Editing Pope Gregory XIII

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 1572 to 1585}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[List of popes|Pope]]
| name = Gregory XIII
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| image = Ritratto di Gregorio XIII - Passarotti.jpg
| caption = Portrait by [[Bartolomeo Passarotti]]<br><small>({{circa|1586}}, [[Friedenstein Palace]], [[Gotha]])</small>
| birth_name = Ugo Boncompagni
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| term_start = 13 May 1572
| term_end = 10 April 1585
| predecessor = [[Pius V]]
| successor = [[Sixtus V]]
| ordination = 31 July 1558
| ordained_by = [[Girolamo Maccabei de Toscanella|Girolamo Maccabei]]
| consecration = 6 August 1558
| consecrated_by = Girolamo Maccabei
| cardinal = 12 March 1565
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope Pius IV|Pius IV]]
| birth_date = 7 January 1502{{efn|[[Old Style and New Style dates|New Style]]: 17 January 1502}}
| birth_place = [[Bologna]], [[Papal States]]
| death_date = 10 April 1585 (aged 83)
| death_place = [[Rome]], Papal States
| motto = ''Aperuit et clausit''<br>("Opened and closed")
| coat_of_arms = C o a Gregorius XIII.svg
| signature = Signature of Pope Gregory XIII.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert
| previous_post = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Vieste|Bishop of Vieste]] (1558–1560)
* Legate to Spain (1565)
* Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (1565)
* Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto Vecchio (1565–1572)
}}
| other = Gregory
| alma_mater = [[University of Bologna]]
}}

{{Infobox popestyles
|image            = C o a Gregorius XIII.svg
|dipstyle         = [[His Holiness]]
|offstyle         = Your Holiness
|relstyle         = Holy Father
|deathstyle       = None
}}

'''Pope Gregory XIII''' ({{langx|la|Gregorius XIII}}; {{langx|it|Gregorio XIII}}; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585),{{efn|Because of the change in calendars initiated by Gregory, dates in this calendar on or before 4 October 1582 are given in the Julian calendar and dates after that are given in the [[Gregorian calendar]].}} born '''Ugo Boncompagni''', was head of the [[Catholic Church]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the [[Gregorian calendar]], which remains the internationally accepted [[civil calendar]] to this day.

==Early biography==

===Youth===
Ugo Boncompagni was born the son of Cristoforo [[Boncompagni]] (10 July 1470 – 1546) and Angela Marescalchi, and paternal grandson of Giacomo Boncompagni and Camilla Piattesi, in [[Bologna]],{{sfn|Borromeo|2002|p=663}} where he studied law and graduated in 1530.{{sfn|Crowther|1999|p=8}} He later taught jurisprudence for some years, and his students included notable figures such as Cardinals [[Alessandro Farnese (cardinal)|Alexander Farnese]], [[Reginald Pole]] and [[Charles Borromeo]]. He had an illegitimate son after an affair with Maddalena Fulchini, [[Giacomo Boncompagni]], but before he took holy orders, making him the last Pope to have left issue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1565.htm#Boncompagni |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Ugo Boncompagni |publisher=Fiu.edu |date=3 December 2007 |access-date=23 June 2013}}</ref>

===Career before papacy===

At the age of 36 he was summoned to Rome by [[Pope Paul III]] (1534–1549), under whom he held successive appointments as first judge of the capital, [[abbreviator]], and vice-chancellor of the [[Campagna e Marittima]]. 
[[Pope Paul IV]] (1555–1559) attached him as ''[[datarius]]'' to the suite of Cardinal [[Carlo Carafa]]. [[Pope Pius IV]] (1559–1565) made him [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[San Sisto Vecchio]] and sent him to the [[Council of Trent]].

In the year 1552, Ugo Boncompagni confirmed the paternity of his son Giacomo (or Jacopo). As stated in the online Archivio Digitale Boncompagni Ludovisi: "One of the most valuable items to emerge from the new archival finds from the [[Villa Aurora (Rome)|Villa Aurora]] is an autograph declaration in Latin and Italian dated 22 December 1552 by Ugo Boncompagni (1502–1585, from 1572 Pope Gregory XIII). Here Ugo confirms his paternity of [[Giacomo Boncompagni|Giacomo (or Jacopo) Boncompagni]] (1548–1612) by Maddalena de' Fucchinis, a servant in the employ of his sister-in-law Laura Ferro. The future Pope explains in detail the circumstances of the boy's conception, which took place in 1547 in [[Bologna]] after the Council of Trent had moved to that city; his motive was to assure his inheritance rights following the death (in 1546) of his father Cristoforo Boncompagni."<ref>[https://villaludovisi.org/2012/12/02/1552-ugo-boncompagni-gregory-xiii-confirms-his-paternity-of-giacomo-boncompagni-born-1548/#more-37 New from 1552: Ugo Boncompagni (=Pope Gregory XIII) confirms his paternity of son Giacomo]</ref>

