Pope Alexander VI |
|
---|---|
Bishop of Rome | |
Papacy began | 11 August 1492 |
Papacy ended | 18 August 1503 |
Predecessor | Innocent VIII |
Successor | Pius III |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1468 |
Consecration | 30 October 1471 |
Created Cardinal | 17 September 1456 by Callixtus III |
Personal details | |
Birth name | Roderic Borgia (Roderic Llançol i de Borja/Rodrigo Borgia) |
Born |
Xàtiva, Kingdom of Valencia, Crown of Aragon |
1 January 1431
Died | 18 August 1503 Rome, Papal States |
(aged 72)
Buried | Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli, Rome |
Nationality | Aragonese |
Denomination | Catholic (Roman Rite) |
Parents |
|
Children | |
Previous post |
|
Coat of arms | |
Papal styles of Pope Alexander VI |
|
---|---|
Reference style | His Holiness |
Spoken style | Your Holiness |
Religious style | Holy Father |
Posthumous style | None |
Pope Alexander VI, born Roderic Borgia (Valencian: Roderic de Borja (Valencian pronunciation: [roðeˈɾiɡ ʎanˈsɔɫ i ðe ˈβɔɾdʒa], Spanish: Rodrigo de Borja [roˈðɾiɣo lanˈθol i ðe ˈβorxa]); 1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503), was Pope from 11 August 1492 until his death. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. Therefore his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate. However, two of Alexander's successors, the also controversial pontiffs Sixtus V and Urban VIII, described him as one of the most outstanding popes since St. Peter.
Rodrigo de Borja was born on 1 January 1431, in the town of Xativa near Valencia, one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon, in what is now Spain. His parents were Jofré Llançol i Escrivà (died bef. 24 March 1437), and his Aragonese wife and distant cousin Isabel de Borja y Cavanilles (died 19 October 1468). His family name is written Llançol in Catalan and Lanzol in Castillian (Spanish). Rodrigo adopted his mother's family name of Borja in 1455 following the elevation to the papacy of maternal uncle Alonso de Borja (Italianized to Alfonso Borgia) as Calixtus III.