Blessed Innocent XI
Austere seventeenth-century pope: finance reformer and backer of the Holy League
- Rank
- Blessed
- Kind
- Pope
- Life
- 1611 – 1689
- Era
- 17th century
- Feast
- 12 August
- Countries
- Italy
Life story
Benedetto Odescalchi was born on 16 May 1611 in Como, northern Italy, into a merchant family. He studied law and worked in the papal administration, and was made a cardinal in 1645. He was elected pope on 21 September 1676 and took the name Innocent XI.
When he took office the papal treasury was running a large deficit. He tightened spending and refused to enrich his own relatives, which brought income above expenditure. He also clashed repeatedly with Louis XIV of France. In 1682 a French clerical assembly adopted the Four Gallican Articles, which limited papal authority; on 11 April 1682 he annulled them and refused to confirm the bishops who had taken part.
Facing the Ottoman threat, he subsidised the Polish king and the Holy Roman emperor, and allied forces relieved the siege of Vienna in 1683; the Holy League of 1684, which he sponsored, continued the war. He died on 12 August 1689 in Rome. Pope Pius XII beatified him on 7 October 1956. His feast day is 12 August.
Works and witness
- Made cardinal in 1645, elected pope in 1676
- Balanced the papal budget and refused nepotism
- Annulled the Four Gallican Articles on 11 April 1682
- Funded the war that relieved Vienna in 1683 and sponsored the Holy League of 1684
- Beatified on 7 October 1956
Saints from the same country
References
- Ludwig von Pastor, The History of the Popes, vol. 32 (Innocent XI)
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis (decree and beatification of Innocent XI, 1956)
- Martyrologium Romanum (12 August)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.