Pope Paul III
Encyclopedia
Pope Paul III born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope
of the Roman Catholic Church
from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527
and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation
. During his reign, and in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation
, new Catholic religious orders and societies, such as the Jesuits, the Theatines
, the Barnabites
and the Congregation of the Oratory, attracted a popular following and he convened the Council of Trent
in 1545. He was a significant patron of the arts and employed nepotism
to advance the power and fortunes of his family. It is to Pope Paul III that Nicolaus Copernicus
dedicated De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
(On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres).
, Latium
(then part of the Papal States), Alessandro Farnese was the oldest son of Pier Luigi I Farnese, Signore di Montalto
(1435–1487) and his wife Giovanna Caetani, a member of the Caetani
family which had also produced Pope Boniface VIII
. The Farnese family had prospered over the centuries but it was Alessandro’s ascendency to the papacy and his dedication to furthering family interests which saw the vastly significant increase in the family’s wealth and power.
Alessandro’s humanist education was at the University of Pisa
and the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Initially trained as an apostolic notary, he joined the Roman Curia
in 1491 and in 1493 Pope Alexander VI
appointed him Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano
.
Pope Alexander's mistress, Giulia, was Farnese's sister; and he was sometimes mockingly referred to as the "Borgia brother-in-law." Under Pope Clement VII
(1523–34) he became Cardinal Bishop of Ostia
and dean of the College of Cardinals
, and on the death of Clement VII in 1534, was elected as Pope Paul III.
One of various popes to have fathered children before his election, he had four illegitimate offspring. By Silvia Ruffini, he fathered Pier Luigi Farnese, whom he created Duke of Parma; others included Ranuccio Farnese
and Costanza Farnese
. His first action, on 18 December 1534, was to appoint his grandsons as cardinals. At the time, Alessandro Farnese and Guido Ascanio Sforza were aged fourteen and sixteen years respectively. His later appointments as cardinal included Gasparo Contarini
, Jacopo Sadoleto
, Reginald Pole, and Giovanni Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV
.
One of the most significant artistic works of his reign was the depiction of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo
in the Sistine Chapel
of the Vatican Palace. Although the work was commission by Paul’s predecessor, it was finished in 1541.
As a cardinal, Alessandro had begun construction of a palace, the Palazzo Farnese, in central Rome. On his election to the papacy, the size and magnificence of this building programme was increased to reflect his change in status. The palace was initially designed by the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
, received further architectural refinement from Michelangelo
, and was completed by Giacomo della Porta
. Like other Farnese family buildings, the palace imposes its presence on its surroundings in an expression of the family’s power and wealth. Alessandro's Villa Farnese
at Caprarola has a similar presence.
In 1546, after the death of Sangallo, he appointed the elderly Michelangelo to take over the supervision of the building of St. Peter's Basilica
. Michelangelo was also commissioned by the Pope to paint the 'Crucifixion of St. Peter' and the 'Conversion of St. Paul' (1542–50), his last frescoes, in the Pauline Chapel
of the Vatican.
Paul III's artistic and architectural commissions were numerous and varied. The Venetian
artist Titian
painted a portrait of the Pope in 1543, and in 1546, the well-known portrait of Paul III with his grandsons Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma
. Both are now in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples
. The military fortifications in Rome and the Papal States were strengthened during his reign. He had Michelangelo relocate the ancient bronze of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius to the Capitoline Hill
, where it became the centerpiece to the Piazza del Campidoglio.
Paul III’s bronze tomb, executed by Guglielmo della Porta
, is in St. Peter's.
convoking a general council to sit at Mantua
in 1537. But at the very start the German Protestant estates declined to send any delegates to a council in Italy, while the duke of Mantua himself set down such large requirements that Paul III first deferred for a year and then discarded the whole project.
On 2 June 1537, Paul III promulgated the papal bull Sublimus Dei
against the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the continent of America.
