Editing Pope Innocent XI

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church from 1676 to 1689}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[Pope Blessed]]
| name = Innocent XI
| title = [[Bishop of Rome]]
| image = Jacob Ferdinand Voet - Portrait of Innocenzo XI Odescalchi (cropped).jpeg
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Portrait by [[Jacob Ferdinand Voet]], 1670s
| birth_name = Benedetto Odescalchi
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| term_start = 21 September 1676
| term_end = 12 August 1689
| predecessor = [[Clement X]]
| successor = [[Alexander VIII]]
| ordination = 20 November 1650
| ordained_by = [[Francesco Maria Macchiavelli]]
| consecration = 29 January 1651
| consecrated_by = Francesco Maria Macchiavelli
| cardinal = 6 March 1645
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope Innocent X|Innocent X]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1611|5|16}}
| birth_place = [[Como]], [[Duchy of Milan]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1689|8|12|1611|5|16}}
| death_place = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Innocentius XI.svg
| signature = Signature of Pope Innocent XI.svg
| previous_post = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Apostolic Signatura|Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura]] (1642–1645)
* Governor of [[Macerata]] (1644–1645)
* [[Apostolic Signatura|Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura]] (1647–1650)
* Legate of [[Ferrara]] (1648–1651)
* [[Bishop of Novara]] (1650–1656)
* [[Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals]] (1660–1661)
* [[Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome|Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano]] (1645–1659)
* [[Sant'Onofrio (Rome)|Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio]] (1659–1676)
}}
| motto = ''Avarus non implebitur'' ("The covetous man is not (never) satisfied [with money]")
| other = Innocent
| beatified_date = 7 October 1956
| feast_day = {{unbulleted list|12 August|13 August ([[Hungary]])}}
| venerated = [[Catholic Church]]
| saint_title = [[Beatification|Blessed]]
| beatified_place = [[Saint Peter's Basilica]], [[Vatican City]]
| beatified_by = [[Pope Pius XII]]
| attributes = {{unbulleted list|Papal vestments|[[Camauro]]|[[Papal tiara]]}}
| patronage = {{unbulleted list|[[Diocese of Novara]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=it&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diocesinovara.it%2Fpls%2Fnovara%2Fv3_s2ew_consultazione.mostra_pagina%3Fid_pagina%3D1063|title=August 12 - Blessed Pope Innocent XI (in Italian)|publisher=Diocese of Novara|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref>|[[Diocese of Como]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=it&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diocesidicomo.it%2Fpls%2Fcomo%2Fv3_s2ew_consultazione.mostra_pagina%3Fid_pagina%3D32420|title=Cardinal Scola in the Cathedral for the closing of the Year of Innocent (in Italian)|publisher=Diocese of Como|date=8 May 2012|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref><br />[[Bavarian Congregation]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catholicsaints.info/patrons-of-the-bavarian-congregation/|title=Patrons of the Bavarian Congregation|publisher=Catholic Saints|date=20 May 2021|accessdate=28 February 2022}}</ref>}}
}}

'''Pope Innocent XI''' ({{langx|la|Innocentius XI}}; {{langx|it|Innocenzo XI}}; 16 May 1611&nbsp;– 12 August 1689), born '''Benedetto Odescalchi''', was head of the [[Catholic Church]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689.

Political and religious tensions with [[Louis XIV of France]] were a constant preoccupation for Innocent XI. Within the Papal States, he lowered taxes, produced a surplus in the papal budget and repudiated nepotism within the Church. Innocent XI was frugal in his governance of the Papal States, his methods evident in matters ranging from his manner of dress to a wide range of standards of personal behavior consistent with his conception of Christian values. Once he was elected to the papacy, he applied himself to moral and administrative reform of the [[Roman Curia]]. He abolished [[sinecures]] and pushed for greater simplicity in preaching as well as greater reverence in worship, requesting this of both the clergy and faithful.<ref name="Pope Innocent XI">{{Cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08021a.htm |title=Pope Innocent XI |publisher=Catholic Encyclopedia|access-date=18 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.culturalcatholic.com/PopeInnocentXI.htm |title=Pope Innocent XI |publisher=Cultural Catholic|access-date=18 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/171/000094886/ |title=Pope Innocent XI |publisher=NNDB|access-date=18 March 2014}}</ref> In consideration of his diplomatic and financial support for efforts to free [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] from [[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] domination, he is still widely referred to in the country as the "Saviour of Hungary".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Philips|first1=Adrian|last2=Scotchmer|first2=Jo|title=Hungary|date=May 2010|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-285-9|page=130|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81kPyXxxqLwC&pg=PA130 |access-date=6 May 2015|chapter=Budapest: CASTLE HILL|quote=At the square's centre is a statue of Pope Innocent XI, who is known as the 'saviour of Hungary' because of his endeavors in funding the European forces that freed Hungary from Turkish rule.}}</ref>

