Popes, vols. 21-22 (trans. 1932). Sixtus V's career is also examined in Henry Daniel-Rops, The Catholic Reformation (1955; trans. 1962), and Arthur Geoffrey Dickens, The Counter Reformation (1969).
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Sixtus V |
Sixtus V, 1521-90, pope (1585-90), an Italian (b. near Montalto) named Felice Peretti; successor of Gregory XIII. He entered the Franciscan order in early youth. After ordination (1547) he became a famous preacher and was patronized by zealous leaders of the Counter Reformation, notably Cardinal Carafa (later Paul IV), Cardinal Ghislieri (later St. Pius V), St. Philip Neri, and St. Ignatius of Loyola. From 1556 to 1560 he was counselor to the Inquisition in Venice, but his ardor caused trouble and he was recalled. In 1565 he went to Spain to look into the alleged heresy of the archbishop of Toledo and so seriously fell out with his companion, Cardinal Buoncompagni (later Gregory XIII), that they became enemies for life. He was created cardinal (1570) by St. Pius V. As pope, Sixtus V set about bringing order to the Papal States, which were at the mercy of brigands, and his methods, if violent, were successful. He spent a vast amount of money on the city of Rome, rebuilding countless churches, beautifying streets, and erecting new buildings and monuments. Sixtus left a tremendous surplus in the treasury by collecting new taxes, selling offices, and making loans. He reorganized the pontifical administration and the sacred college, which he set at the number of 70. He gave his sanction to Philip II of Spain's attempt to invade and restore Catholicism to England, an endeavor that ended in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Sixtus V is one of the great figures of the Counter Reformation. He was succeeded by Urban VII.
| History 1450-1789: Sixtus V |
Sixtus V (POPE) (b. 1520, reigned 1585–1590), Felice Peretti, born 13 December at Grottammare, near Montalto, March of Ancona. A farmer's son, educated by the Conventual Franciscans at Montalto, he joined the order at age twelve and received training at Fermo, Ferrara, Bologna, Rimini, and Siena before his ordination in 1547; he received a doctorate in theology from Fermo in 1548. Peretti's Lenten preaching at Rome in 1552 brought him notoriety, and he entered papal service as a member of Paul IV's (pope 1555–1559) reform commissions. During his service as inquisitor for Venice (1557–1559), he so vigorously enforced the Index of Prohibited Books of Paul IV that he was forced to flee the city. Appointed consultor of the Roman Inquisition in 1560, made vicar-general of the Franciscans and bishop of Sant'Agata dei Goti in Benevento in 1566, he was elevated to cardinal by Pius V (pope 1566–1572) in 1570 and transferred to become bishop of Fermo (1571–1577). Because of disagreements with Gregory XIII (reigned 1572–1585), Peretti (now known as Cardinal Montalto) withdrew to the Esquiline Hill, where he worked in obscurity on an edition of St. Ambrose's writings. Supported by a strong minority of reform-minded cardinals, he was elected pope on 24 April 1585.
Sixtus's five-year pontificate was significant internationally for his support of Catholic monarchs against Protestantism and for rallying (unsuccessfully) Christian princes against the Turks to recapture the Holy Land. He promised Philip II of Spain (ruled 1556–1598) monetary aid for his invasion of England, but after the Armada's ruin in 1588, he reneged and battled him, diplomatically at least, until the end of his life. Sixtus refused to recognize the right to the throne of French king Henry of Navarre (Henry IV, ruled 1589–1610), whom he excommunicated in 1585, as long as the king remained a Huguenot; Sixtus later encouraged Henry to return to Catholicism to resolve the religious wars in France. In Poland, he assisted Stephen Báthory (ruled 1575–1586) against Russia, and Sigismund III Vasa (ruled 1587–1632) of Sweden as Báthory's successor. His relations with the Holy Roman emperor Rudolf II (ruled 1576–1612) deteriorated, though he succeeded in putting in place a plan for the restoration of Catholicism in the empire.