In 1536, Paul III invited nine eminent prelates, distinguished by learning and piety alike, to act in committee and to report on the reformation and rebuilding of the Church. In 1537 they turned in their celebrated Consilium de emendenda ecclesia
(in J. le Plat, Monumenta ad historiam Concilii Tridentini, ii. 596–597, Leuven, 1782), exposing gross abuses in the Curia
, in the church administration and public worship; and proffering many a bold and earnest word on behalf of abolishing such abuses. This report was printed not only at Rome, but at Strasburg
and elsewhere.
But to the Protestants it seemed far from thorough; Martin Luther
had his edition (1538) prefaced with a vignette showing the cardinals cleaning the Augean stable of the Roman Church with foxtails instead of brooms. Yet the Pope was in earnest when he took up the problem of reform. He clearly perceived that the emperor, Charles V
would not rest until the problems were grappled in earnest, and a council was an unequivocal procedure that should leave no room for doubt of his own readiness to make changes. Yet it is clear that the Concilium bore no fruit in the actual situation, and that in Rome no results followed from the committee's recommendations.
On the other hand, serious political complications resulted. In order to vest his grandson Ottavio Farnese
with the dukedom of Camerino
, Paul forcibly wrested the same from the duke of Urbino
(1540). He also incurred virtual war with his own subjects and vassals by the imposition of burdensome taxes. Perugia
, renouncing its obedience, was besieged by Paul's son, Pier Luigi, and forfeited its freedom entirely on its surrender. The burghers of Colonna were duly vanquished, and Ascanio was banished (1541). After this the time seemed ripe for annihilating heresy.
It was not foreseen at Rome in 1540, when the Church officially recognized the young society forming about Ignatius of Loyola
, (founder of the Society of Jesus
), what large results this new organization was destined to achieve; yet a deliberate and gradual course of action against Protestantism dates from this period. The second visible stage in the process becomes marked by the institution, or reorganization, in 1542, of the Holy Office (see Inquisition
).
On another side, the Emperor was insisting that Rome should forward his designs toward a peaceable recovery of the German Protestants. Accordingly the Pope despatched Giovanni Morone
(not yet a cardinal) as nuncio
to Hagenau and Worms
, in 1540; while, in 1541, Cardinal Gasparo Contarini
took part in the adjustment proceedings at the Conference of Regensburg
. It was Contarini who led to the stating of a definition in connection with the article of justification in which occurs the famous formula "by faith alone are we justified," with which was combined, however, the Roman Catholic doctrine of good works. At Rome, this definition was rejected in the consistory
of May 27, and Luther declared that he could accept it only provided the opposers would admit that hitherto they had taught differently from what was meant in the present instance.
The general results of the conference and the attitude of the Curia, including its rejection of Contarini's propositions, shows a definite avoidance of an understanding with the Protestants. All that could henceforth be expected of Paul was that he would co-operate in the violent suppression of heretics in Germany, as he had done in Italy, by creating an arm of the revived Inquisition for their annihilation.
Yet, even now, and particularly after the Regensburg Conference had proved in vain, the Emperor did not cease to insist on convening the council, the final result of his insistence being the Council of Trent
, which, after several postponements, was finally convoked by the bull Laetare Hierusalem, March 15, 1545.
Meanwhile, after the peace of Crespy (September 1544), the situation had so shaped itself that Emperor Charles V (1519–56) began to put down Protestantism by force. Pending the diet
of 1545 in Worms, the emperor concluded a covenant of joint action with the papal legate, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Paul III was to aid in the projected war against the German Evangelical princes and estates. The prompt acquiescence of Paul III in the war project was probably grounded on personal motives. The moment now seemed opportune for him, since the Emperor was sufficiently preoccupied in the German realm, to acquire for his son Pier Luigi the duchies of Parma
and Piacenza
. Although these belonged to the Papal States
, Paul III thought to overcome the reluctance of the Cardinals by exchanging the duchies for the less valuable domains of Camerino and Nepi
. The Emperor agreed, because of his prospective compensation to the extent of 12,000 infantry, 500 mounted troops, and considerable sums of money.
