Pope Leo XI

Leo XI, n? Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici (June 2, 1535, Florence – April 27, 1605, Rome), was pope from April 1, 1605 to April 27 of the same year. He was born into the powerful Medici family: his mother, Francesca Salviati, was a daughter of Giacomo Salviati and Lucrezia de' Medici, a sister of Leo X, while his father was a more distant scion of the Medici family. After a late start he was ordained priest, and Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, sent him as an appropriate ambassador to Pope Pius V, a position which he held for fifteen years. Gregory XIII made him bishop of Pistoia in 1573, archbishop of Florence in 1574, and cardinal in 1583.

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Clement VIII sent him, in 1596, as legate to France where Maria de' Medici was queen. Alessandro was a friend and disciple of Philip Neri.

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On March 14, 1605, eleven days after the death of Clement VIII, 62 cardinals entered the conclave. Prominent among the candidates for the papacy were the great historian Baronius and the famous Jesuit controversialist Cardinal Bellarmine. But Aldobrandini, the leader of the Italian party among the cardinals, allied with the French cardinals and brought about the election of Alessandro against the express wish of King Philip III of Spain. King Henry IV of France is said to have spent 300,000 ?cus in the promotion of Alessandro's candidacy. On April 1, 1605, Alessandro ascended the papal throne with the Medici name Leo XI, being then seventy years of age, but took sick immediately after his coronation and died within the month.

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June 2: 2 June is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining....

Florence: Florence (Italian: Firenze) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. From 1865 to 1870 it was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Florence lies on the Arno River and has a population of around 400,000 people, plus a suburban population in excess of 200,000 persons. A centre of med...

Rome: Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. It is located on the Tiber and Aniene rivers, near the Mediterranean Sea, at . The Vatican City, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the Pope....

Pope Leo XI related Images and Photos (experimental)

Pope Leo I	Pope Leo Xii Engraved by Raffaele Persichini	Charlemagne Escorts Deposed Pope Leo III Back to Rome	Pope Leo XIII (Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaelle Luigi Pecci) Borne in Procession in St. Peter's Rome
Meeting of Pope Leo X & King Francis I of France in Palazzo Pubblico at Bologna 11 December 1515	Charlemagne is Crowned Emperor at Rome by Pope Leo III	Pope Pius XI	Leo Sayer
Leo Gregory	Leo Delibes	Leo Gregory	Pope Pius IX