Pius IV

Giovanni Angelo de Medici came from a lateral, impoverished branch of the Medici clan, and was born in Milan on March 31, 1499 ^[1] . He was the son of a notary and devoted himself to medicine and jurisprudence. His early career resembles that of his older brother, Gian Giacomo Medici, who rose from the bottom to the Marquis of Meleniano .

He studied at universities in Pavia and Milan . After studying in Bologna and acquiring a law degree, Giovanni went to Rome in 1527 , and, as the favorite of Pope Paul III, began to quickly move along the church hierarchy, holding the posts of governor of several cities, and then the archbishop of Ragusa (1545-1553) ^{[2 ]} , and vice legate in Bologna. In 1549, he became a cardinal and was sent with a diplomatic mission to Germany and Hungary ^[1] .

Giovanni Angelo Medici was considered a man of a clear and calm soul, full of cheerfulness. His difference from the proud and impregnable predecessor of Paul IV was striking, and this decided the question of his election as pope on December 25, 1559 ^[1] .

In 1560, he established the Order of John of Lateran intended for non-spiritual people ^[3] .

Being naturally benevolent, Pope Pius IV reacted with extraordinary severity to the nepotism of his predecessor: he sentenced Cardinal Alfonso to exile, the other - Giovanni - folded his head on the scaffold, and Cardinal Carlo , who voted for Pius in the conclave , was strangled in prison in the Castle of the Holy Angel.

In 1565 , a conspiracy against Pius IV, led by Benedetto Accolti Jr., the son of a cardinal, was exposed ^[4] .

At the same time, Pius IV distributed cardinal hats to the offspring of his three sisters, and provided beneficial benefits to his own children. The most famous of the Nepot cardinals was Carlo Borromeo ( 1538 - 1584 ), later - Bishop of Milan , a zealous implementer of the decrees of the Council of Trent , founder of the first theological seminaries. Carlo was canonized in 1610 .

Pius IV brought the matter to the final completion of the cathedral. The decisions adopted by the council did not limit the power of the pope in any way, leaving the reform of the church under his care. The ideas of concillarism (the thesis of the supremacy of the cathedral over the pope ) were pushed into the shadows for a long time. They were also devoted to condemning the teachings of Martin Luther and Jean Calvin and formulated the main principles of the Catholic doctrine of the sacraments, the mercy of God and the role of the church in saving a person from sin. The council also adopted many disciplinary decisions. It should be noted that the popes did not participate in any of the 25 sessions of the cathedral. On January 26, Pius IV signed the cathedral decrees and immediately began to implement them. The Trent Catechism was prepared - the main textbook of the Catholic faith, intended for the lower clergy. The text of the oath was also formulated, which every priest was obligated to take before taking a church post. The Congregation of the Cathedral appeared, whose task was to monitor the implementation of the decisions adopted in Trent. In 1564, a revised and amended Index of Prohibited Books appeared.

Dad did not intervene in the religious wars that erupted in Europe at that time.

Pius IV died on December 9, 1565 and was buried in Santa Maria degli Angeli.

During the reign, Pius Michelangelo rebuilt the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (in the Baths of Diocletian ), and Pirro Ligorio erected Villa Pia ("Casina Pio IV"), now known as the residence of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican Gardens.

• Korelin M.S. Pius, popes // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.