In Germany the campaign began in the west, where Protestant movements had been at work in the archbishopric of Cologne
since 1542. The Reformation was not a complete success there, because the city council and the majority of the chapter opposed it; whereas on 16 April 1546, Hermann of Wied
was excommunicated, his rank forfeited, and he was, in February, 1547, compelled by the Emperor to abdicate.
In the meantime open warfare had begun against the Evangelical princes, estates, and cities allied in the Schmalkaldic League
(see Philip of Hesse). By the close of 1546, Charles V succeeded in subjugating South Germany, while the victory at the Battle of Muhlberg
, on 24 April 1547, established his imperial sovereignty everywhere in Germany and delivered into his hands the two leaders of the league.
But while north of the Alps, in virtue of his preparations for the Augsburg Interim
and its enforcement, the Emperor was widely instrumental in recovering Germany to Roman Catholicism, the Pope now held aloof from him because Charles V himself had stood aloof in the matter of endowing Pier Luigi with Parma and Piacenza, and the situation came to a total rupture when the imperial vice-regent, Ferrante Gonzaga
, proceeded forcibly to expel Pier Luigi.
The Pope's son was assassinated at Piacenza
, and Paul III believed that this had not come to pass without the emperor's foreknowledge. In the same year, however, and after the death of Francis I of France
(1515–47), with whom the Pope had once again sought an alliance, the stress of circumstances compelled him to do the Emperor's will and accept the ecclesiastical measures adopted during the Interim.
With reference to the assassinated prince's inheritance, the restitution of which Paul III demanded ostensibly in the name and for the sake of the Church, the Pope's design was thwarted by the Emperor, who refused to surrender Piacenza, and by Pier Luigi's heir in Parma, Ottavio Farnese.
In consequence of a violent altercation on this account with Cardinal Farnese, Paul III, at the age of eighty-one years, became so overwrought that an attack of sickness ensued from which he died, 10 November 1549.
Paul III proved unable to suppress the Protestant Reformation
, although it was during his pontificate that the foundation was laid for the Counter-Reformation
. He decreed the second and final excommunication
of King Henry VIII of England
in December 1538.
" (also known as Unigenitus and Veritas ipsa), "Altituda divini consolii" along with "Pastorale officium", the latter the brief for the execution of "Sublimus Dei".
"Altituda divini consolii" was essentially a bull to settle a difference between the Franciscans and Dominicans over baptism, but "Sublimus Dei" is described by Prein (2008) as the "Magna Carta" for Indian human rights in its declaration that "the Indians were human beings and they were not to be robbed of their freedom or possessions".
"Pastorale officium" declared automatic excommunication for anyone who failed to abide by the new ruling. Stogre (1992) notes that "Sublimus Dei" is not present in Denzinger, the authoritative compendium of official teachings of the Catholic Church, and that the executing brief for it ("Pastorale officium") was annulled the following year in "Non Indecens Videtur". Davis (1988) asserts it was annulled due to a dispute with the Spanish crown. The Council of The West Indies and the Crown concluded that the documents broke their patronato rights and the Pope withdrew them, though they continued to circulate and be quoted by Las Casas and others who supported Indian rights.
According to Falkowski (2002) "Sublimus Dei" had the effect of revoking the bull of Alexander VI "Inter Caetera" but still leaving the colonizers the duty of converting the native people. Prein (2008) observes the difficulty in reconciling these decrees with "Inter Caetra".
Father Gustavo Gutierrez describes "Sublimus Dei" as "the most important papal document relating to the condition of native Indians and that it was addressed to all Christians". Maxwell (1975) notes that the bull did not change the traditional teaching that the enslavement of Indians was permissible if they were considered "enemies of Christendom" as this would be considered by the Church as a "just war". He further argues that the Indian nations had every right to self-defense. Stark (2003) describes the bull as "magnificent" and believes the reason that, in his opinion, it has belatedly come to light is due to the neglect of Protestant historians. Falola notes that the bull related to the native populations of the New World and did not condemn the transatlantic slave trade stimulated by the Spanish monarchy and the Holy Roman Emperor.
