Pope Pius IV

Pope from 1559 to 1565

Pope Pius IV (Latin: Pius Quartus; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was an Italian priest of the Roman Catholic Church and the 225th Pope from 1559 to 1565.[1]

Pius IV
Papacy began25 December 1559
Papacy ended9 December 1565
PredecessorPope Paul IV
SuccessorPope Pius V
Personal details
Birth nameGiovanni Angelo Medici
Born(1499-03-31)31 March 1499
Died9 December 1565(1565-12-09) (aged 66)
Other popes named Pius

Early life change

Giovanni Angelo Medici was born in Milan. He was not closely related to the Medicis of Florence.[2]

He studied at University of Pavia and the University of Bologna where he earned a law degree.[2]

In 1527, Medici went to Rome where he joined the church bureaucracy.[2]

Cardinal change

In 1549, Pope Paul III made Medici a cardinal.[2] Pope Leo III sent him on diplomatic missions to Germany and to Hungary.[3]

During the reign of Pope Paul IV, Cardinal Medici was out of favor.[3]

Pope change

Cardinal Medici was elected Pope on 25 December 1559.[2]

In the context of the Counter-Reformation, this pope moderated the Inquisition in Italy.[4]

Council of Trent change

Pope Paul III presided over the last session of the Council of Trent[3] which was the major event of his papacy.[5]

In part, the Tridentine Creed reflects the thinking of church leaders at the Council of Trent.[6]

After his death change

After his death in 1565, the body of Pope Pius IV was entombed at the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

Related pages change

References change

 
The Coat of Arms of the Medici popes
  1. "List of Popes," Catholic Encyclopedia (2009); retrieved 2011-11-02.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Pope Pius IV," Catholic Encyclopedia; retrieved 2011-10-31.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chisholm, Hugh (1911). Encyclopedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. University Press. pp. 684–685.
  4. Antonio Carlo Napoleone Gallenga (1841). Italy: General Views of Its History and Literature in Reference to Its Present State. Saunders and Otley. p. 99.
  5. Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. C. Knight. 1840. p. 198.
  6. Tridentine Creed; retrieved 2011-10-31.

Other websites change

  Media related to Pius IV at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Paul IV
Pope
1559–1565
Succeeded by
Pius V