After a difficult cause for [[canonization]], starting in 1791, which caused considerable controversy over the years and which was stopped on several occasions, he was beatified in 1956 by [[Pope Pius XII]].

==Early life==
[[File:Geburtshaus Innozenz XI.jpg|thumb|left|155px|The birthplace of Pope Innocent XI at Como]]
Benedetto Odescalchi was born in [[Como]] on 16 May 1611, the son of a nobleman of Como, Livio Odescalchi, who died in 1626, and his wife Paola Castelli-Giovanelli from [[Gandino]], who died of the plague in 1630. The child's siblings were Carlo Odescalchi (1609 - 1673), married to Beatrice Cusani of the Marquesses of Chignolo (parents of Giovanna Odescalchi (1651 - 14 July 1679), married in [[Milan]] on 27 May 1677 as his first wife to [[:it:Carlo Borromeo Arese|Carlo Borromeo-Arese]], 6th Marquess of Angera, 11th Count of Arona, with issue), Lucrezia Odescalchi (9 October 1605 - ?), married on 4 February 1621 to Alessandro Erba (6 November 1599 - 31 August 1670), son of Gerolamo Erba and wife Vittoria Olgiati, ancestors of the [[Erba-Odescalchi]], [[Giulio Maria Odescalchi]], Costantino Odescalchi, Nicola Odescalchi and Paolo Odescalchi. He also had several collateral descendants of note through his sister: her grandson Cardinal [[Benedetto Erba Odescalchi]] and Cardinal [[Carlo Odescalchi]] - [[Servant of God]].

The [[Odescalchi]], a family of minor nobility, were determined entrepreneurs. In 1619, Benedetto's brother founded in [[Genoa]] with his three uncles a bank which quickly grew into a successful money-lending business. After completing his studies in grammar and letters, the 15-year-old Benedetto moved to Genoa to take part in the family business as an apprentice. Lucrative economic transactions were established with clients in the major Italian and European cities, such as [[Nuremberg]], [[Milan]], [[Kraków]], and [[Rome]].

In 1626 Benedetto's father died, and he began schooling in the humanities taught by the [[Jesuits]] at his local college, before transferring to Genoa. In 1630 he narrowly survived an [[1629–1631 Italian plague|outbreak of plague]], which killed his mother.

Some time between 1632 and 1636, Benedetto decided to move to Rome and then [[Naples]] in order to study [[Civil law (area)|civil law]]. This led to his securing the offices of [[protonotary apostolic]], president of the [[Apostolic Camera]], commissary of the Marco di Roma, and governor of [[Macerata]]; on 6 March 1645, [[Pope Innocent X]] (1644–55) made him [[Cardinal-Deacon]] with the deaconry of ''[[Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome|Santi Cosma e Damiano]]''. He subsequently became [[Papal legate|legate]] to [[Ferrara]]. When he was sent to Ferrara in order to assist the people stricken with a severe famine, the Pope introduced him to the people of Ferrara as the "father of the poor".

[[File:Benedetto Odescalchi.jpg|thumb|left|160px|Cardinal Odescalchi]]
In 1650, Odescalchi became [[bishop of Novara]], in which capacity he spent all the revenues of his [[episcopal see|see]] to relieve the poor and sick in his [[diocese]]. He participated in the [[Papal conclave, 1655|1655 conclave]]. In 1656, with the pope's permission, he resigned as bishop of Novara in favor of his brother Giulio and moved to Rome. While there he took a prominent part in the consultations of the various congregations of which he was a member.<ref name=kelly287>Kelly, 287</ref> He participated in the [[1669–1670 papal conclave|1669–70 conclave]].