In 1545 Paul repealed an ancient law that allowed slaves to claim their freedom under the Emperor's statue on Capital Hill, in view of the number of homeless people and tramps in the city of Rome. The decree included those who had become Christians after their enslavement and those born to Christian slaves. The right of inhabitants of Rome to publicly buy and sell slaves of both sexes was affirmed. Stogre (1992) asserts that the lifting of restrictions was due to a shortage of slaves in Rome. In 1548 he authorized the purchase and possession of Muslim slaves in the Papal states.
in the Showtime series The Tudors
, is loosely inspired by him.
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527
Sack of Rome (1527)
The Sack of Rome on 6 May 1527 was a military event carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in Rome, then part of the Papal States...
and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. During his reign, and in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
, new Catholic religious orders and societies, such as the Jesuits, the Theatines
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
, the Barnabites
Barnabites
The Barnabites, or Clerics Regular of Saint Paul is a Roman Catholic order.-Establishment of the Order :It was founded in 1530 by three Italian noblemen: St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria The Barnabites, or Clerics Regular of Saint Paul (Latin: Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli, abbr. B.) is a Roman Catholic...
and the Congregation of the Oratory, attracted a popular following and he convened the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
in 1545. He was a significant patron of the arts and employed nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
to advance the power and fortunes of his family. It is to Pope Paul III that Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
dedicated De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus...
(On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres).
Early life and career
Born in CaninoCanino
Canino is a town and comune of Italy, in the province of Viterbo in the internal part of Maremma Laziale. It is 15 km W of Valentano and 44 km NW of Viterbo....
, Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
(then part of the Papal States), Alessandro Farnese was the oldest son of Pier Luigi I Farnese, Signore di Montalto
Montalto
-Town names:* Montalto delle Marche - Municipality in the province of Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Italy* Montalto Uffugo - Municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy* Montalto Dora - Municipality in the province of Turin, Piedmont, Italy...
(1435–1487) and his wife Giovanna Caetani, a member of the Caetani
Caetani
Caetani, or Gaetani, is the name of an Italian noble family princely family which played a great part in the history of Pisa and of Rome, principally via their close links to the papacy.-Origins:...
family which had also produced Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
. The Farnese family had prospered over the centuries but it was Alessandro’s ascendency to the papacy and his dedication to furthering family interests which saw the vastly significant increase in the family’s wealth and power.
Alessandro’s humanist education was at the University of Pisa
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...
and the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Initially trained as an apostolic notary, he joined the Roman Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
in 1491 and in 1493 Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
appointed him Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano
Santi Cosma e Damiano
The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a church in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum. It is one of the ancient churches called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as deacons: the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli...
.
Pope Alexander's mistress, Giulia, was Farnese's sister; and he was sometimes mockingly referred to as the "Borgia brother-in-law." Under Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
(1523–34) he became Cardinal Bishop of Ostia
Ostia Antica (district)
thumb|300px|The Castle of Julius II in Ostia Antica.thumb|300px|The square of Ostia Antica, with the church of Santa Aurea on the right.Ostia Antica is a district in the commune of Rome, Italy, five kilometers away from the coast. It is distinct from Ostia.- History :Under the Romans, Ostia Antica...
and dean of the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
, and on the death of Clement VII in 1534, was elected as Pope Paul III.
A patron of the arts and family interests
Ranuccio Farnese (1509–1529)
Ranuccio Farnese was the natural son of Alessandro Farnese by Silvia Ruffini, born before his father was elected pope as Paul III. His siblings were Pier Luigi, Paul and Costanza.-External links:*...
and Costanza Farnese
Costanza Farnese
Costanza Farnese was a daughter of Alessandro Farnese and Silvia Ruffini, born before her father became Pope Paul III. Her siblings were Pier Luigi, Paul and Ranuccio. Costanza's own children included Guido Ascanio and her grandchildren included Costanza Sforza....