He also served as a legate to [[Philip II of Spain]] (1556–1598), being sent by the Pope to investigate the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toledo|Archbishop of Toledo]] [[Bartolomé Carranza]]. He formed a lasting and close relationship with the Spanish king, which aided his foreign policy aims as Pope.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-27 |title=Pope Gregory XIII - PopeHistory.com |url=https://popehistory.com/popes/pope-gregory-xiii/ |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=popehistory.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Election as pope===
{{main|1572 papal conclave}}
After Pope Pius V (1566–1572) died, the [[Papal conclave, 1572|conclave]] chose Cardinal Boncompagni, who assumed the name of Gregory XIII in homage to [[Gregory the Great]], a 6th-century reforming pope. It was a very brief conclave, lasting less than 24 hours. Many historians have attributed this to the influence and backing of the Spanish king. [[Charles Borromeo]] and the cardinals wishing reform accepted Boncompagni's candidature and so supported him in the conclave, while the Spanish faction also deemed him acceptable due to his success as a [[nuncio]] in Spain.

==Pontificate==
===Reform of the Church===
[[File:Lavinia Fontana - Portrait of Pope Gregory XIII.jpg|thumb|''Portrait of Gregory XIII'' by [[Lavinia Fontana]] (oil on canvas, private collection)]]

Once in the chair of [[Saint Peter]], Gregory XIII dedicated himself to reform of the Catholic Church. He implemented the recommendations of the [[Council of Trent]]. He mandated that cardinals reside in their [[Episcopal see|see]]s without exception, and designated a committee to update the [[Index of Forbidden Books]]. Gregory XIII was also the patron of a new and greatly improved edition of the {{lang|la|Corpus juris canonici}}. In a time of considerable centralization of power, Gregory XIII abolished the Cardinals [[Papal consistory|Consistories]], replacing them with Colleges and appointing specific tasks for these colleges to work on. He was renowned for fierce independence; some confidants noted that he neither welcomed interventions nor sought advice. The power of the papacy increased under him, whereas the influence and power of the cardinals substantially decreased.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Gregory XIII also established the [[Discalced Carmelites]], an offshoot of the [[Carmelite Order]], as a distinct unit or "province" within the former by the decree "Pia consideratione" dated 22 June 1580,<ref>Otilio Rodriguez, OCD, Appendix I: The Third Order of the Teresian Carmel; Its Origin and History, page 129, in Michael D. Griffin, OCD, ''Commentary on the Rule of Life'' (superseded) (The Growth in Carmel Series; Hubertus, Wisconsin: Teresian Charism Press, 1981), pages 127-36; and Peter-Thomas Rohrbach, OCD''Journey to Carith: The Sources and Story of the Discalced Carmelites'', Chapter 6: The Struggle for Existence, page 200 (Washington: ICS Publications)</ref> ending a period of great difficulty between them and enabling the former to become a significant religious order in the Catholic Church.

===Formation of clergy and promotion of the arts and sciences===
Gregory XIII was a generous patron of the [[Jesuit]] colleges in Rome.{{sfn|Crowther|1999|p=8}} The Roman College of the Jesuits grew substantially under his patronage, and became the most important centre of learning in Europe for a time.  It is now named the [[Pontifical Gregorian University]]. Pope Gregory XIII also founded numerous [[seminaries]] for training priests, beginning with the [[German College]] at [[Rome]], and put them in the charge of the Jesuits.

In 1575, he gave official status to the [[Oratory of Saint Philip Neri|Congregation of the Oratory]], a community of priests without vows, dedicated to prayer and preaching (founded by Saint [[Philip Neri]]). In 1580 he commissioned artists, including [[Ignazio Danti]], to complete works to decorate the [[Apostolic Palace|Vatican]] and commissioned [[The Gallery of Maps]].

Gregory also transformed the Dominican studium founded in the 13th century at Rome into the College of St. Thomas in 1580, as recommended by the Council of Trent. This college was the precursor of the [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas]] ''Angelicum''.

===The Gregorian calendar===
{{Main|Gregorian calendar}}
[[Image:Gregorianscher Kalender Petersdom.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Detail of the [[List of extant papal tombs|tomb of Pope Gregory XIII]] celebrating the introduction of the Gregorian calendar.]]