==Papacy==

===Election===
{{main|Papal conclave, 1676}}
Odescalchi was a strong papal candidate after the death of [[Pope Clement IX]] (1667–69) in 1669, but the [[Kingdom of France|French]] government rejected him (using the now-abolished [[jus exclusivae|veto]]). After [[Pope Clement X]] (1670–76) died, [[Louis XIV of France]] (1643–1715) again intended to use his royal influence against Odescalchi's election. Instead, believing that the cardinals as well as the Roman people were of one mind in their desire to have Odescalchi as their Pope, Louis reluctantly instructed the French party cardinals to acquiesce in his candidacy.

On 21 September 1676, Odescalchi was chosen to be Clement X's successor and took the name of Innocent XI. He chose this name in honour of Pope Innocent X, who made him a cardinal in 1645. He was formally crowned as pontiff on 4 October 1676 by the [[protodeacon]], Cardinal [[Francesco Maidalchini]].

{{Infobox popestyles
| image=C o a Innocenzo XI.svg
| dipstyle=[[His Holiness]]
| offstyle=Your Holiness
| relstyle=Holy Father
| deathstyle=[[Beatification|Blessed]]|}}

===Reforming the administration of the papacy===
Immediately upon his accession, Innocent XI turned all his efforts towards reducing the expenses of the [[Roman Curia|Curia]]. He passed strict ordinances against [[nepotism]] among the cardinals. He lived frugally and exhorted the cardinals to do the same. In this manner he not only squared the annual deficit which at his accession had reached the sum of 170,000 [[Italian scudo|scudi]], but within a few years the papal income was even in excess of the expenditures. He lost no time in declaring and practically manifesting his zeal as a reformer of manners and a corrector of administrative abuses. Beginning with the clergy, he sought to raise the [[laity]] also to a higher moral standard of living. He closed all of the theaters in Rome (considered to be centers of vice and immorality) and famously brought a temporary halt to the flourishing traditions of Roman [[opera]]. In 1679 he publicly condemned sixty-five propositions, taken chiefly from the writings of [[Antonio Escobar y Mendoza|Escobar]], [[Francisco Suarez|Suarez]] and other [[casuistry|casuists]] (mostly [[Jesuit]] casuists, who had been heavily attacked by [[Blaise Pascal|Pascal]] in his ''[[Provincial Letters]]'') as ''propositiones laxorum moralistarum'' and forbade anyone to teach them under penalty of excommunication.<ref name=kelly287/> He condemned in particular the most radical form of [[doctrine of mental reservation|mental reservation]] (''stricte mentalis'') which authorised deception without an outright lie.

Personally not unfriendly to [[Miguel de Molinos]], Innocent XI nevertheless yielded to the enormous pressure brought to bear upon him to confirm in 1687 the judgement of the inquisitors by which sixty-eight [[Quietism (Christian philosophy)|quietist]] propositions of Molinos were condemned as blasphemous and heretical.

===Jewish relations===
Innocent XI showed a degree of sensitivity in his dealings with the [[Jews]] within the Italian states. He compelled the [[Republic of Venice]] to release the Jewish prisoners taken by [[Francesco Morosini]] in 1685. He also discouraged compulsory baptisms which accordingly became less frequent under his pontificate, but he could not abolish the old practice altogether.

More controversially on 30 October 1682 he issued an edict by which all the money-lending activities carried out by the Roman Jews were to cease. Such a move would incidentally have financially benefitted his own brothers who played a dominant role in European money-lending. However, ultimately convinced that such a measure would cause much misery in destroying livelihoods, the enforcement of the edict was twice delayed.<ref>Isidore Singer, ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'', Varda Books, 2003</ref>

==Foreign relations==

===The Battle of Vienna===
{{Main|Battle of Vienna}}
Innocent XI was an enthusiastic initiator of the [[Holy League (1684)|Holy League]] which brought together the [[imperial estate|states]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and King [[John III Sobieski]] of [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland-Lithuania]] who in 1683 hastened to the relief of [[Battle of Vienna|Vienna]] which was being besieged by the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]]. After the siege was raised, Innocent XI again spared no efforts to induce the Christian princes to lend a helping hand for the expulsion of the Turks from [[Ottoman Hungary]]. He contributed millions of scudi to the Turkish war fund in [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]] and [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] and had the satisfaction of hearing of the [[Siege of Belgrade (1688)|capture of Belgrade]] on 6 September 1688.<ref name=kelly288/>

===Pope-burning in London===

During England's [[Exclusion Crisis]] (1679–1681), when [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] sought to exclude the Catholic [[King James II|Duke of York]] from gaining the throne,
the radical Protestants of London's [[Green Ribbon Club]] regularly held mass processions culminating with burning "The Pope" in effigy. Evidently, the organizers of these events were unaware that the actual Pope in Rome was involved in a deep conflict with the King of France&nbsp;– and therefore, far from supporting the drive to get the Duke of York crowned, which served Louis XIV's political ambitions.