Sixtus ruled the Papal States with severity, extirpating bandits, executing them publicly and punishing their protectors; but his severity also roused the anger of many fellow Franciscans, clergy, Romans, and others. He established public funds (monti) for carrying out public works; he drained swamps, promoted the wool and silk industries and agriculture, increased taxation, and reduced expenses. At his death he left over five million scudi in the papal treasury.
Sixtus is perhaps best remembered for his reorganization of the administration of the Curia Romana into fifteen congregations (nine for the spiritual affairs of the church, the others for the administration of Rome and the Papal States). He fixed the number of cardinals at seventy. The result made clear that the Sacred College's function was to offer advice and help, not to corule with the pope. Sixtus mandated that bishops visit Rome and submit regular reports on their dioceses. At Rome, his massive public works included road construction linking the seven pilgrimage churches, setting them off with obelisks crowned with crosses, the most prominent being that erected in Saint Peter's Square by Domenico Fontana (1586). He continued work on Saint Peter's Basilica, refurbished the Lateran Basilica and the Quirinal Palace, built the new wing for the Vatican Library, rejuvenated the University of Rome (Sapienza), repaired the aqueduct of Alexander Severus to bring fresh waters (aqua felice) to the Esquiline, and saw the completion of Michelangelo's dome for Saint Peter's. Sixtus died on 27 August 1590. His remains lie in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where they were translated on 26 August 1591.
Bibliography
Pastor, Ludwig von. The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages. Vols. 21 and 22. Translated by Ralph Francis Kerr. St. Louis, 1952.
Schiffmann, René. Roma felix: Aspekte der städtebaulichen Gestaltung Roms unter Papst Sixtus V. Bern and New York, 1985.
—FREDERICK J. MCGINNESS
| Wikipedia: Pope Sixtus V |
| Sixtus V | |
|---|---|
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| Papacy began | 24 April, 1585 |
| Papacy ended | 27 August, 1590 |
| Predecessor | Gregory XIII |
| Successor | Urban VII |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Felice Peretti di Montalto |
| Born | December 13, 1520 Grottammare, Papal States |
| Died | August 27, 1590 (aged 69) Rome, Papal States |
| Other Popes named Sixtus | |
Pope Sixtus V (13 December, 1520 – 27 August, 1590), born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.[1]
Contents |
Biography
| Papal styles of Pope Sixtus V |
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| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | None |
Felice Peretti was born at Grottammare, in the Papal States, son of Piergentile di Giacomo, nicknamed "Peretto", and Marianna da Frontillo. He took the surname "Peretti" in 1551 and was more generally known as "di Montalto"[2]. He was reared in poverty; born in a shanty so ill-thatched that the sun shone through the roof, he later jested that he was "nato di casa illustre" — born of an illustrious house. His father was a gardener and it is said of Felice that, when a boy, he was a swineherd.
According to Andrija Zmajević's chronicle[3], his father originated from the Bay of Kotor (modern-day Montenegro) and was born in Bjelske Kruševice, a village near Bijela, into the Šišić family, possibly called Slavjan. The theory that he comes from the Svilanović family is unfounded. As a child, he served in a Catholic monastery in Kotor, where he converted from Serbian Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism and was subsequently taken to Italy by an Italian friar. He settled in Ancona, where he married and had Felice Peretti (Srećko Perić in modern Croat). Not much else is recorded about Peretti's family, but when he eventually became Pope Sixtus V, the church of Saint Jerome in Rome (finished in 1589), was rebuilt to be used specifically for the people who spoke the Illyrian language. He also established a college of eleven Slavonic clerics in his papal bull Sapientiam Sanctorum of 1 August, 1589. This was later transformed into the Pontifical Croatian College of St. Jerome.
At an early age he entered a Franciscan monastery at Montalto and was known as Felice di Montalto. He soon gave evidence of rare ability as a preacher and a dialectician. About 1552 he was noticed by Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi (1500–64), protector of his order, Cardinal Ghislieri (later Pope Pius V) and Cardinal Caraffa (later Pope Paul IV), and from that time his advancement was assured. He was sent to Venice as inquisitor general, but was so severe and carried matters with such a high hand that he became embroiled in quarrels. The government asked for his recall in 1560.
