Clement IX

In memoriam

Roman Catholic Pope. He served as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1667 to 1669. Born in Pistoia to a noble family, Giulio Rospigliosi was educated by the Jesuit Fathers. Earning a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Pisa, where he successively lectured theology, his talents led him to Rome, where he soon started enjoying a special favor by Pope Urban VIII, being likewise fond of literature and poetry, with Rospigliosi authoring poetry, drama and libretti himself. Named archbishop of the titular archbishopric see of Tarso and sent as nuncio to the Spanish Court, he was appointed canon and later vicar of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Living in retirement during the papacy of Innocent X who was hostile to the Barberinis and their adherents, he enjoyed once again papal favor by his successor, who named him cardinal priest with the title of San Sisto and Secretary of State. Upon the Pontiff's demise, he was elected his successor after an eighteen day conclave, assuming the name of Clement IX. His short papacy saw the reorganization of the Church in Portugal following the latter's independence from Spain and a temporary compromise in the French Jansenism affair, known as the Clementine Peace. Occupying a confessional in St. Peter's Basilica two days a week, hearing anyone who sought to confess to him, he made frequent visits to hospitals and was known for his charities to the poor. In an age of nepotism, he did little or nothing to advance or enrich his family. In 1668, he declared blessed, Rose of Lima, the first saint from the Americas and the following year, he solemnly canonized Saints Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi and Peter of Alcantara. With his interest in arts still present, he embellished Rome with famous works commissioned to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, including the angels of Ponte Sant'Angelo and the colonnade of Saint Peter's Basilica. Strengthening the Venetian defenses against the Turks on the island of Crete, he was unable to get wider support for this cause, falling ill in October 1669 after receiving news that the Venetian fortress of Candia in Crete had surrendered to the Turks, dying a few weeks later allegedly of broken heart. Buried, in accordance with his wishes, under the pavement of Santa Maria Maggiore, with the simple inscription 'Clementis IX, Cineres', his successor, Clement X, built him an ornate tomb in the same basilica at the right-hand side of the nave, near the door.

Locația mormântului