===Relations with France===
[[File:Piastre à l'effigie du Pape Innocent XI (1678-1679).jpg|thumb|Innocent XI (1678–1679)]]
The pontificate of Innocent XI was marked by the struggle between the absolutism and hegemonic intentions of Louis XIV, and the primacy of the Catholic Church. As early as 1673, Louis had by his own power extended the right of the ''[[régale]]'' over the provinces of [[Languedoc]], [[Guyenne]], [[Provence]], and [[Dauphiné]], where it had previously not been exercised.

All the efforts of Innocent XI to induce Louis XIV to respect the rights and primacy of the Church proved useless. In 1682, the King convoked an [[assembly of the French clergy]] which adopted the four articles that became known as the [[Gallican Liberties]]. Innocent XI annulled the four articles on 11 April 1682, and refused his approbation to all future episcopal candidates who had taken part in the assembly.<ref name=kelly287/>

To appease the Pope, Louis XIV began to act as a zealot of Catholicism. In 1685, he revoked the [[Edict of Nantes]] and inaugurated a persecution of French [[Huguenots]]. Innocent expressed displeasure at these drastic measures and continued to withhold his approbation from the episcopal candidates.

[[File:Innocent XI Dec 1688.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Tachard, with [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Siam]]ese envoys, translating the letter of King [[Narai]] to Pope Innocent XI, December 1688]]

Innocent XI irritated the King still more that same year by abolishing the much abused [[right of asylum]], by which foreign ambassadors in Rome had been able to harbor in embassies any criminal wanted by the papal court of justice. He notified the new French ambassador, [[Marquis de Lavardin]], that he would not be recognised as ambassador in Rome unless he renounced this right, but Louis XIV would not give it up. At the head of an armed force of about 800 men Lavardin entered Rome in November 1687, and took forcible possession of his palace. Innocent XI treated him as [[excommunication|excommunicated]] and on 24 December 1687 placed under [[interdict]] the [[San Luigi dei Francesi|Church of St. Louis]] at Rome where Lavardin attended services.<ref name=kelly288/>

In January 1688, Innocent XI received the diplomatic mission which had been dispatched to France and the Holy See by [[Narai]], the King of [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Siam]], under [[Guy Tachard]] and [[Ok-khun Chamnan]] in order to establish relations.

===Cologne controversy===
[[File:InocencioXIb.jpg|245px|right|[[List of extant papal tombs|Monument to Pope Innocent XI]], St. Peter's Basilica|thumb]]
The tension between the Pope and the King of France was increased by Innocent's procedure in filling the vacant [[Electorate of Cologne|archiepiscopal see of Cologne]]. The two candidates for the see were Cardinal [[Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg]], then [[Bishop of Strasbourg]], and [[Joseph Clemens of Bavaria|Joseph Clemens]], a brother of [[Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria]]. The former was a willing tool in the hands of Louis XIV and his appointment as Archbishop and [[Prince-elector]] of Cologne would have implied French preponderance in north-western Germany.

Joseph Clement was not only the candidate of Emperor [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]] (1658–1705) but of all European rulers, with the exception of the King of France and his supporter and cousin, King [[James II of England]] (1685–88). At the election, which took place on 19 July 1688, neither of the candidates received the required number of votes. The decision, therefore, fell to Innocent XI, who designated Joseph Clemens as Archbishop and Elector of Cologne.

Louis XIV retaliated by taking possession of the papal territory of [[Avignon]], imprisoning the [[papal nuncio]] and appealing to a general council. Nor did he conceal his intention to separate the French Church entirely from Rome. The Pope remained firm. The subsequent fall of James II in England destroyed French preponderance in Europe and soon after Innocent XI's death the struggle between Louis XIV and the papacy was settled in favour of the Church.<ref name=kelly287/>

===Innocent XI and William of Orange===
Innocent XI dispatched [[Ferdinando d'Adda]] as nuncio to the [[Kingdom of England]], the first representative of the Papacy to go to England for over a century. Even so, the Pope did not approve the imprudent manner in which [[James II of England|James II]] attempted to restore Catholicism in England. He also repeatedly expressed his displeasure at the support which James II gave to the autocratic King Louis XIV in his measures against the Church. It is not surprising, therefore, that Innocent XI had less sympathy for James than for [[William III of England|William of Orange]]<ref>[[Crane Brinton]], "Italy and the Papacy, 1655 A.D.-1799 A.D." in ''An Encyclopedia of World History'' (1941), Boston:  Houghton Mifflin.</ref> and that he did not afford James help in his hour of trial.<ref name=kelly288>Kelly, 288</ref> Innocent refused to appoint James II's choice as a Cardinal, [[Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet]].

