Pope Urban VIII

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

Maffeo Barberini, born at Florence in April, 1568; electedpope, 6 August, 1623; died atRome, 29 July, 1644.

His father Antonio Barberini, a Florentine nobleman, who died when Maffeo was only three years old, his mother, Camilla Barbadoro, brought him toRome at an early age. He lived with his uncle, Francesco Barberini, who was then prothonotary Apostolic, and waseducated at the Collegio Romano under the direction of theJesuits. In 1589 he graduated fromPisa as Doctor of Laws, and returning toRome he became abbreviator Apostolic and referendary of the Segnatura di Giustizia. In 1592Clement VIII made him Governor ofFano, then prothonotary Apostolic, and in 1601papal legate toFrance to present his felicitations toKing Henry IV on the birth of the dauphin, the future King Louis XIII. In 1604 he was appointedArchbishop ofNazareth and sent asnuncio toParis, where he became very influential withHenry IV. In recognition of his services inFrance,Paul V created himcardinal-priest, 11 September, 1606, with the titular Church of S. Pietro in Montorio, which he exchanged for that of S. Onofrio, 5 September, 1610. On 17 October, 1608, he was transferred to theSee of Spoleto, where he convened asynod, completed theseminary, and built two otherdiocesanseminaries, at Spello and Visso. In 1617Paul V made himlegate of Bologna and prefect of the Segnatura di Giustizia. On 19 July, 1623, fifty-fivecardinals enteredconclave to elect a successor toGregory XV; on 6 August Cardinal Maffeo Barberini received fifty votes. The newpope took the name of Urban VIII. Being attacked by the fever which was raging inRome, he wasobliged to postpone hiscoronation until 29 September. It is related that, before allowing himself to be vested in the pontifical robes, he prostrated himself before the altar,praying thatGod might let him die if his pontificate would not be for the good of theChurch.

He began his reign by issuing on the very day of his election theBulls ofcanonization of Philip Neri, Ignatius Loyola, and Francis Xavier, who had beencanonized byGregory XV. Urban himselfcanonizedElizabeth of Portugal, 25 May, 1625; and Andrew Corsini, 22 April, 1629. Hebeatified:

He reserved thebeatification ofsaints to theHoly See and in aBull,dated 30 October, 1625, forbade the representation with the halo ofsanctity ofpersons notbeatified orcanonized, the placing of lamps, tablets, etc., before their sepulchres, and the printing of their allegedmiracles or revelations. In a laterBull,dated 13 September, 1642, he reduced the number of holy days ofobligation to thirty-four, besidesSundays. Urban introduced many new offices into theBreviary. He composed the whole proper Office of St. Elizabeth and wrote thehymns, as they are in theBreviary, for the feasts ofSt. Martina, St. Hermenegild, andSt. Elizabeth of Portugal. A book of poems, written by him before he becamepope, was published during his pontificate under the title: "Maphei Cardinalis Barberini poemata" (Rome, 1637). In 1629 he appointed a committee for the reform of theBreviary. Their incomplete and often ill-advised corrections were approved by Urban, 19 September, 1631, and embodied in the official edition of theRoman Breviary which was issued the following year (seeBREVIARY —Reforms of the Breviary). In 1627 Urban gave the final shape to the celebratedBull,"In Coena Domini". In 1634 he enjoined upon all rulingbishops, includingcardinals, to observe the episcopal residence as decreed at theCouncil of Trent. During Urban's pontificate occurred the second trial and condemnation ofGalileo by theRoman Inquisition. On 6 March, 1642, he issued theBull, "In eminenti," condemning the "Augustinus" ofJansenius.