Pope Gregory XIII is best known for commissioning the [[Gregorian calendar]], initially authored by the physician/astronomer [[Aloysius Lilius]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Who Invented the Calendar We Have Today? |url=https://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-the-calendar-we-have-today.html |website=Who Invented It |date=1 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Aloisius Lilius |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09247c.htm |website=newadvent.org}}</ref> and aided by Jesuit priest/astronomer [[Christopher Clavius]], who made the final modifications. This calendar is more accurate than the [[Julian calendar]], which treats each year as 365 days and 6 hours in length, even though the actual length of a year is slightly less (365 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes). As a result, the date of the [[March equinox|vernal equinox]] had slowly, over the course of 13 centuries, slipped to 10 March, while the [[computus]] (calculation) of the date of Easter still followed the traditional date of 21 March. Clavius verified this phenomenon.

Gregory subsequently decreed, by the [[papal bull]] ''[[Inter gravissimas]]'' of 24 February 1582, that the day after Thursday, 4 October 1582 would be the fifteenth, not the fifth, of October. The new calendar replaced the Julian calendar, which had been used since 45 BC. Because of Gregory's involvement, the new calendar came to be known as the Gregorian calendar and has been almost universally adopted.

Much of the populace bitterly opposed this reform; they feared it was an attempt by landlords to cheat them out of a week and a half's rent. However, the Catholic countries of [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]], [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]], [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland-Lithuania]], and the Italian states complied. [[Kingdom of France|France]], some states of the [[Dutch Republic]] and various Catholic states in the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Switzerland]] (both countries were religiously split) followed suit within a year or two. [[Archduchy of Austria|Austria]] and [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526-1867)|Hungary]] followed in 1587.

However, more than a century passed before [[Protestant]] Europe accepted the new calendar. [[Denmark-Norway]], the remaining states of the Dutch Republic, and the Protestant states of the Holy Roman Empire and Switzerland adopted the Gregorian reform in 1700–01. By that time, the calendar trailed the seasons by 11 days. [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], its [[British North America|American colonies]] and [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] adopted the reformed calendar in 1752, where Wednesday 2 September 1752 was immediately followed by Thursday 14 September 1752; they were joined by the last Protestant holdout, [[Sweden]], on 1 March 1753.

The Gregorian calendar was not accepted in [[eastern Christendom]] for several hundred years, and then only as the civil calendar.<ref>Henry, Jonathan. "Chapter 3". ''Earth Science''. Clearwater, Fl: Clearwater Christian College, 2010. Print.</ref>

===Foreign policy===
[[Image:Japanese_Tensho_Embassy_with_Pope_Gregory_XIII_1585.png|thumb|The Japanese ambassadors of Tennsho, Keisho, headed by [[Itō Mancio]] meet with Pope Gregory XIII in 1585.]]

Though he feared the invasion of Europe by the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]], Gregory XIII's attentions were more consistently directed to the dangers of the [[Protestants]]. He encouraged the plans of Philip II to dethrone [[Elizabeth I of England]] (reigned from 1558 to 1603), resulting in English Protestants suspecting [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] as potential traitors and subversives. {{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

In 1578, to further the plans of exiled English and Irish Catholics such as [[Nicholas Sanders]], [[William Allen (cardinal)|William Allen]], and [[James Fitzmaurice FitzGerald]], Gregory outfitted adventurer [[Thomas Stukeley]] with a ship and an army of 800 men to land in [[Ireland]] to aid the Catholics against the Protestant plantations.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Life and Times of Thomas Stukeley (c.1525–78)|last=Tazón|first=Juan E.|publisher=Ashgate|year=2003|isbn=9780754632856|location=Aldershot, UK |pages=222–235}}</ref> To his dismay, Stukeley joined his forces with those of King [[Sebastian of Portugal]] against Sultan [[Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi|Abdul Malik of Morocco]] instead.

Another papal expedition sailed to Ireland in 1579 with a mere 50 soldiers under the command of Fitzmaurice, accompanied by Sanders as [[papal legate]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} They took part in the [[Second Desmond Rebellion]]. All of the soldiers and sailors on board, as well as the women and children who accompanied them, were beheaded or hanged on landing in Kerry in the [[Siege of Smerwick|Smerwick Massacre]].

In 1580, he was persuaded by English [[Jesuits]] to moderate or suspend the Bull ''[[Regnans in Excelsis]]'' (1570), which had excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England. Catholics were advised to obey the queen outwardly in all civil matters until such time as a suitable opportunity presented itself for her overthrow.<ref>P. J. Corish, "The origins of Catholic nationalism," part 8, vol. III, pp. 15–18, in ''The History of Irish Catholicism'' (Dublin, 1967)</ref>

[[File:Gregory XIII medal.jpg|thumb|''Ugonottorum Strages'' medal]]

