GREGORY XV, POPE. - Alessandro Ludovisi, born in Bologna on 9 January 1554, spent two years in Rome at the German College, directed by the Jesuits, and pursued humanistic studies at the Roman College; he earned his degree in philosophy and theology in Rome (1569–71), and obtained his law degree and the *venia docendi* in Bologna (1575). He then decided to enter the priesthood. Appointed by Gregory XIII, his fellow townsman, as president of the judges of the Campidoglio, he was tasked with accompanying the papal legate Ippolito Aldobrandini to Poland, appointed to the advisory commission for Ferrara, and made a referendary of the Segnatura. The Pope entrusted him with delicate missions, which he carried out with such complete satisfaction, for example, the appointment of the primate of Spain, the dispute between the papacy and Naples over the question of Benedict in connection with the French disturbances (August 1604), and the conflict between Paul V and Venice. Named Archbishop of Bologna on 12 March 1612, he was later created cardinal on 19 September 1616 for his pacifying role between Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy and Philip III of Spain. He was acclaimed pope at the age of 67 on 9 February 1621. He died on 8 July 1623.
As soon as he was elected, despite his poor health, he chose his nephew Ludovico Ludovisi as his collaborator for affairs, whom he made a cardinal at the age of 25 on 15 February 1621. He worked in the spirit of the Tridentine Reform and devoted himself especially to the formation of an exemplary clergy. The nephew complemented his uncle magnificently. Young and Secretary of State, he infused fresh energy into papal politics, greatly benefiting the cause of Catholic restoration. The only negative aspect of the cardinal’s vast and intelligent activity was that his high dignities, honors, ecclesiastical benefices, and substantial income enabled him to acquire large fiefs (such as Zagarolo, from the Colonna princes), palaces, and villas. With Gregory XV, a pupil of the Jesuits ascended the papal throne for the first time. He created new cardinals twice (19 April and 21 July 1621). He displayed great energy in the internal life of the Church, for example, in defending Cardinal Lerma, once all-powerful prime minister under Philip III of Spain, later subjected to trial for illicit enrichment and confined under Philip IV; in the jurisdictional conflict that erupted in Milan; in resisting Spanish demands to pre-approve all papal documents; and in defending the nuncio at the court of the Catholic King. In two bulls, he codified the electoral rules of the conclave, still in force today. He established the Congregation for Ecclesiastical Immunity and, perfecting the work of Gregory XIII, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith for missions not only in America and Asia and the Portuguese colonies, but also in Great Britain, where the conflict between King James I and Parliament made any attempt at penetration even more difficult, and where, particularly in Parliament, antipathy toward Catholics was strong. He authorized the Dominicans to discuss the impeccability of the Virgin Mary, but privately, on condition that they conclude affirmatively; he forbade ecclesiastics from hearing confessions and preaching without the permission of their respective bishops. He canonized St. Teresa, St. Philip Neri, and St. Peter of Alcantara. Gentle in nature, he did not wish for Roman Inquisition interventions; though he forbade heretics from settling in Italy, he did not persecute them; he issued measures against witches and those who, driven by diabolical fury, sought to harm persons and fields; he reformed the papal constitution to eliminate simony and foreign influences; and he protected the Jesuits and the Capuchins.
In the political sphere, under Gregory XV, papal policy reached its peak of consolidation. He worked to maintain peace among the powers friendly to Rome; he sought to win Great Britain to the Catholic cause by taking advantage of the marriage of the future Charles I to the Spanish infanta and James I’s accession to the English throne. Gregory XV intervened to settle the Valtellina dispute, thus seeking to preserve the peace between Spain and France, whose old enmity seemed to have ended with the marriage of Louis XIII to the Spanish princess Anne; he influenced the conclusion of the Treaty of Madrid between Spain and France, which restored the Valtellina (25 April 1621). Unlike the Protestants, who aimed at the fall of the Habsburgs and the destruction of the Catholic Church, Gregory XV’s policy in Germany was directed toward keeping the Empire in Catholic hands, preserving and defending the ancient faith in Germany. To this end, he sent the papal nuncio Carlo Carafa on a mission to urge the transfer of the electoral seat, made vacant by the ban imposed on the Palatine Frederick V, to the strictly Catholic Duke Maximilian of Bavaria, thereby securing a Catholic majority in the College of Electors, and demanding that the war against the Protestant princes continue. This policy, which encountered resistance even within the College of Cardinals, triumphed through Gregory XV’s tenacity, who secretly promised Maximilian the Palatine electorate. He urged Philip III to break the truce with the United Provinces, concluded in 1609; he encouraged anti-capitalist tendencies in France and elevated the bishopric of Paris to a metropolitan see. Gregory XV also played a notable part in the new reorganization of Bohemia and Moravia, in their re-Catholicization after the victory at the White Mountain. It was largely due to Gregory XV that the Catholic restoration of the Palatinate was initiated and the Counter-Reformation consolidated in Hungary.
Gregory XV did not live to see the full exploitation of the victory won in 1621 and 1622 by Maximilian and Tilly. Perhaps no other brief pontificate left such deep traces as that of Gregory XV. Elected three months after the victory at the White Mountain, he was fortunate enough to witness the great upheaval that had taken place in favor of the Catholic Church. The Protestant edifice collapsed; likewise, the stubbornness of the Palatine and the selfishness of his allies led to the complete downfall of Frederick and the decline of Calvinism. Gregory XV issued measures for the poor; he strove to ensure an abundance of cheap foodstuffs in the Papal States, built a new aqueduct in Borgo, and restored the city walls. He honored learning and the arts, as evidenced by the restorations at the Vatican and the decoration of the choir chapels in St. Peter’s. — See pl. LXXXIII.