Urban was a great patron ofCatholic foreign missions. He erected variousdioceses and vicariates inpagan countries and encouraged the missionaries by word and financial assistance. He extended the sphere of activity for theCongregation of Propaganda, and in 1627 founded the Collegium Urbanum, whose object was the training of missionaries for foreign countries. For theMaronites he had already founded (1625) acollege on Mount Lebanon. In order to increase the number of missionaries inChina andJapan he opened these two countries to all missionaries in 1633, althoughGregory XIII had given theJesuits the exclusive right to those missions in 1585. In aBull,dated 22 April, 1639, he strictly prohibited slavery of any kind among the Indians of Paraguay,Brazil, and the entire West Indies. In his efforts to restoreCatholicism inEngland Urban had little success. In 1624 he sent Richard Smith asvicar Apostolic to that country, but the latter's imprudent insistence on exercising full episcopal authority inEngland andScotland brought him into public conflict with theJesuits and other missionaries ofreligious orders. The Government issued new hostile measures against theCatholics, and in 1631 Smith wasobliged to flee. Three years later Urban sentGregorio Panzani toEngland. Having gained greater liberty for theCatholics, he was succeeded in 1638 by George Conn, an Englishman, who had previously been secretary to Cardinal Francesco Barberini. Forced to return toRome in 1639, on account of ill-health, he was replaced by Rossetti. Repeated requests made through him to thepope for financial aid in thewar brewing between the king and Parliament were refused by Urban except on condition of the king's conversion. The ensuingwar put an end to all negotiations. (See the letters of Panzani, Conn, and Rossetti to Cardinal Barberini in the Record Office Transcripts.) Thereligious orders found azealous promoter in Urban. In 1628 he approved the Congregation of Our Saviour, a reformed branch ofAugustinian canons, founded by Peter Fourier in 1609, and in 1632, theLazarists or Priests of the Mission, a secular congregation founded by Vincent of Paul. He also approved the following sisterhoods: Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre, 1631; Sisters of the Incarnation, 1633; Nuns of Our Lady ofNancy, 1634; and Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, 1642. TheJesuitesses, founded by the EnglishwomanMary Ward in 1609, he suppressed in 1631 for insubordination.

Urban's greatest fault was his excessive nepotism. Three days after hiscoronation he created Francesco Barberini, his nephew,cardinal; in 1627 he made him librarian of the Vatican; and in 1632 vice-chancellor. Francesco did not abuse his power. He built the large Barberini Palace and founded the famous Barberini Library which was acquired and made part of the Vatican Library byLeo XIII in 1902. Urban's nephew, Antonio Barberini, the Younger, was createdcardinal in 1627, becamecamerlengo in 1638, then commander-in-chief of thepapal troops. He waslegate atAvignon andUrbino in 1633; at Bologna,Ferrara, and Romagna in 1641. Urban's brother Antonio, who was aCapuchin, received the Diocese of Senigaglia in 1625, was createdcardinal in 1628, and later appointed grand penitentiary and librarian of the Vatican. A third nephew of Urban, Taddeo Barberini, was made Prince ofPalestrina and Prefect ofRome. It is scarcely credible what immense riches accrued to the Barberinifamily through Urban's nepotism. Finally, tormented with scruples concerning his nepotism, Urban twice appointed a special committee oftheologians to investigate whether it was lawful for his nephews to retain their possessions, but each time the committee decided in favour of his nephews. Among the members of the second committee were Cardinal Lugo and Father Lupis.

In the government of the Papal territory Urban, as a rule, followed his own judgment; even his nephews had little influence during the first ten years of his pontificate. Hehonoured thecardinals by ordering them to give precedence only tocrowned heads, and in aDecree of 10 June, 1630, bestowed upon them the title of "Eminence," their former title having been "Illustrious and Most Reverend." In 1626 he extended the Papal territory by inducing the aged Duke Francesco Maria della Rovere to cede his Duchy ofUrbino to theChurch. Towards the end of his pontificate his nephews involved him in a uselesswar with Odoardo Farnese, the Duke ofParma, with whom they had quarrelled on questions of etiquette during his visit toRome in 1639. In revenge they induced Urban to prohibit the exportation of grain from Castro to the Roman territory, thus depriving Farnese of an income without which he could not pay the interest on hismonti, or bonds. The duke's creditors complained to thepope, who took forcible possession of Castro, 13 October, 1641, in order to assure the payment. Thisproved ineffective, and on 13 January, 1642, Urbanexcommunicated Farnese and deprived him of all his fiefs. Backed byTuscany,Modena, andVenice, the duke set out towardsRome at the head of about 3000 horsemen, putting to flight thepapal troops. Peace negotiations were concluded nearOrvieto, but not accepted by thepope. In 1643 hostilities were renewed and continued without decisive success until thepope finally concluded a disgraceful peace on 31 March, 1644. He wasobliged to free the duke from the ban and restore all the places taken by thepapal troops.

Urban spent heavy sums on armaments, fortifications, and structures of every kind. At Castelfranco he erected the costly but unfavourably situated Fort Urbano, established an extensive manufactory of arms atTivoli, and transformedCivitavecchia into a military port. He strongly fortified the Castel of Sant' Angelo, Monte Cavallo, and built various fortifications on the right side of the Tiber inRome. He erected the beautifully situatedpapal villa at Castle Gandolfo, founded the Vatican Seminary, built various churches andmonasteries, beautified streets, piazzas, and fountains. The three bees in his escutcheon attract the attention of every observant visitor inRome. In theBasilica of St. Peter he erected the baldachin over thehigh altar, thetomb of Countess Matilda, translating her remains fromMantua, and his owntomb, opposite that ofPaul III. For some of these structures he used bronze from the roof of the Pantheon, thus causing the well-known but unwarranted pasquinade: "Quod non fecerunt Barbari, fecerunt Barberini."

