- Original name:
- Pietro Barbo
- Born:
- Feb. 23, 1417, Venice
- Died:
- July 26, 1471, Rome (aged 54)
- Title / Office:
- pope (1464-1471)
Paul II
-
Who was Pope Paul II?
Paul II was an Italian pope who reigned from 1464 to 1471. Born in Venice on February 23, 1417, he was known for his autocratic style and clashed with some cardinals due to his refusal to pursue reform.
Before becoming pope, Paul II served as a bishop in the Italian cities of Cervia and Vicenza. Pope Eugenius IV appointed him as a cardinal in 1440. He served in the Curia under Popes Nicholas V and Calixtus III and became governor of Campania in 1456.
As pope, Paul II condemned the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, impairing relations with France's King Louis XI. He also focused on the Bohemian Church, excommunicating George of Podebrady, a Hussite sympathizer, and supported military action against him. Paul II, seeing the threat of the Turks, tried to mount a crusade against them.
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When did Pope Paul II serve as pope?
Paul II was pope from 1464 to 1471. Born in Venice on February 23, 1417, he was elected Pope Pius IIās successor on August 30, 1464. Throughout his pontificate, Paul II invested the papacy with an autocratic tone. He died in Rome on July 26, 1471.
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How did Paul II become pope?
Paul II, born in Venice in 1417, served as pope from 1464 to 1471. Before his papacy, he was the bishop of Cervia and Vicenza. Pope Eugenius IV made him a cardinal in 1440. He served in the Curia under Popes Nicholas V and Calixtus III and became governor of Campania in 1456.
Paul II was elected as Pope Pius IIās successor on August 30, 1464. He declared that agreements determining the conduct of elected prelates could only be considered as counsel, not obligations. This invested the papacy with an autocratic tone that would persist throughout his time as pope.
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What were some major actions or events during Pope Paul II's time as pope?
Paul II's papacy (1464-1471) was marked by several significant actions and events. He quickly established an autocratic tone by declaring that pre-election agreements were only advisory, not obligatory, for a new pope.
Paul II condemned the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, straining relations with France's King Louis XI. He also focused on the Bohemian Church, excommunicating George of Podebrady, a Hussite sympathizer, and supporting Matthias I Corvinus in a war against him.
Recognizing the threat of the Turks, Paul II attempted to organize a crusade against them. He initiated prosecutions against the Fraticelli and dissolved the Roman Academy, arresting its members over concerns about their ideals. Despite this, he supported scholars, collected antiquities, restored monuments, and founded Rome's first printing presses.
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How did Paul II interact with other leaders or groups, such as the Roman people or the cardinals?
As pope from 1464 to 1471, Paul II's interactions with leaders and groups were complex. He impaired relations with King Louis XI of France through repeated condemnations of the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges. Paul II also saw the advancing Turks as a major threat to Christendom, and he began negotiations with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III to mount a crusade against them, though they were ultimately fruitless.
Paul II also promulgated new statutes for Rome with the consent of the Romans. However, he dissolved the Roman Academy, suspecting they opposed Christian ideals, and arrested its members, which incurred the enmity of the humanists, who saw him as an enemy of letters. Additionally, his refusal to pursue reform antagonized some of the cardinals.
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What is Pope Paul II remembered for today and how did he influence the Catholic Church?
Pope John Paul II, who reigned from 1978 to 2005, is remembered as the first globally-oriented pope who used modern communications to connect with people worldwide. He adjusted the Catholic Church's approach to an interconnected world, demonstrating reverence for other faiths and canonizing a broader range of saints from diverse backgrounds.
John Paul II maintained traditional stances on gender and sexuality, but his emphasis on human rights and freedom resonated globally, contributing to democratic transitions. His efforts at interfaith reconciliation, especially with Judaism and Islam, were unprecedented, fostering dialogue and seeking forgiveness for past wrongs. While some criticized his centralized authority and conservative views, he is credited with increasing the papacy's prestige and setting the stage for future growth within the Church.
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Paul II (born Feb. 23, 1417, Veniceādied July 26, 1471, Rome) was an Italian pope from 1464 to 1471.
He was bishop of the Italian cities of Cervia and Vicenza before being made cardinal by Pope Eugenius IV in 1440. After services in the Curia under popes Nicholas V and Calixtus III, he became governor of Campania in 1456. Elected Pope Pius IIās successor on Aug. 30, 1464, he immediately declared that ācapitulations,ā or binding agreements that determined the subsequent conduct of elected prelates, could affect a new pope only as counsels, not as obligations, investing the papacy with an autocratic tone that was to persist throughout his pontificate. His refusal to pursue reform antagonized some of the cardinals.
Paul impaired his relations with King Louis XI of France by his repeated condemnations of the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourgesāa pronouncement, issued by King Charles VII of France in 1438, that established the liberties of the French Church, particularly the election of the French kingās nominee for successors to vacant prelacies.
He next turned his attention to the state of the Bohemian Church, which had been damaged by religious struggles with the Hussites (followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus). Because the Council of Basel (1431ā37) recognized the Hussites as a legitimate church released from papal censureship, Paul strove to abolish the Basel decree. He supported the Romanist (Catholic) party, which formed a confederacy against the king of Bohemia, George of Podebrady, a Hussite sympathizer. On Dec. 23, 1466, Paul excommunicated George and declared him deposed for refusing to suppress the Utraquists, an independent national church that branched off from the Hussites and that Rome did not recognize. Paul furthermore forbade all Catholics to continue their allegiance to George. In March 1468 he persuaded King Matthias I Corvinus of Hungary to declare war against George, who, concurrently, gained Louisās support. After Matthias conquered much of Moravia, Paul crowned him king of Bohemia in March 1469, a triumphant gesture of his crusade against the Hussites.
Seeing the advancing Turks as a major threat to Christendom, Paul in 1468 began fruitless negotiations with the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III to mount a crusade against them. He opposed the domineering policy of the Venetian government in Italian affairs and promulgated, with the Romansā consent, new statutes for Rome. In 1466 he initiated a severe prosecution against the Fraticelli (Franciscan extremists) with plans to exterminate them and their associates.
Suspecting that the Roman Academy and its founder, the Italian humanist Julius Pomponius Laetus, were opposing Christian ideals and endorsing a materialistic vision of life inspired by an admiration for the ancient world, Paul dissolved the academy and arrested its members in February 1468, subjecting one of its leading humanists, Bartolomeo Platina, to torture on additional charges of conspiracy. Thus, he incurred the enmity of the humanists, who saw him as an enemy of letters. He was, however, a patron of scholars and also a collector of antiquities and a restorer of monuments. He is responsible for founding the first printing presses at Rome, where he had built the celebrated Palace of St. Mark (now the Palazzo Venezia), his principal residence from 1466.