Pope Adrian VI |
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Bishop of Rome | |
Papacy began | 9 January 1522 |
Papacy ended | 14 September 1523 |
Predecessor | Leo X |
Successor | Clement VII |
Orders | |
Ordination | 30 June 1490 |
Consecration | August 1516 by Diego Ribera de Toledo |
Created Cardinal | 1 July 1517 by Pope Leo X |
Personal details | |
Birth name | Adriaan Floriszoon Boeyens |
Born |
2 March 1459 Utrecht, Bishopric of Utrecht, Holy Roman Empire |
Died |
14 September 1523 (aged 64) Rome, Papal States |
Nationality | Dutch |
Previous post |
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Motto | Patere et sustine ("Respect and wait") |
Coat of arms | |
Papal styles of Pope Adrian VI |
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Reference style | His Holiness |
Spoken style | Your Holiness |
Religious style | Holy Father |
Posthumous style | None |
Pope Adrian VI (Latin: Hadrianus VI), born Adriaan Florensz (Boeyens) (2 March 1459 ‒ 14 September 1523), was Pope of the Catholic Church from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. He was the only Dutchman ever to be Pope.
Pope Adrian VI was born in the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht in the Netherlands and was the last non-Italian pope until Pope John Paul II from Poland became pope in 1978. Pope Adrian VI and his eventual successor Pope Marcellus II are the only popes of the modern era to retain their baptismal names after their election.
Adriaan Florensz was born on 2 March 1459 in the city of Utrecht, which was then the capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, a part of the Burgundian Netherlands in the Holy Roman Empire. He was born into modest circumstances as the son of Florens Boeyensz, also born in Utrecht, and his wife Geertruid. He had three older brothers, Jan, Cornelius, and Claes. Adrian consistently signed with Adrianus Florentii or Adrianus de Traiecto ("Adrian of Utrecht") in later life, suggesting that his family did not yet have a surname but used patronymics only.
Adrian was probably raised in a house on the corner of the Brandsteeg and Oude Gracht that was owned by his grandfather Boudewijn (Boeyen, for short). His father, a carpenter and likely shipwright, died when Adrian was 10 years or younger. Adrian studied from a very young age under the Brethren of the Common Life, either at Zwolle or Deventer and was also a student of the Latin school (now Gymnasium Celeanum) in Zwolle.