After a brief term as procurator of his order, he was attached to the Spanish legation headed by Ugo Cardinal Boncampagni (later Pope Gregory XIII) in 1565, which was sent to investigate a charge of heresy levelled against Archbishop Bartolome Carranza of Toledo. The violent dislike he conceived for Boncampagni exerted a marked influence upon his subsequent actions. He hurried back to Rome upon the accession of Pius V (1566–72), who made him apostolic vicar of his order, and, later (1570), cardinal.
During the pontificate of his political enemy Gregory XIII (1572–85) the Cardinal Montalto, as he was generally called, lived in enforced retirement, occupied with the care of his property, the Villa Montalto, erected by Domenico Fontana close to his beloved church on the Esquiline Hill, overlooking the Baths of Diocletian. The first phase (1576–80) was enlarged after Peretti became pope and could clear buildings to open four new streets in 1585–6. The villa contained two residences, the Palazzo Sistino or "di Termini" ("of the Baths") and the casino, called the Palazzetto Montalto e Felice. Displaced Romans were furious. The decision to build the central pontifical railroad station (begun in 1869) in the area of the Villa marked the beginning of its destruction.
Cardinal Montalto's other concern was with his studies, one of the fruits of which was an edition of the works of Ambrose. As pope he personally supervised the printing of an improved edition of Jerome's Vulgate -- said to be "as splendid a translation of the Bible into Latin as the King James version is into English."[4]
Though not neglecting to follow the course of affairs, Sixtus V carefully avoided every occasion of offence. This discretion contributed not a little to his election to the papacy on 24 April, 1585; but the story of his having feigned decrepitude in the conclave, in order to win votes, is a pure invention. One of the things that commended his candidacy to certain Cardinals was his physical vigour, which seemed to promise a long pontificate.
The terrible condition in which Pope Gregory XIII had left the ecclesiastical states called for prompt and stern measures. Against the prevailing lawlessness Sixtus V proceeded with an almost ferocious severity, which only extreme necessity could justify. Thousands of brigands were brought to justice: within a short time the country was again quiet and safe. Next Sixtus V set to work to repair the finances. By the sale of offices, the establishment of new "Monti" and by levying new taxes, he accumulated a vast surplus, which he stored up against certain specified emergencies, such as a crusade or the defence of the Holy See. Sixtus V prided himself upon his hoard, but the method by which it had been amassed was financially unsound: some of the taxes proved ruinous, and the withdrawal of so much money from circulation could not fail to cause distress.
Immense sums, however, were spent upon public works, in carrying through the comprehensive planning that had come to fruition during his retirement, bringing water to the waterless hills in the Acqua Felice, feeding twenty-seven new fountains; laying out new arteries in Rome, which connected the great basilicas, even setting his engineer-architect Domenico Fontana to replan the Colosseum as a silk-spinning factory housing its workers. The Pope set no limit to his plans; and what he achieved in his short pontificate, carried through always at top speed, is almost incredible; the completion of the dome of St. Peter's; the loggia of Sixtus in the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano; the chapel of the Praesepe in Santa Maria Maggiore; additions or repairs to the Quirinal, Lateran and Vatican palaces; the erection of four obelisks, including that in St Peter's Square; the opening of six streets; the restoration of the aqueduct of Septimius Severus ("Acqua Felice"); the integration of the Leonine City in Rome as XIV rione (Borgo); besides numerous roads and bridges, he sweetened the city air by financing the Pontine Marshes. Good progress was made with more than 9,500 acres (38 km2) reclaimed and opened to agriculture and manufacture; the project was abandoned upon his death.
But Sixtus V had no appreciation of antiquities, which were employed as raw material to serve his urbanistic and Christianising programs: Trajan's Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius (at the time misidentified as the Column of Antoninus Pius) were made to serve as pedestals for the statues of SS Peter and Paul; the Minerva of the Capitol was converted into an emblem of Christian Rome; the Septizonium of Septimius Severus was demolished for its building materials.
