Pope Leo X
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Leo X, born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici (11 December 1475, Florence – 1 December 1521, Rome), pope between 1513 and his death, is known primarily for his failure to stem the Protestant Reformation, which began during his reign when Martin Luther first attacked the Roman Catholic Church.
Leo is considered the only pope who has bestowed his own name upon his age, and one of the few whose original extraction has corresponded in some measure with the splendour of the pontifical dignity. He was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici. His cousin Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, would become Pope Clement VII from 1523 to 1534.
Early Career
Giovanni received the tonsure at seven, held benefices at eight, and before he was thirteen negotiations were in active progress for his elevation to the cardinalate. Innocent VIII, the reigning pope, was bound to Lorenzo by domestic ties and a common policy and interest; in October 1488 Giovanni was created a cardinal (the youngest in history, at fourteen) under the condition that he should not be publicly recognised as such for three years. The interval was devoted to the study of theology and canon law, pursuits that proved less congenial to the young prince than the elegant literature for which he had inherited his father's taste, and in which he had already made great progress under the tuition of Politian and Bibbiena.
On March 26 1492, the 16-year-old Giovanni became a cardinal and moved to Rome, receiving a letter of advice[1] from his parent which ranks among the wisest and weightiest compositions of its class. Within a few months his prospects were clouded by the nearly simultaneous deaths of his father and the pope, a double bereavement closing the era of peace which Lorenzo's prudent policy had given to Italy, and inaugurating a period of foreign invasion and domestic strife.
One of the first consequences of the French eruption into Italy which shortly ensued was the expulsion of the Medici family from Florence (November 1494). Having resisted to the best of his ability, the Cardinal de' Medici found a refuge at Bologna and, being obnoxious to Innocent's successor, Alexander VI as well as seeing himself deprived of political importance for the time being, he journeyed to several foreign countries with a party of friends. Upon his return he settled in Rome, withdrawing himself from public life as much as possible, and disarming the jealousy of Alexander by displaying an unaffected devotion to literary pursuits.
Election to Papacy
When he became pope on March 9, 1513, Leo rejoiced; he is reported to have said to his brother Giuliano, "Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it." The Venetian ambassador who related this of him was not unbiased, nor was he in Rome at the time, nevertheless the phrase illustrates fairly the pope's pleasure-loving nature and the lack of seriousness that characterized him. And enjoy he did, traveling around Rome at the head of a lavish parade featuring panthers, jesters, and Hanno, a white elephant.
He was also lavish in works of charity: hospitals, convents, discharged soldiers, pilgrims, poor students, exiles, cripples, the sick, the unfortunate of every description were generously remembered, and more than 6,000 ducats were annually distributed in alms.
His extravagance offended even some cardinals, who, led by Alfonso Petrucci of Siena, allegedly plotted an assassination attempt (which was foiled); the plan was to inject poison into his formidable hemorrhoids. Some people argue that the pope and his followers simply concocted the assassination charges in a moneymaking scheme to collect fines from the various wealthy cardinals Leo detested.
The Reformation
Leo was denounced by Martin Luther for the renewed sale of indulgences required to refill the coffers of Rome due to his many building projects (including St. Peter's Basilica) and personal extravagances.
On June 15, 1520 Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Exsurge Domine and on January 3, 1521 excommunicated Luther. This bull was widely ignored (and was publicly burned by Luther). The pope died the following year, and was buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
| Preceded by: Julius II | Pope 1513–1521 | Succeeded by: Adrian VI |