. His first action, on 18 December 1534, was to appoint his grandsons as cardinals. At the time, Alessandro Farnese and Guido Ascanio Sforza were aged fourteen and sixteen years respectively. His later appointments as cardinal included Gasparo Contarini
Gasparo Contarini
thumb|240px|Gasparo Contarini.Gasparo Contarini was an Italian diplomat and cardinal. He was one of the first proponents of the dialogue with Protestants, after the Reformation.-Biography:...
, Jacopo Sadoleto
Jacopo Sadoleto
Jacopo Sadoleto was Catholic Bishop and Cardinal, loyal to the Catholic Church.-Life:He was born at Modena in 1477, the son of a noted jurist, he acquired reputation as a neo-Latin poet, his best-known piece being one on the group of Laocoön. In Rome, he obtained the patronage of Cardinal Carafa...
, Reginald Pole, and Giovanni Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV
Pope Paul IV, C.R. , né Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was Pope from 23 May 1555 until his death.-Early life:Giovanni Pietro Carafa was born in Capriglia Irpina, near Avellino, into a prominent noble family of Naples...
.
One of the most significant artistic works of his reign was the depiction of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
in the Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio...
of the Vatican Palace. Although the work was commission by Paul’s predecessor, it was finished in 1541.
As a cardinal, Alessandro had begun construction of a palace, the Palazzo Farnese, in central Rome. On his election to the papacy, the size and magnificence of this building programme was increased to reflect his change in status. The palace was initially designed by the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
Antonio da Sangallo the Younger
thumb|250px|The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the [[Trajan's Market]] in [[Rome]], considered Sangallo's masterwork.thumb|250px|View of St. Patrick's Well in [[Orvieto]]....
, received further architectural refinement from Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, and was completed by Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...
. Like other Farnese family buildings, the palace imposes its presence on its surroundings in an expression of the family’s power and wealth. Alessandro's Villa Farnese
Villa Farnese
The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately 50 kilometres north-west of Rome...
at Caprarola has a similar presence.
In 1546, after the death of Sangallo, he appointed the elderly Michelangelo to take over the supervision of the building of St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
. Michelangelo was also commissioned by the Pope to paint the 'Crucifixion of St. Peter' and the 'Conversion of St. Paul' (1542–50), his last frescoes, in the Pauline Chapel
Cappella Paolina
The Cappella Paolina is a chapel in the Vatican Palace, Rome. It is separated from the Sistine Chapel only by the Sala Regia.-Commissioning:...
of the Vatican.
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
artist Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
painted a portrait of the Pope in 1543, and in 1546, the well-known portrait of Paul III with his grandsons Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ottavio Farnese reigned as Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1547 and Duke of Castro from 1545 until his death.-Biography:...
. Both are now in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. The military fortifications in Rome and the Papal States were strengthened during his reign. He had Michelangelo relocate the ancient bronze of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius to the Capitoline Hill
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
, where it became the centerpiece to the Piazza del Campidoglio.
Paul III’s bronze tomb, executed by Guglielmo della Porta
Guglielmo della Porta
Guglielmo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period.He was born to a prominent North Italian family of masons, sculptors and architects. His father Giovanni Battista della Porta was a sculptor. He trained in his uncle's workshop in Genoa and...
, is in St. Peter's.
Politics and religion during the papacy of Paul III
Paul III was earnest in the matter of improving the ecclesiastical situation, and on 2 June 1536, he issued a papal bullPapal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
convoking a general council to sit at Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
in 1537. But at the very start the German Protestant estates declined to send any delegates to a council in Italy, while the duke of Mantua himself set down such large requirements that Paul III first deferred for a year and then discarded the whole project.
On 2 June 1537, Paul III promulgated the papal bull Sublimus Dei
Sublimus Dei
Sublimus Dei is a papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on June 2, 1537, which forbids the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and all other people...
against the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the continent of America.
