Pope from April 29, 1670 - July 22, 1676Lived: July 13, 1590 - July 22, 1676Birth name: Emiliero Altieri
Who was this guy before he was pope?Emiliero Altieri, born of one of the most ancient noble Roman families, lived his life in service to the Church. After receiving his doctorate in canon law, Emiliero was sent first to Poland as auditor for its papal nuncio there. Urban VIII assigned him to important tasks in Ravenna from 1623-1644, after which Emiliero was named nuncio of Naples by Innocent X for 11 years. Alexander VII sent Emiliero back to Poland for 12 years, then Clement IX called him back to Rome to serve in his court. Clement IX made his aged pal a cardinal on the eve of his death, prophetically saying to Emiliero, “You will be our successor.”
Give me the scoop on Clement X.A long conclave rife with bickering ended, as Clement IX had predicted, in the choice of Pope Clement X. The new pope initially refused and required a good amount of persuading before finally accepting his new office, taking the name Clement X as a shout-out to his friend and predecessor. Clement X fought his entire papacy to keep peace in Europe, against the ambitious King Louis XIV of France. He also established the first-ever North American diocese, the See of Quebec, in 1674. Clement X died at the age of 86 on July 22, 1676, having been the oldest pope at death up to that point in history (later popes Clement XII and Leo XIII would die at an older age).
What was he known for?This pope followed in the footsteps of his last several predecessors by being well-known for the saints whom he canonized. Clement X’s formidable stable of halos included the canonizations of St. Cajetan, St. Francis Borgia, St. Louis Bertrand, and St. Rose of Lima. He also beatified the illustrious Pope St. Pius V, the great mystic St. John of the Cross, and the Dutch Martyrs of Gorkum, 19 priests and religious who had been put to death by Calvinists in Holland in 1572.
Fun Fact: Clement X tops the list of oldest popes at the time of election, having been 79 years and 290 days old. For context, Clement was older than Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI by nearly two years, and Pope Francis by more than three and half years.
Coming tomorrow ...Blessed Pope Innocent XISOURCES (and further reading)
You're seeing two popes because we want to make sure you get all the popes before New Year's. Don't worry, we'll only be doubling up a few times in the coming weeks :-)