==Moral theology==
===Abortion===
Innocent XI issued the [[papal bull]] ''Sanctissimus Dominus'' in 1679 to condemn 65 propositions that favored a liberal approach to doctrine which included two that related to [[abortion]]. He first condemned proposition 34 and countered that it was unlawful to procure abortion. He also condemned proposition 35, which stated: "It seems probable that the fetus (as long as it is in the uterus) lacks a rational soul and begins first to have one when it is born; and consequently it must be said that no abortion is a homicide."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/pope-innocent-xi-1611-1689|title=Pope Innocent XI (1611-1689)|publisher=The Embryo Project Encyclopedia|date=18 March 2015|access-date=11 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Decret de N.S.P. le Pape Innocent XI contre plusieurs propositions de morale, suivant les exemplaires de rome, de l'Imprimerie de la Reverendissime Chambre Apostolique. |date=1679 |publisher=[Paris] : [F. Muguet] |url=https://archive.org/details/decretdensplepap00cath |page=[https://archive.org/details/decretdensplepap00cath/page/12 12] |access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref>

==Other activities==
Innocent XI was no less intent on preserving the purity of faith and morals among all people. He insisted on thorough education and an exemplary lifestyle for all people and he passed strict rules in relation to the modesty of dress among Roman women. Furthermore, he put an end to the ever-increasing passion for gambling by suppressing the gambling houses at Rome. By a decree of 12 February 1679 he encouraged frequent and even daily reception of Holy Communion.<ref name="Pope Innocent XI"/> On 4 March 1679, he condemned the proposition that "the precept of keeping Holy Days is not obligatory under pain of mortal sin, aside from scandal, if contempt is absent".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/is-it-really-mortal-sin-to-skip-sunday.html|title=Is it really a mortal sin to skip Sunday Mass?|publisher=The New Theological Movement|date=21 October 2014|access-date=11 April 2015}}</ref> In 1688, he reiterated a decree of [[Pope Sixtus V]] that banned women from singing on stage in all public theatres or opera houses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dankalia.com/archive/1000/1169.htm|title=The Castrati-Mutilation in the Name of Religion|access-date=11 April 2015}}</ref>

Innocent XI was hostile towards the book ''Varia Opuscula Theologica'' (Various Theological Brochures) that the Spanish Jesuit [[Francisco Suárez]] published. He ordered all copies to be burnt in 1679 but his orders went ignored. One of the books was discovered in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/news/international/europe/story.php?id=59615|title=Extremely rare book from 17th century, banned by Pope Innocent XI, resurfaces|publisher=Catholic Online|date=11 April 2015|access-date=11 April 2015}}</ref>

=== Consistories ===
{{main|Cardinals created by Innocent XI}}
He elevated 43 new cardinals into the cardinalate in two [[Papal consistory|consistories]]. In 1681 he named Antonio Pignatelli as a cardinal, who would later become [[Pope Innocent XII]] (taking his name in honor of the pope who elevated him). Innocent XI also intended to nominate his confessor [[Ludovico Marracci]] as a cardinal, but he declined the invitation.

=== Beatifications and canonizations ===
He also canonized two saints: [[Bernard of Menthon]] in 1681 and [[Pedro Armengol]] on 8 April 1687. He beatified six individuals.

