Who was Pope Pius IV and what did he do?

Answer 1

A:

Born Giovanni Angelo Medici, Pius IV was pope from 1559 to 1565, allegedly elected with simony. Possibly himself the son of Pope Leo X, he had three illegitimate children before his election to the papacy and raised several relatives to the cardinalate, including two nephews (a term that was often used for illegitimate children). He was notorious for nepotism, transferring more than 350,000 scudito his relatives between 1561 and 1565.

He instituted a number of grand building projects and is believed to have instituted works to improve the water supply in Rome.

Catholic Answer:

Giovanni Angelo Medici was one of two sons born to Bernardino Medeci and his wife in Milan, Italy. in 1499. He was not closely related to the infamous de Medici family of Florence, Italy. There is no evidence that he fathered any illegitimate children either before receiving Holy Orders, or after ordination and is not listed as a sexually active pope (see link below). He was legitimately elected to the papacy on Christmas Day in 1559 and did not purchase the office. He raised his nephew to the rank of Cardinal, Saint Charles Borromeo, the son of Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medeci, who went on to become the Church's chief protagonist at the Council of Trent that had been reopened by his uncle, the pope. Pius did much to improve the failing infrastructure of Rome but this nearly sent the papacy into bankruptcy. He was considered a holy and humble man despite some of his other leadership failings. His papacy is generally consiered favorable.