Pope Leo XI
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Pope Leo XI |
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| Bishop of Rome | |
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| Papacy began | 1 April 1605 |
| Papacy ended | 27 April 1605 |
| Predecessor | Clement VIII |
| Successor | Paul V |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 22 July 1567 by Antonio Altoviti |
| Consecration | March 1573 by Francisco Pacheco de Villena (Toledo) |
| Created Cardinal | 12 December 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici |
| Born |
2 June 1535 Florence, Duchy of Florence |
| Died | 27 April 1605 (aged 69) Rome, Papal States |
| Previous post |
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| Coat of arms |  |
Pope Leo XI (2 June 1535 – 27 April 1605), born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was Pope from 1 to 27 April 1605. His pontificate is one of the briefest in history having lasted under a month. He was from the prominent House of Medici originating from Florence.
Alessandro Ottoviano de' Medici was born in Florence as the son of Francesca Salviati and Ottaviano. He was the great-nephew of Pope Leo X. Alessandro's father died when he was a child and he was home schooled by a Dominican priest, Vincenzo Ercolano.
Medici felt the call to the priesthood but his mother opposed his vocation since he was the only male in the family. To discourage this, she sent him to the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who knighted him as a knight of San Stefano. He later travelled to Rome in 1560 where he commenced a lifelong friendship and collaboration with Philip Neri, future saint. It was Neri who predicted that he would ascend to the pontificate. Medici's mother died in 1566 at which point he continued his studies to become a priest. This led to his ordination on 22 July 1567.
Alessandro served as the Florentine ambassador to Pope Pius V from 1569 to 1584 and was later appointed by Pope Gregory XIII as the Bishop of Pistoia in 1573. In March 1573 after the appointment he received episcopal consecration in Rome. He was later made the Archbishop of Florence in 1574.
Medici was elevated into the cardinalate in 1583 and Pope Sixtus V made the Cardinal-Priest of Santi Quirico e Giulitta: a title he received on 9 January 1584. It was a titular church reverted from its previous name of San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane. In the period after this, he would opt for other titular churches.
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