==Death and beatification==
[[File: Saint Peter's Basilica (51).jpg|thumb|left|250px|The body of Innocent XI in St Peter's Basilica]]
[[File:Kép-XIIncepápa.jpg|thumb|right|190px|Statue of Innocent XI in [[Budapest]]]]

===Final days and death===
Innocent XI  is known to have suffered from [[Kidney stone disease|kidney stones]] since 1682 and in 1689 his health declined notably. In June that year he was confined to his bed. For reasons of ill health, he cancelled a consistory of cardinals convoked for 19 June for the examination of bishops and he also cancelled meetings on 21 June. The pope was suddenly assailed by a strong fever on 25 June and on 29 June he was unable to celebrate the solemn Mass for the [[Feast of Saints Peter and Paul]], deputing Cardinal [[Flavio Chigi (1631–1693)|Flavio Chigi]] to celebrate it in his place. The Pope's condition worsened on 2 July and his doctors were led to lance his left leg, which caused fluid release, and eventually to undertake an operation on his right leg on 31 July, and two more in the following two days.<ref name="CSUN">{{cite web|url=http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1689.html|title=Sede Vacante 1689|publisher=CSUN|access-date=29 December 2015}}</ref>

On 9 August he received the [[Viaticum]] since doctors were of the opinion that he had little time left to live. On 11 August he received in audience Cardinal Leandro Colloredo, who came  to remind him that the pope had been set to raise ten men to the cardinalate but the pope refused to do so despite the cardinal's insistence. On the morning of 12 August he lost the ability to speak and suffered from breathing difficulties.<ref name=CSUN/>

Innocent XI died on 12 August 1689 at 22:00 (Rome time)  Following his death, he was buried in [[St Peter's Basilica]] beneath his funeral monument near the Clementine Chapel, which his nephew, Prince [[Livio Odescalchi]], commissioned.<ref>''Bradshaw's Illustrated Hand-Book to Italy'' (1865) describes Innocent XI's tomb as being that of his Monument in St Peter's Basilica, which is near that of Pope Leo XI's monument and tomb. Francis Wey's ''Rome'' (1875) and S. Russell Forbes' ''Rambles in Rome: An Archaeological and Historical Guide'' (1882) also refer to Innocent XI's Monument as being his tomb.</ref><ref>Cevetello, Joseph F.X., "Blessed Innocent XI," ''Homiletic & Pastoral Review''. New York, NY: Joseph F. Wagner, Inc., 1957. Pp. 331–339.</ref> The monument, which was designed and sculpted by [[Pierre-Étienne Monnot]], features the pope seated upon the throne above a sarcophagus with a base-relief showing the liberation of Vienna from the Turks by [[John III Sobieski]], flanked by two allegorical figures representing Faith and Fortitude.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Monuments/InnocentXI/InnocentXI.htm/ |title=Monument to Bl. Innocent XI |publisher=SaintPetersBasilica.org |access-date=21 June 2011}}</ref><ref>Reardon, Wendy J. (2004), ''The Deaths of the Popes'', Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. P. 215.</ref>

In April 2011 the remains of Innocent XI were moved to make way for remains of the [[Beatification of Pope John Paul II|beatified John Paul II]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kerr|first=David|title=Pope Innocent XI's remains make way for John Paul II|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/22313/pope-innocent-xis-remains-make-way-for-john-paul-ii|access-date=2020-07-26|website=Catholic News Agency|language=en}}</ref>

===Beatification===
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Beatification|Blessed]]
|name             = Innocent XI
|birth_name       = Benedetto Odescalchi
|birth_date       = 16 May 1611
|death_date       = 12 August 1689 (aged 78)
|feast_day        = [[12 August]]<br />[[13 August]] ([[Hungary]])
|venerated_in     = [[Catholic Church]]
|image            = Inocencius XI.jpg
|caption          = Portrait (1787).
|birth_place      = [[Como]], [[Lombardy]], [[Duchy of Milan]]
|death_place      = [[Apostolic Palace]], [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]
|titles           = [[Pope]]; [[Confessor]]
|attributes       = [[Papal vestments|Papal attire]]<br />[[Papal tiara]]<br />[[Camauro]]
|patronage        = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Novara|Diocese of Novara]]<br />[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Como|Diocese of Como]]<br />[[Bavarian Congregation]]
|beatified_date   = 7 October 1956
|beatified_place  = [[Saint Peter's Basilica]], [[Vatican City]]
|beatified_by     = [[Pope Pius XII]] }}
The process of Innocent XI's [[beatification]] was introduced in 1691 by [[Pope Innocent XII]]. His cause was formally opened on 23 June 1714 under [[Clement XI]],<ref name="index">{{cite book |title=Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum |date=January 1953 |publisher=Typis polyglottis vaticanis |page=99 |language=Latin}}</ref> granting him the title of [[Servant of God]], and continued under [[Clement XII]], but French influence and the accusation of [[Jansenism]] caused it to be suspended in 1744 by [[Pope Benedict XIV]]. In the 20th century, it was reintroduced; his writings were approved by theologians on 24 March 1945,<ref name="index"/> and [[Pope Pius XII]] proclaimed him [[venerable]] on 15 November 1955 and blessed on 7 October 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=330/ |title=Blessed Pope Innocent XI |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=21 June 2011 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201131732/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=330%2F |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Following his beatification, his sarcophagus was placed under the Altar of St. Sebastian in the basilica's Chapel of St. Sebastian, where it remained until 8 April 2011 when it was moved to make way for the remains of [[Pope John Paul II]] to be relocated to the basilica from the grotto beneath St. Peter's in honor of his beatification and in order to make his resting place more accessible to the public.<ref name="Catholic News Agency">Kerr, David. {{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/22313/pope-innocent-xis-remains-make-way-for-john-paul-ii |title=Pope Innocent XI's remains make way for John Paul II |publisher=Catholic News Agency |access-date=17 June 2011}}</ref> Innocent's body was transferred to the basilica's Altar of Transfiguration, which is located near the Clementine Chapel and the entombed remains of Pope [[Gregory the Great]] (590–604).<ref name="Catholic News Agency"/> The altar is also across from Innocent XI's monument, which was his original site of burial before his beatification.

