The very brief pontificate of Leo XI in 1605 (26 days) left few traces, but it was the logical consequence of a brilliant episcopal and Roman career. Before being elected, Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici played a decisive role in the Holy See's relations with the France of Henry IV, a Protestant prince who converted to Catholicism in 1593.
We are publishing a series on the 13 popes who bore the name Leo before our current pope. Ninth episode: Leo XI (April 1-27, 1605), pope for only 26 days.
A priest against his family’s will
The great-nephew of Leo X and distant cousin of the Duke of Florence, Cosimo de' Medici, Alessandro de’ Medici was born in 1535. He was influenced in his youth by his education among the Florentine Dominicans. He was eventually ordained a priest, despite his family's opposition.
Sent by his family to Rome to defend their interests, he put his excellent talents as an honest and attentive administrator and skilled diplomat to good use, serving six popes. Appointed bishop of Pistoia in 1573, archbishop of Florence in 1574, and finally cardinal in 1584, he fulfilled his responsibilities with seriousness without ever leaving Rome. During the two conclaves of 1590 and 1591, he was among the papabili, but decided to support other cardinals.
A true servant of the Church, he thus distanced himself from his family's directives. Still, he remained very close to the French party, to which the Duchy of Florence had belonged since his distant aunt, Catherine de Medici, married King Henry II in 1547. As a result, he often found himself in conflict with the opposing party, that of the Spanish Habsburg crown.
Reconciling the Vatican with the king of France
Advising Clement VIII, Cardinal de Medici played a decisive role in reconciling the papacy with the Protestant Henry IV of France after the latter's conversion to Catholicism in 1593. He first obtained the lifting of Henry's excommunication in 1595, then was sent as papal legate to Paris in 1596.
His mission was to promote reconciliation between France and Spain, but also to counter the Gallican policy defended by the French crown, which did not recognize all the directives of the Council of Trent, even though it had ended in 1563.
The cardinal succeeded brilliantly, despite a hostile climate. Henry IV officially reconciled with the Church in 1596, and Cardinal de’ Medici organized the peace conference of Vervins in 1598, which ended the conflict between the kingdoms of France and Spain.
However, the King of France then resisted the implementation of the Tridentine decrees and wished to divorce in order to marry Marie de Médicis, a distant and extremely wealthy cousin of the diplomat. To avoid a conflict of interest, the latter skilfully decided to return to Rome, where he was appointed secretary of the Congregation for Bishops and continued to climb the ranks.
In 1599, he finally obtained the annulment of Henry IV's marriage to Marguerite de Valois and, after the king's marriage to the cardinal’s cousin Marie, he was offered the opportunity to baptize the future Louis XIII. However, he refused in order to avoid stirring up resentment in the Spanish camp.
A brief papacy
It was against this backdrop that the conclave of 1605 took place. Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici was one of the candidates from the French faction, alongside Cardinal César Baronio, a brilliant historian close to Saint Philip Neri. Opposing him were the Spanish faction and an Italian party, which engaged in a fierce struggle.
Blocked by the Spanish crown, Cardinal Baronio, the initial favorite, was ultimately rejected, and Medici was chosen, taking the name Leo XI in homage to his relative Leo X. Initiated on April 1, his brief pontificate demonstrated his desire to reform the papal court. But ten days after his election, the pope, who was already 69 years old, caught a cold during a Mass celebrated in the Basilica of Saint John of the Florentines. He died on April 27.
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