Pope Urban VII (Latin:Urbanus VII;Italian:Urbano VII; 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), bornGiovanni Battista Castagna, was head of theCatholic Church, and ruler of thePapal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His papacy was the shortest recognized in history, during which a smoking ban encompassing churches across the world was implemented.
Castagna, born in Rome in 1521, was a highly educated man who held various positions within the Roman Catholic Church. He served as theArchbishop of Rossano, Governor ofFano,Perugia, andUmbria, and participated in theCouncil of Trent. Later, he was appointed as the ApostolicNuncio toSpain andVenice and served as thePapal legate toFlanders andCologne. He was elevated to cardinalate in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII.
Upon the death of Pope Sixtus V, Castagna was elected as pope on 15 September 1590, taking the name Urban VII. He was known for his charity, public works projects, and strict opposition tonepotism. His papacy was short-lived as he died ofmalaria on 27 September 1590 after just 12 days in office. Urban VII is remembered for instituting the world's first knownpublic smoking ban, threateningexcommunication for those using tobacco in or near a church.
Giovanni Battista Castagna was born inRome in 1521 to anoble family as the son of Cosimo Castagna of Genoa and Costanza Ricci-Giacobazzi of Rome.[1]
Castagna studied in universities all across Italy and obtained a doctorate in civil law and canon law when he finished his studies at theUniversity of Bologna. Soon after he became auditor of his uncle, CardinalGirolamo Verallo, whom he accompanied as datary on a papal legation toFrance.[1] He served as a constitutional lawyer and entered theRoman Curia during the pontificate ofPope Julius III as the Referendary of theApostolic Signatura. Castagna was chosen to be the newArchbishop of Rossano on 1 March 1553, and he would quickly receive all the minor and major orders culminating in hisordination to thepriesthood on 30 March 1553 in Rome. He then receivedepiscopal consecration a month after at the home of Cardinal Verallo.
He served as the governor ofFano from 1555 to 1559 and later served as the governor ofPerugia andUmbria from 1559 to 1560. During the reign of Pius IV, he settled satisfactorily a long-standing boundary dispute between the inhabitants ofTerni andSpoleto.[1] Castagna would later participate in theCouncil of Trent from 1562 to 1563 and served as the president of several conciliar congregations. He was appointed as theApostolic Nuncio to Spain in 1565 and served there until 1572,[2] resigning his post from his archdiocese a year later. He also served as the governor ofBologna from 1576 to 1577. Among other positions, he was theApostolic Nuncio to Venice from 1573 to 1577 and served also as thePapal Legate to Flanders and Cologne from 1578 to 1580.Pope Gregory XIII elevated him to thecardinalate on 12 December 1583 and he was appointed as the Cardinal-Priest ofSan Marcello al Corso.[citation needed]
After the death ofPope Sixtus V, aconclave was convoked to elect a successor.Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany had been appointed a cardinal at the age of fourteen but was never ordained to the priesthood. At the age of thirty-eight, he resigned from the cardinalate upon the death of his older brother,Francesco in 1587, to succeed to the title (there were suspicions that Francesco and his wife died of arsenic poisoning after having dined at Ferdinando'sVilla Medici, although one story has Ferdinando as the intended target of his sister-in-law). Ferdinando's foreign policy attempted to freeTuscany from Spanish domination.
He was consequently opposed to the election of any candidate supported by Spain. He persuaded CardinalAlessandro Peretti di Montalto, grand-nephew of Sixtus V, to switch his support from CardinalMarco Antonio Colonna, which brought the support of the younger cardinals appointed by the late Sixtus.[3]
Castagna, a seasoned diplomat of moderation and proven rectitude, was elected as pope on 15 September 1590 and selected the pontifical name of "Urban VII".[3]
Urban VII's short reign gave rise to the world's first known publicsmoking ban, as he threatened to excommunicate anyone who "tooktobacco in the porchway of or inside a church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose".[4]
Urban VII was known for his charity to the poor. He subsidized Romanbakers so they could sell bread under cost, and restricted the spending on luxury items for members of his court. He also subsidized public works projects throughout thePapal States. Urban VII was strictly againstnepotism and he forbade it within theRoman Curia.[5]
His estate, valued at 30,000[10] to 32,000scudi,[9] was bequeathed to theConfraternity of the Annunziata alla Minerva[10][11] for use as dowries for poor young girls.[9]
Reverse of 1590 coin in honor of Urban VII withmenorah and the legend SIC•LUCEAT•LUX•VESTRA (Let your light so shine – Matt. 5:16)
^abc One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Ott, Michael (1912). "Pope Urban VII". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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