Alexander VII | Baroque Papacy, Ecclesiastical Reforms, Patron of the Arts | Britannica (original) (raw)

Quick Facts

Original name:

Fabio Chigi

Born:

Feb. 13, 1599, Siena, Republic of Florence

Also Known As:

Fabio Chigi

Alexander VII (born Feb. 13, 1599, Siena, Republic of Florence—died May 22, 1667, Rome) was the pope from 1655 to 1667.

Grandnephew of Pope Paul V, Chigi served the church as vice legate at Ferrara and as nuncio at Cologne (1639–51). During the negotiations leading to the Peace of Westphalia (1648), he refused to deliberate with the Protestant heretics and urged the Catholic princes not to sacrifice the rights of the church. The princes, however, were tired of war and, despite his admonition, yielded to France and the Protestants. Secretary of state to Pope Innocent X in 1651 and made cardinal in 1652, Chigi was elected pope on April 7. His pontificate was marked by several disputes; he confirmed the condemnation of Jansenism but supported the Jesuits, allowing them to use Chinese rites for their mission work in China.

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