CLEMENTINE IX, POPE. - Giulio Rospigliosi was born in Pistoia to a noble family on 28 January 1600; created cardinal in 1657, elected pope on 20 June 1667, died on 9 December 1669. He studied and taught in Pisa, then went to Rome among the household of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, whom he accompanied to France and Spain. He was a curial official in Rome when, in March 1644, he was appointed nuncio to Spain, where he remained with honour until 1653. Because he was a friend of the Barberini, he was never favoured by Pope Innocent X; during the conclave following his death, he was elected governor of Rome and then, by the new Pope Alexander VII, appointed Secretary of State and cardinal (1657). Ten years later he succeeded Alexander VII, thanks to his fine qualities, including gentleness of character, a sense of justice, and generosity. As pope he refused to favour his relatives; strict with himself, he was truly «clement» towards his subjects. Pasquino himself greeted his election with praise and foretold a golden pontificate; yet he was already advanced in years and in poor health.
During his reign the Jansenist controversy was still raging. Without departing from the decisions of his predecessors, he sought to reconcile minds through his intervention («Clementine peace»); but the heated passions frustrated his initiative. He governed the Papal States with balance, avoiding excessive burden on his subjects. Before becoming pope, he had dabbled in poetry and melodramatic art with some success and renown. As pope he protected studies and the arts, honouring among the artists of his time Borromini and Bernini, who was working on the statues to be placed on Ponte Sant’Angelo. He showed his favour to the highly cultivated Queen Christina of Sweden, who was again resident in Rome. Important measures in favour of the missions are to be noted, including the bull of 17 June 1669, which explicitly forbade missionaries and all ecclesiastics from engaging in commercial affairs, whether for personal gain or for the benefit of their religious community, unless the latter were in dire necessity; and the brief of 13 September 1669, by which he subjected all missionaries to the supervision and jurisdiction of the apostolic vicars.
In political affairs the major problem was the fate of Candia. From 1645 the Venetians and troops of several Christian powers had fought to prevent the island from falling into Turkish hands. Following the example of his predecessors, Clement sent substantial aid in men, money, and galleys, and assiduously urged France and Spain to take part in the enterprise, striving to heal their discord. Louis XIV did in fact send a fleet and an army, but not decisively, so as not to disrupt entirely his friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire; Spain held back, distrustful of the French rival. Candia fell, and the news reached Rome after Clement’s death. He deserves credit for reconciling Louis XIV to the Holy See, relations with Pope Alexander VII having been quite strained.
His body, which lay briefly in St Peter’s, was transferred by his successor to Santa Maria Maggiore. — See Pl. CXVII.