Leon X

Pope Leo X
Bishop of Rome
Papacy began	9 March 1513
Papacy ended	1 December 1521
Predecessor	Julius II
Successor	Adrian VI
Orders
Ordination	15 March 1513
Consecration	17 March 1513 by Raffaele Sansone Riario
Created Cardinal	9 March 1489 (in pectore) 26 March 1492 (revealed) by Pope Innocent VIII
Personal details
Birth name	Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici
Born	(1475-12-11)11 December 1475 Florence, Republic of Florence
Died	1 December 1521(1521-12-01) (aged 45) Rome, Papal States
Previous post	Abbot Ordinary of Montecassino (1486–1504) Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica (1492–1513) Apostolic Administrator of Pesaro (1503–1504) Apostolic Administrator of Amalfi (1510–1513)
Coat of arms

Papal styles of Pope Leo X
Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Holy Father
Posthumous style	None

Pope Leo X (11 December 1475 – 1 December 1521), born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was Pope from 9 March 1513 to his death in 1521. The second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, ruler of the Florentine Republic, he was elevated to the cardinalate in 1489.

Following the death of Pope Julius II, Giovanni was elected pope after securing the backing of the younger members of the Sacred College. Early on in his rule he oversaw the closing sessions of the Fifth Council of the Lateran, but failed sufficiently to implement the reforms agreed. In 1517 he led a costly war that succeeded in securing his nephew as duke of Urbino, but which damaged the papal finances. He later only narrowly escaped a plot by some cardinals to poison him.

He is probably best remembered for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica, which practice was challenged by Martin Luther's 95 Theses. He seems not to have taken seriously the array of demands for church reform that would quickly grow into the Protestant Reformation. His Papal Bull of 1520, Exsurge Domine, simply condemned Luther on a number of areas and made ongoing engagement difficult. He did, however, grant establishment to the Oratory of Divine Love.

He borrowed and spent heavily. A significant patron of the arts, upon election Leo is alleged to have said, "Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it". Under his reign, progress was made on the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica and artists such as Raphael decorated the Vatican rooms. Leo also reorganised the Roman University, and promoted the study of literature, poetry and antiquities. He died in 1521 and is buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. He was the last pope not to have been in priestly orders at the time of his election to the papacy.