The pontificate of Urban extended over one of the most critical periods in the history of theCatholicChurch, theThirty Years War. Ranke and Gregorovius attribute Urban's actions in thiswar to his intention to humiliate the two Houses of Habsburg (Austria andSpain), whose too great power was a constant menace toItaly andRome; hence, they declare, he favouredFrance and did not subsidize Emperor Ferdinand II in hiswar against Gustavus Adolphus and theProtestants. An unbiased study of the situation will lead to a different conclusion. Neither as pontiff not as temporal ruler could Urban remain a disinterested onlooker, and he had no other motive than the welfare of theCatholicChurch. As the common Father ofChristendom he interposed concerning the Valtellina, a strategically important valley betweenVenice and the Grisons, which was eagerly coveted byFrance as well asSpain. He refused to join the alliance whichFrance had made withVenice andSavoy againstSpain in 1624, and was instrumental in bringing about the Treaty of Monzon, 5 March, 1626, which gave equalrights upon the Valtellina toFrance andSpain. He also refused to enter the league whichFrance had concluded withVenice andSavoy at the beginning of thewar of the Mantuan succession in 1629. "It is impossible for me," he writes to Nagni, the Frenchnuncio, 2 April, 1629, "to put in jeopardy the common fatherhood and, in consequence, to be no longer able to heal and pacify, which is the proper business of thepope as vicar of Christ" (Nunziatura di Francia, Vat. Lib. Cod. 71, and Nicoletti, III, 1451-58).

Equallyfalse are the accusations of Ranke and Gregorovius that Urban opposed the election of Ferdinand's oldest son as King ofRome and advocated the dismissal of Wallenstein as commander-in-chief of the imperial army through hisnuncio at the Electoral Diet ofRatisbon in 1630. The first accusation was already branded as acalumny by Cardinal Francesco Barberini in a conference with the imperial ambassador Savelli on 16 March, 1629 (Nunziatura di Germania, Cod. 118, fol. 89); the second is refuted by Urban himself, who on 17 January, 1632, congratulated Wallenstein on his reassumption of the command and sent him theApostolic blessing (Registrum brevium, XXXI, 87). It is, however,true that Urban did not subsidize the imperial army and the Catholic League as liberally as he could and should have done. Nevertheless, he sent (1632-34) two million francs out of his own means to theCatholic troops inGermany. Urban did not join the League of theCatholic Estates, which was planned by the emperor, as the League was directed not only against Gustavus Adolphus, but also againstFrance; hence it could not be joined by thepope as the common father ofCatholics. He urged Louis XIII andRichelieu to desist from subsidizing the King of Sweden, but refused toexcommunicate them, as he feared a repetition of what had occurred inEngland underHenry VIII and Elizabeth (Nunziatura di Germania, Cod. 127, fol. 266).

The greatestcalumny that has been spread about Urban is his alleged sympathy with Gustavus Adolphus, whose death he is said to have mourned and for whosesoul he is said to have celebrated a Requiem Mass. What Urban thought of theSwedish king and how he mourned his death is manifest from aBrief, addressed to Ferdinand on 14 December, 1632, when thepope received the news that Gustavus Adolphus had fallen in battle (16 November, 1632). TheBrief is published in the original Latin by Ehses. The following quotation will suffice: "We give eternal thanks to the Lord of vengeance because he rendered retribution to the proud and shook from the neck of theCatholics their most bitter enemy." The Mass which he is said to have celebrated in the German National Church, the Anima, atRome on 11 December, was in reality a Mass of thanksgiving, of which Alaleone, thepapal master of ceremonies, says expressly: "ThisMass was celebrated in thanksgiving upon receiving the message of the death of the King of Sweden" (Cod. Vat. 9252, II, 71 sq.). On the next day the "Te Deum" was sung in the Sistine Chapel in presence of thepope, "ob laetitiam necis regis Sueciae interfecti," after which thepope himself chanted the versicles and orations.

It is as yet difficult to pass a correct judgment on Urban from every point of view. His life remains still to be written fairly. His private life was beyond all reproach, and the common welfare of the Church seems to have been the mainspring of his pontifical labours. His one fault was squandering money on his nephews, army, and fortifications, while stinting Ferdinand and the Catholic League inGermany.

CONTACT US |ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT