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Pope Sixtus V
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Pope

Sixtus V

Papacy began Papacy ended Predecessor Successor Ordination Consecration Created Cardinal

24 April 1585 27 August 1590 (5 years, 4 months, 3 days) Gregory XIII Urban VII Orders 1547 12 January 1567 by Antonio Lauro 17 May 1570

Personal details Birth name Felice Peretti di Montalto 13 December 1520 Born Grottammare, Papal States 27 August 1590 (aged 69) Died Rome, Papal States Other popes named Sixtus

Pope Sixtus V (Latin: Xystus PP. V, Italian: Sisto V; 13 December 1521 27 August 1590), born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was the head of the Catholic Church from 24 April 1585 to his death in 1590.[1][2] He is the last Pope to take the name "Sixtus" upon his election.

Contents

1 Biography o 1.1 Early life 2 Papacy o 2.1 Election as pope o 2.2 Church administration o 2.3 Foreign relations o 2.4 Vittoria Accoramboni Affair o 2.5 Legacy 2.5.1 Contraception and Abortion 3 See also 4 References 5 Notes 6 External links

Biography
Early life
Felice Peretti was born on December 13, 1521 at Grottammare, in the Papal States, to Pier Gentile (also known as Peretto Peretti), and Marianna da Frontillo.[3] His family was poor.[3] Felice later adopted Peretti as his family name in 1551, and was known as "Cardinal Montalto".[3] He himself claimed that he was "nato di casa illustre" born of an illustrious (i.e., "illuminated") house.[citation needed] According to Isidoro Gatti, the Peretti family came from Piceno, today Marche, in Italy.[4] [verification needed] According to another source, his father came from Montalto, a nearby village. [citation needed] Some Croatians have claimed that he was Croatian,[5] descending from the Croatian family Peretti which settled from Kruevice, in Boka Kotorska (modern Montenegro), to Montalto in Italy, where Felice was born.[6] According to the Serbian Academy, he had Slavic origin from the Adriatic coast.[7] According to Sava Nakienovi, he hailed from the Svilanovi family from Kruevice.[8] The family origin in Kruevice is supported by the fact that the Pope used three pears for his Coat of Arms (The toponym Kruevice is derived from kruka, "pear").[9] The Slavic, or Croatian origin, although popular in Slavic sources, is unlikely.[10][by whom?][unreliable source?]

Coats of arms of Pope Sixtus V At an early age he entered a Franciscan friary at Montalto. He soon gave evidence of rare ability as a preacher and a dialectician. A legend has it that while a friar he was approached by the aging Nostradamus, who knelt, kissed the friar's robe and then exclaimed he was kissing the robe of the future pope.[citation needed]. About 1552 he was noticed by Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Protector of the Franciscan 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 conducted matters in such a high-handed manner that he became embroiled in quarrels. The government asked for his recall in 1560.
Papal styles of

Pope Sixtus V

Reference style Spoken style Religious style Posthumous style

His Holiness Your Holiness Holy Father None

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 Bartolom Carranza, Archbishop 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, who made him apostolic vicar of his order, and, later (1570), cardinal. During the pontificate of his political enemy Gregory XIII (157285,) 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 (157680) was enlarged after Peretti

became pope and was able to clear buildings to open four new streets in 15856. 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, and resentment of this act was still felt centuries later, when the decision was taken to build the central pontifical railroad station (begun in 1869) in the area of the Villa, marking 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."[11]

Papacy
Election as pope
Though not neglecting to follow the course of affairs, Felice carefully avoided every occasion of offence. This discretion contributed not a little to his election to the papacy on 24 April 1585, with the title of Sixtus V. The story of his having feigned decrepitude in the conclave, in order to win votes, is pure invention. One of the things that commended his candidacy to certain cardinals may have been his physical vigour, which seemed to promise a long pontificate.

A statue of Sixtus V in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome. The terrible condition in which Pope Gregory XIII had left the ecclesiastical states called for prompt and stern measures. Sixtus proceeded with an almost ferocious severity against the prevailing lawlessness. Thousands of brigands were brought to justice: within a short time the country was again quiet and safe. Next Sixtus 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 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 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 achieved much in his short pontificate, always carried through at top speed: 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 Saint 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 reclamation of 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. Sixtus 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. He limited the College of Cardinals to seventy. He 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 to 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, Sixtus entertained fantastic ambitions, such as the annihilation of the Turks, the conquest of Egypt, the transport 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 those he considered as heretical princes, and yet he mistrusted Philip II of Spain and viewed with apprehension any extension of his power. Sixtus agreed to renew the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and to grant a large subsidy to the Armada of Philip II, but, knowing the slowness of Spain, would give nothing until the expedition actually landed in England. This way, he saved a fortune that would otherwise have been lost in the failed campaign. Sixtus had Cardinal Allen draw up the An Admonition to the Nobility and Laity of England, a proclamation to be published in

England if the invasion had been successful. The extant document comprised all that could be said against 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 carefully consigned his publication to the fire, and we only know of it through one of Elizabeth's spies, who had stolen a copy.[12] Sixtus 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 of Spain, 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 took refuge in evasion, and temporised until his death on 27 August 1590.

Vittoria Accoramboni Affair

In 1581 Francesco Peretti, the nephew of the then Cardinal Montalto, had married Vittoria Accoramboni, a lady famous for her great beauty and accomplishments who had many admirers. The future Pope's nephew was, however, soon assassinated, and his widow married the powerful Paolo Giordano I Orsini, duke of Bracciano, who was widely considered to have been involved in the killing of her first husband. On becoming pope, Sixtus V immediately vowed vengeance on both the Duke of Bracciano and Vittoria Accoramboni. Warned in time, they fled - first to Venice and thence to Sal in Venetian territory. Here the Duke of Bracciano died in November 1585, bequeathing all his personal property to his widow. A month later Vittoria Accoramboni, who went to live in Padua, was assassinated by band of bravos hired by Lodovico Orsini, a relation of her late husband.

Legacy
As Sixtus lay on his death bed, he was loathed by his political subjects, but history has recognized him as a significant figure in the Counter Reformation. On the negative side, he could be impulsive, obstinate, severe, and autocratic. On the positive side, he was open to large ideas and threw himself into his undertakings with great energy and determination. This often led to success. His pontificate saw great enterprises and great achievements. He slept little and worked hard. Having inherited a bankrupt treasury, he administered his funds with competence and care, and left five million crowns in the coffers of the Holy See at his death.
[13]

The changes wrought by Sixtus on the street plan 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. Contraception and Abortion Sixtus is noted for developing the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on contraception and abortion. While many allege the Catholic Church had always taught that abortion and contraception were gravely sinful actions ("mortal sins"), not all mortal sins demanded the additional penalty of excommunication.[14] Although homicide had always required this

penalty, contraception had not. Patristic and Medieval theologians and physicians had long speculated and debated over the exact moment the fertilised egg became a human being. While there was no question that life was present at conception or that it could only become a human being, the thinking was that this did not necessarily mean God had infused the rational, immortal soul into the body at conception. Following Aristotle, many in the West had theorized that the matter had to be prepared to a certain point before this could happen and, prior to then, there was only a vegetative or sensitive soul, but not a human soul. This meant that killing an organism before the human soul is infused would still be a grave sin of abortion (or at least contraception), but that it was not properly a homicide and, thus, did not require excommunication. Some theologians argued that only after proof of the "quickening" (when the mother can feel the fetus's movement in her womb, usually about 20 weeks into gestation) that there was incontrovertible evidence that ensoulment had already occurred. Until Sixtus V, Canon Lawyers had applied the code from Gratian whereby excommunications were only given to abortions after the quickening. In 1588, however, the pope issued the papal bull, "Effraenatam" (Without Restraint), which declared that the canonical penalty of excommunication would be levied for any form of contraception and for abortions at any stage in fetal development.[14] Pope Sixtus' bull attaches the penalty of excommunication to the act of an abortion due to the fact that the soul of the unborn child would be denied Heaven: "Noticing that frequently by various Apostolic Constitutions the audacity and daring of most profligate men, who know no restraint, of sinning with license against the commandment 'do not kill' was repressed; We who are placed by the Lord in the supreme throne of justice, being counseled by a most just reason, are in part renewing old laws and in part extending them in order to restrain with just punishment the monstrous and atrocious brutality of those who have no fear to kill most cruelly fetuses still hiding in the maternal viscera. Who will not detest such an abhorrent and evil act, by which are lost not only the bodies but also the souls? Who will not condemn to a most grave punishment the impiety of him who will exclude a soul created in the image of God and for which Our Lord Jesus Christ has shed His precious Blood, and which is capable of eternal happiness and is destined to be in the company of angels, from the blessed vision of God, and who has impeded as much as he could the filling up of heavenly mansions, and has taken away the service to God by His creature?"[15]

See also

Cardinals created by Sixtus V

References
Wikisource has original works written by or about: Pope Sixtus V This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. "Pope Sixtus V" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.

Notes
1. 2. ^ Richard P. McBrien, Lives of the Pope, (HarperCollins, 2000), 292. ^ Name and date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF) . Retrieved on 20 August 2009. 3. ^ a b c "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary Consistory of 17 May 1570". 4. ^ Isidoro Gatti, Sisto V Papa piceno. Le testimonianze e i documenti autentici, Ripatransone, Maroni, 1990 and Isidoro Gatti - Raffaele Tassotti, Ancora su Sisto V papa piceno. Commento ad un recente opuscolo, 1999 5. ^ Jugoslavenska Akademija Znanosti i Umjetnosti (1897). Special editions Centre for Research Osijek, JAZU, Volumes 1314. Osijek: Centre for Research. p. 224. "Na zemljak Siksto V., jedan od najumnijih i najslavnijih papa u srednjem vijeku, od siromana pastireta papom je postao." 6. ^ Cvrlje, Vjekoslav (2004). Znameniti Hrvati pri Svetoj Stolici--: sutvorci kranske civilizacije. kolska knj. p. 10. "Dokazano je daje Siksto V. bio potomak hrvatske obitelji Peretti koja se 1400. doselila iz Kruevice u Boki kotorskoj u Italiju gdje se u Montaltu rodio Felice Peretti, budui papa Siksto V. Papino hrvatsko podrijetlo potvruje i vatikanski latinski ..." 7. ^ Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti (1907). Posebna izdanja, Volumes 2527 (in Serbian). p. 26. " ] ] V, ] - ) > ." 8. ^ Nakienovi, Sava (1999). Boka (in Serbian). CID. p. 90. " ] . V. , ." 9. ^ Srpska kraljevska akademija (1913). Srpski etnografski zbornik, Volume 20. Akademija. p. 268. " , , V, , , , ". - , , " " 10. ^ "l'INTERVENTO di Kristijan Knez - Artisti, navigatori, papi, scienziati... croati" (in Italian). 2012. 11. ^ Durant, Will, The Story of Civilation: Vol. VII, Chapter ix, p. 241 12. ^ Catholic encyclopedia, "Spanish Armada". 13. ^ Ibid. #3, p. 241 14. ^ a b [1][dead link] 15. ^ " "Effraenatam in English".

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pope Sixtus V

Montalto delle Marche city of Sisto V Papa Sisto V Piazza di Termini, Rome: timeline, including the Villa Visit Montalto delle Marche where Pope Sixtus V trained FIU

Catholic Church titles Preceded by Gregory XIII Pope 24 April 1585 27 August 1590 Succeeded by Urban VII