The feast day assigned to Innocent XI is 12 August, the date of his death. In the Hungarian calendar, it is commemorated on August 13.

Popular revelations made in the novel ''[[Imprimatur (novel)|Imprimatur]]'' damaged Innocent XI's reputation and thus the planned canonisation of Benedetto Odescalchi was suspended indefinitely.<ref>''The Independent'', 13 May 2008 at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/a-papal-mystery-827008.html</ref>

It was believed that the canonization would have taken place in 2003 but the book's publication halted all plans to canonize Innocent XI.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.cultora.it/imprimatur/&prev=search|title=The return of Imprimatur in Italy: censorship is over?|publisher=Cultora|date=9 September 2015|access-date=27 September 2015}}</ref>

==Encyclicals==
* ''[[Sollicitudo pastoralis]]'' (Fostering and Preserving the Orders of Men Religious)
* ''[[Coelestis Pastor]]'' (Condemning the errors of [[Miguel de Molinos|Molinos]])

==See also==
* [[Cardinals created by Innocent XI]]
* [[Odescalchi]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=J.N.D. |title=The Oxford History of the Popes |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-19-282085-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionar000kell }}
* {{cite book|last=Michaud |first=Eugène |title=Louis XIV et Innocent XI|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zx8uGQ6R_hQC|volume=Tome Premier: Innocent XI et son cour|year=1882|publisher=Charpentier|location=Paris|language=fr}}

===Acknowledgment===
*{{Catholic|wstitle=Pope Innocent XI}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Innocentius XI|Pope Innocent XI}}
{{wikisource author}}
* [http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/StSebastian/StSebastian.htm The Body of Innocent XI] in St Peter's Basilica
* [http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/Transfiguration/Transfiguration.htm The Altar of Transfiguration]
* [http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Innoc11/i11coel.htm Coelestis Pastor]
* [http://gloria.tv/?media=62804 Video footage showing the beatification of Pope Innocent XI]
* [http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-1137/Pope-Innocent-XI-1611-1689-Italy.aspx Innocent XI, 1611-1689 - The Lawyer-Pope] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926182940/http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-1137/Pope-Innocent-XI-1611-1689-Italy.aspx |date=2019-09-26 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180428153107/http://www.diocesidicomo.it/diocesi_di_como/storia_e_arte/00023144_Anno_Innocenziano.html Diocese of Como]

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Pope Clement X|Clement X]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Pope]]|years=21 September 1676&nbsp;– 12 August 1689}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Alexander VIII|Alexander VIII]]}}
{{s-end}}

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

{{Authority control}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Innocent 11}}
[[Category:Pope Innocent XI| ]]
[[Category:1611 births]]
[[Category:1689 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Como]]
[[Category:Italian popes]]
[[Category:Bishops of Novara]]
[[Category:People of the Great Turkish War]]
[[Category:Italian beatified people]]
[[Category:Beatifications by Pope Pius XII]]
[[Category:17th-century venerated Christians]]
[[Category:17th-century popes]]
[[Category:Popes]]
[[Category:Beatified popes]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Peter's Basilica]]