The shortest papacy in history ended after just twelve days following the death of Pope Urban VII, shortly after he introduced Europe’s first smoking ban.
Born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, Pius IX’s election by the Papal conclave of 1846 came at a time of significant political unrest across Europe.
Pope Pius IV issued a Papal bull confirming the decrees of the Council of Trent that defined Catholic doctrine in the face of the Protestant Reformation.
Antipope John XXIII made the Medici Bank the official bank of the Papacy.
The Parliament of England passed the First Act of Supremacy which made Henry VIII the head of the Church of England.
The public saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for the first time when Pope Julius II celebrated All Saints Day mass.
Pope Julius II laid the cornerstone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica, one of Catholicism’s most sacred buildings.
24th January 2020
22nd January 2020
11th November 2018
1st September 2018