Church administration
The subsequent administrative system of the Church owed much to Sixtus V. He limited the College of Cardinals to seventy; and doubled the number of the congregations, and enlarged their functions, assigning to them the principal role in the transaction of business (1588). He regarded the Jesuits with disfavour and suspicion. He meditated radical changes in their constitution, but death prevented the execution of his purpose. In 1589 was begun a revision of the Vulgate, the so-called Editio Sixtina.
Foreign relations
In his larger political relations, however, Sixtus V showed himself visionary and vacillating. He entertained fantastic ambitions, such as the annihilation of the Turks, the conquest of Egypt, the transporting of the Holy Sepulchre to Italy, and the accession of his nephew to the throne of France. The situation in which he found himself was embarrassing: he could not countenance the designs of heretical princes, and yet he mistrusted Philip II of Spain (1556–98) and viewed with apprehension any extension of his power.
Sixtus V agreed to renew the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1558–1603), and to grant a large subsidy to the Armada of King Philip II, but, knowing the slowness of Spain, would give nothing till the expedition should actually land in England. In this way he was saved his crown millions, and spared the reproach of having taken futile proceedings against what Roman Catholics viewed as the heretic Queen. This excommunication which Catholics of the day considered richly deserved, and there is extant a proclamation to justify it, which was to have been published in England if the invasion had been successful. It was signed by Cardinal Allen, and is entitled "An Admonition to the Nobility and Laity of England". It was intended to comprise all that could be said against Queen Elizabeth I, and the indictment is therefore fuller and more forcible than any other put forward by the religious exiles, who were generally very reticent in their complaints. Allen also carefully consigned his publication to the fire, and we only know of it through one of Elizabeth's ubiquitous spies, who had previously stolen a copy.[5]
Sixtus V excommunicated Henry of Navarre (future Henry IV of France), and contributed to the Catholic League, but he chafed under his forced alliance with Philip II, and looked for escape. The victories of Henry and the prospect of his conversion to Catholicism raised Sixtus V's hopes, and in corresponding degree determined Philip II to tighten his grip upon his wavering ally. The Pope's negotiations with Henry's representative evoked a bitter and menacing protest and a categorical demand for the performance of promises. Sixtus V took refuge in evasion, and temporised until death relieved him of the necessity of coming to a decision (27 August, 1590).
Summation
On his death bed his subjects loathed Sixtus V, but history has recognised him as one of the great figures of the Counter Reformation. On the negative he could be impulsive, obstinate, severe, and autocratic. On the positive he was open to large ideas and threw himself into his undertakings with a lot of energy as well as determination. This often led to success. His reign saw great enterprises and large achievements. He slept little and worked hard. He had inherited a bankrupt treasury, administered his funds with competence and care, and left five million crowns in the Vatican coffers at his death. Though not the greatest man, he was by far the greatest statesman who has ever sat on the papal throne.[6]
The changes wrought by Sixtus V on the streetscape of Rome were documented in the film, "Rome: Impact of an Idea", featuring Edmund N. Bacon and based on sections of his book Design of Cities.
References
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Wikisource has original works written by or about: Pope Sixtus V |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Pope Sixtus V |
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
"Pope Sixtus V" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.
Notes
- ^ Name and date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF) . Retrieved on 2009-08-20.
- ^ The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary - Consistory of May 17, 1570
- ^ Church Chronicle Andrija Zmajević
- ^ Durant, Will, "The Story of Civilation: Vol. VII", Chapter ix, p. 241
- ^ Catholic encyclopedia articleThe Spanish Armada: IV. Catholic co-operation.
- ^ Ibid.#3,p.241
External links
- Montalto delle Marche city of Sisto V
- Piazza di Termini, Rome: timeline, including the Villa
- Visit Montalto delle Marche where Pope Sixtus V trained
- FIU
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