Pope Innocent IX (Latin:Innocentius IX;Italian:Innocenzo IX; 20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), bornGiovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of theCatholic Church and ruler of thePapal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591.
Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti was born inBologna on 22 July 1519,[1] son of Antonio della Noce, called "il Facchinetto", and Francesca Cini. His father's family was originally fromCravegna, in theVal d'Ossola (where his birthplace still stands).[citation needed] The surname of his family seems to have actually been Nocetti (or de Nuce), but in fact the future pontiff was called Facchinetti after the humble job carried out by his father, who was a porter.[citation needed]
Giovanni studied at theUniversity of Bologna - which was pre-eminent in jurisprudence — where he obtained a doctorate in both civil and canon law in 1544. He was later ordained to the priesthood on 11 March 1544 and was appointed a canon of the church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio ofDomodossola in 1547.[2]
Giovanni traveled to Rome and he became the secretary to CardinalNiccolò Ardinghelli.[3] He entered the service of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, theArchbishop of Avignon, who sent Facchinetti to Avignon as his ecclesiastical representative and subsequently recalled him to the management of his affairs at Parma.[4] He was also made the Referendary of theApostolic Signatura in 1559 and held that post for a year.
In 1560, Facchinetti was named as theBishop of Nicastro,[2] inCalabria, and in 1562 was present at theCouncil of Trent. He was the first bishop to actually reside in the diocese in three decades.Pope Pius V (1566–1572) sent him aspapal nuncio toVenice in 1566[2] to further the papal alliance withSpain and Venice against theTurks, which ultimately resulted in the victory ofLepanto in 1571. He was recalled from Venice in 1572 and was made the Prior Commendatario ofSant'Andrea di Carmignano in thediocese of Padua from 1576 to 1587.[5]
Relinquishing hissee to pursue his career in Rome in 1575 and also because of health reasons, he was named the TitularLatin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1572.[3] He occupied that post until he was made a cardinal.Pope Gregory XIII made him acardinal on 12 December 1583 as the Cardinal-Priest ofSanti Quattro Coronati and he was to receive the red hat and title on 9 January 1584.Pope Gregory XIV made him the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in 1591.
Even before Pope Gregory XIV died, Spanish and anti-Spanish factions were electioneering for the next pope.Philip II of Spain's (r. 1556–1598) high-handed interference at the previousconclave was not forgotten: he had barred all but seven cardinals. This time the Spanish party in theCollege of Cardinals did not go so far, but they still controlled a majority, and after a quick conclave they raised Facchinetti to the papal chair as Pope Innocent IX. It took three ballots to elect him as pope. Facchinetti received 24 votes on 28 October but was not successful. He received 28 votes on 29 October in the second ballot while the third saw him prevail.[6] Facchinetti took his papal name to honorPope Innocent III.
The cardinalprotodeaconAndreas von Austria crowned Innocent IX as pontiff on 3 November 1591. He elevated two cardinals to the cardinalate in the only papal consistory of his papacy on 18 December 1591.
Mindful of the origin of his success, Innocent IX supported, during his two months' pontificate, the cause of Philip II and theCatholic League againstHenry IV of France (r. 1589–1610) in theFrench Wars of Religion (1562–1598), where a Papal army was in the field.[7]
His grandnephew Giovanni Antonio Cardinal Facchinetti de Nuce Jr., was one of two cardinals appointed during the weeks of Innocent IX's pontificate. A later member of the cardinalate was his great-grandnephewCesare Facchinetti (made a cardinal in 1643).
On 18 December, despite being ill, the pope made a pilgrimage of Rome's seven pilgrimage churches and caught a cold as a result. This became a heavy cough combined with a fever that led to his death shortly after he receivedExtreme Unction.[6]
Innocent IX died in the early morning of 30 December 1591. He was buried in theVatican Grottoes in a simple tomb.
Germe-Tizon, Anne-Cecile (2002). "Innocent IX". In Levillain, Philippe; O'Malley, John W. (eds.).The Papacy. Vol. 2: Gaius-Proxies. Routledge. p. 800.
Grendler, Paul F. (1971). "The Concept of Humanist in Cinquecento Italy". In Molho, Anthony; Tedeschi, John A. (eds.).Renaissance: Studies in Honor of Hans Baron. Northern Illinois University Press.
Martin, John (1993).Venice's Hidden Enemies: Italian Heretics in a Renaissance City. University of California Press.
McBrien, Richard P. (2000).Lives of the Popes. HarperCollins.
Weber, Nicholas (1910)."Pope Innocent IX".The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. Robert Appleton Company.
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