Clement VIII, Pope

CLEMENTE VIII, POPE. — Ippolito, son of Silvestro Aldobrandini, an illustrious jurisconsult, and of Lisa Deti, b. at Fano on 24 February 1536, was elevated to the pontificate on 30 January 1592; d. on 5 March 1605. He studied law at Padua, Perugia, and Bologna, where he earned his degree. His honest and exemplary life from his youth onward won him the favor of Pius V, protector of his family, opening to him access to the Roman prelature; he honorably held the offices of consistorial advocate and auditor of the Rota; Sixtus V promoted him to datary on 15 May 1585 and, in that same year, on 18 December, also made him cardinal of S. Pancrazio. He was major penitentiary in 1596 and subsequently extraordinary legate in Poland

(1588–1589), where, with great tact, he succeeded in composing the very serious dispute between Poland and the House of Austria and, with particular concern, in averting the Turkish danger. In the three conclaves following the death of Sixtus V, his name appeared among the papabili, but the court of Spain was hostile to him, considering him pro-French. Elected pope, he resumed the policies of government and the resolute spirit of Sixtus V, with a milder temperament. In principle opposed to nepotism, he nevertheless could not avoid calling his nephews Cinzio and Pietro Aldobrandini to be his immediate collaborators; they were soon raised to the cardinalate and appointed Secretaries of State. He was deeply concerned with the work of reforming the Church; in this he often sought the advice of s. Filippo Neri. He was therefore zealous in restoring discipline in the Apostolic Palace and the papal Curia and in suppressing every abuse; with the constitution of 12 March 1596, supplemented by decrees of 1599, 1602, and 1603, he undertook to restore good government and fidelity to the rule in religious communities; he recalled bishops and clergy to observance of the Tridentine canons, particularly the obligation of residence; he created the best men cardinals (Baronio, Bellarmino, Tarugi, Toledo, Antoniano); he tempered the severity of the tribunal of the Inquisition; he removed defects in the procedure of trials (on 17 July 1600 the heretic Giordano Bruno suffered the supreme punishment); he prosecuted heresy and heretics, also urging Catholic princes to this end, especially to prevent the dissemination of books or pamphlets contrary to the Catholic faith; with the same purpose he ordered a new edition, more up to date and clearer in its provisions, of the Index of Prohibited Books. Since the Bible printed by order of Sixtus V had been the object of serious criticism among scholars, C. VIII prevented its circulation and had another, more correct edition prepared (Clementine Vulgate); he resolved to produce a modern collection of the Pontifical Constitutions and personally collaborated in the studies for it; thus the S. D. N. D. Clementis papae Decretales were printed (Rome 1598); but the work remained at the project stage, because doubts, opposition, and resistance from various quarters dissuaded him from publishing II. C. was a most zealous supporter and promoter of the missions, which had already been splendidly inaugurated everywhere, in the Old and New World, through the work of Jesuits, Franciscans, and other religious Orders. In the ardent debate concerning the doctrine of Grace between the Jesuits (Molina) and the Dominicans (Báñez), with the aim of putting an end to disputes that had become excessively heated, he ordered that the questions be submitted to the examination of a special commission, the famous Congregatio de Auxiliis, but he did not succeed in reconciling the parties.

In the religious war in France, in which Spain was also involved, C. VIII avoided taking sides, unwilling to come into conflict with either of the two powers; but when Enrico di Borbone abjured Calvinism and was consequently recognized as king (v. IV), he gave his sanction to this solution and was subsequently able to reconcile the two crowns (Peace of Vervins, 1598) and provide for the reform of the Church in France. Indeed, only then could the Tridentine canons effectively be introduced in France, with a prompt revival of religious life. Precisely with a view to concord among Catholics and peace in the kingdom, C. tolerated the Edict of Nantes of 1598, by which that king granted the Huguenots, who were still very powerful in the kingdom itself, freedom of worship and conscience and special political guarantees. With the support of Enrico IV, the transfer of Ferrara to the Holy See met with success. As a cardinal, in response to the persistent efforts of Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, to secure the succession of that dominion for the House of Este, despite his having no legitimate male descendants, Aldobrandini had maintained that such solicitations ought not to be accepted, in obedience to a well-known bull of Pius V prohibiting any further alienation of Church fiefs; at the beginning of his pontificate he had also confirmed the bull. Upon the duke’s death, Cesare d’Este, his nephew and designated heir, sought to succeed him also in the dominion of Ferrara, trusting in the opposition of the Italian powers to an enlargement of the Papal States. In reality, however, lacking the hoped-for support of Spain, Venice, and the Empire, while C. VIII could count on the assistance of Enrico IV, not only diplomatic but, if necessary, military as well, the Este ruler was induced to submit to the Pope’s will; thus Ferrara was peacefully transferred to the Holy See. C. VIII wished to enjoy this political triumph by going pompously to Ferrara and ordering there, among other things, the construction of a fortress.

The Pope had fewer successes in other areas of his political-ecclesiastical government: Spanish power, which was still strong in Italy and bore heavily upon the papal court itself, became more obdurate, under the pretext of an alleged preference on C.’s part for France; the Pope’s effort to organize a Christian league against the Ottomans produced no serious result, nor did the dispatch of army corps to Hungary at his expense meet with success. Although C.’s efforts for the Catholic restoration in Germany and the Spanish Netherlands were considerable, the results in reality were not commensurate. The hopes placed in Giacomo I, King of England, for the restoration of Catholicism in England, and the attempts made in this regard, produced nothing but disappointment. He received little consolation concerning the fortunes of Catholicism in Poland and Russia; he found comfort, though not lasting, in the ju-

bilee proclaimed for the Holy Year 1600, which brought large numbers of pilgrims to Rome from various parts of Christian Europe. His body was transferred in 1646 from S. Pietro to S. Maria Maggiore, to the tomb built by Paolo V. - Vedi Tav. CXVI.