After the [[St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre]]s of [[Huguenot]]s in France in 1572, Pope Gregory signaled his approval and celebrated a ''[[Te Deum]]'' mass.  Three frescoes in the [[Sala Regia (Vatican)|Sala Regia]] hall of the Vatican depicting the events were commissioned and painted by [[Giorgio Vasari]].  A commemorative medal was issued with Gregory's portrait and on the obverse a chastising angel, sword in hand and the legend <small>UGONOTTORUM STRAGES</small> ("Overthrow of the Huguenots").<ref name="History-volVII">{{cite book|title=History of the Christian Church |volume=VII. ''Modern Christianity. The German Reformation'' |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.ii.i.xi.html |last=Schaff|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Schaff|year=1910|pages=Note 53|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York|no-pp=true}}</ref> 

Gregory XIII was visited by the [[Tenshō embassy]] of Japan, becoming the first Pope to have received such an embassy. On behalf of the Japanese ruler [[Oda Nobunaga]], they gifted him with the so-called [[Azuchi Screens]], which were put on display within the Vatican.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McKelway |first1=Matthew |date=2006 |title=Capitalscapes Folding Screens and Political Imagination in Late Medieval Kyoto |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |pages=296 |chapter=The Azuchi Screens and Images of Castles |isbn= 978-0824861773 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

=== Cultural patronage ===
In Rome, Gregory XIII built the Gregorian chapel in the [[Basilica of St. Peter]] and extended the [[Quirinal Palace]] in 1580. He also turned the [[Baths of Diocletian]] into a granary in 1575.

He appointed his illegitimate son [[Giacomo Boncompagni|Giacomo]],{{efn|Ugo Boncompagni had Giacomo legitimated on 5 July 1548 by the [[bishop of Feltre]].}} born to his mistress at [[Bologna]] before his papacy, [[castellan]] of [[Castel Sant'Angelo|Sant'Angelo]] and [[Gonfalonier of the Church]]; [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], anxious to please the Pope, enrolled his son among its nobles, and Philip II of Spain appointed him general in his army. Gregory also helped his son to become a powerful feudatory through the acquisition of the [[Duchy of Sora]], on the border between the [[Papal States]] and the [[Kingdom of Naples]].

To raise funds for his endeavours, Gregory confiscated a large proportion of the houses and properties throughout the states of the Church. This measure enriched his treasury for a time, but alienated a great body of the nobility and gentry, revived old factions, and created new ones, and caused economic and social chaos in the Papal States.<ref>See John Julius Norwich (2012). ''The Popes''.</ref>

===Canonizations and beatifications===
The pope canonized four saints during his pontificate and in 1584 beatified his predecessor [[Pope Gregory VII]].

===Consistories===
{{main|Cardinals created by Gregory XIII}}
[[File:Tomb of Gregory XIII.jpg|thumb|Gregory XIII tomb in the [[St. Peter Basilica|St Peter Basilica]] in [[Vatican City]]]]
During his pontificate, the pope created 34 cardinals in eight consistories; this included naming his nephew [[Filippo Boncompagni]] to the cardinalate in the pope's first consistory in 1572. Gregory XIII also named four of his successors as cardinals all in 1583: [[Pope Urban VII|Giovanni Battista Castagna]] (Urban VII), [[Pope Gregory XIV|Niccolò Sfondrati]] (Gregory XIV), [[Pope Innocent IX|Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti]] (Innocent IX), and [[Pope Leo XI|Alessandro de' Medici]] (Leo XI).

==Death==
The pope suffered from a fever on 5 April 1585 and on 7 April said his usual private Mass, still in ill health. He seemed to recover enough that he was able to conduct meetings throughout 8 and 9 April, although it was observed he did not feel well. But a sudden change on 10 April saw him confined in his bed and it was observed that he had a cold sweat and a weak pulse; he received [[Extreme Unction]] moments before he died.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 March 2016|title=Sede Vacante 1585|access-date=21 January 2019|url=http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1585.html}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Computus]]
*[[Clavius]]
*[[Cardinals created by Gregory XIII]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* ''Initial text from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia.''
* {{Catholic |wstitle = Pope Gregory XIII}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Papacy: An Encyclopedia |volume=II: Gaius-Proxies |editor-first=Philippe |editor-last=Levillain |title=Gregory XIII |first=Agostino |last=Borromeo |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |pages=663–665 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Oratorio in Bologna 1650–1730 |first=Victor |last=Crowther |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 }}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{wikisource author}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040423111816/http://papal-library.saint-mike.org/GregoryXIII/Biography.html "Papal Library" website:] Gregory XIII
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140213213105/http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Monuments/GregoryXIII/GregoryXIII.htm Monument to Gregory XIII] [archived]

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Pius V|Pius V]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=13 May 1572 – 10 April 1585}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Sixtus V|Sixtus V]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Popes}}
{{Catholicism}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory 13}}
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