In 1536, Paul III invited nine eminent prelates, distinguished by learning and piety alike, to act in committee and to report on the reformation and rebuilding of the Church. In 1537 they turned in their celebrated Consilium de emendenda ecclesia
Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia
The Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia was a report commissioned by Pope Paul III on the abuses in the Catholic Church in 1536.The commission appointed to review the abuses in the church was presided over by Gasparo Cardinal Contarini and consisted of eight additional cardinals: Girolamo Aleandro,...
(in J. le Plat, Monumenta ad historiam Concilii Tridentini, ii. 596–597, Leuven, 1782), exposing gross abuses in the Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
, in the church administration and public worship; and proffering many a bold and earnest word on behalf of abolishing such abuses. This report was printed not only at Rome, but at Strasburg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
and elsewhere.
But to the Protestants it seemed far from thorough; Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
had his edition (1538) prefaced with a vignette showing the cardinals cleaning the Augean stable of the Roman Church with foxtails instead of brooms. Yet the Pope was in earnest when he took up the problem of reform. He clearly perceived that the emperor, Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
would not rest until the problems were grappled in earnest, and a council was an unequivocal procedure that should leave no room for doubt of his own readiness to make changes. Yet it is clear that the Concilium bore no fruit in the actual situation, and that in Rome no results followed from the committee's recommendations.
On the other hand, serious political complications resulted. In order to vest his grandson Ottavio Farnese
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ottavio Farnese reigned as Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1547 and Duke of Castro from 1545 until his death.-Biography:...
with the dukedom of Camerino
Camerino
Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....
, Paul forcibly wrested the same from the duke of Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
(1540). He also incurred virtual war with his own subjects and vassals by the imposition of burdensome taxes. Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, renouncing its obedience, was besieged by Paul's son, Pier Luigi, and forfeited its freedom entirely on its surrender. The burghers of Colonna were duly vanquished, and Ascanio was banished (1541). After this the time seemed ripe for annihilating heresy.
It was not foreseen at Rome in 1540, when the Church officially recognized the young society forming about Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
, (founder of the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
), what large results this new organization was destined to achieve; yet a deliberate and gradual course of action against Protestantism dates from this period. The second visible stage in the process becomes marked by the institution, or reorganization, in 1542, of the Holy Office (see Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
).
On another side, the Emperor was insisting that Rome should forward his designs toward a peaceable recovery of the German Protestants. Accordingly the Pope despatched Giovanni Morone
Giovanni Morone
Giovanni Morone was an Italian cardinal. He was named Bishop of Modena in 1529 and was created Cardinal in 1542 by Pope Paul III...
(not yet a cardinal) as nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
to Hagenau and Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, in 1540; while, in 1541, Cardinal Gasparo Contarini
Gasparo Contarini
thumb|240px|Gasparo Contarini.Gasparo Contarini was an Italian diplomat and cardinal. He was one of the first proponents of the dialogue with Protestants, after the Reformation.-Biography:...
took part in the adjustment proceedings at the Conference of Regensburg
Conference of Regensburg
The Colloquy of Regensburg, historically called the Colloquy of Ratisbon, was a conference held at Regensburg in 1541, during the Protestant Reformation, which marks the culmination of attempts to restore religious unity in the Holy Roman Empire by means of theological debate.-Background:Delegates...
. It was Contarini who led to the stating of a definition in connection with the article of justification in which occurs the famous formula "by faith alone are we justified," with which was combined, however, the Roman Catholic doctrine of good works. At Rome, this definition was rejected in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of May 27, and Luther declared that he could accept it only provided the opposers would admit that hitherto they had taught differently from what was meant in the present instance.
Yet, even now, and particularly after the Regensburg Conference had proved in vain, the Emperor did not cease to insist on convening the council, the final result of his insistence being the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
, which, after several postponements, was finally convoked by the bull Laetare Hierusalem, March 15, 1545.
Meanwhile, after the peace of Crespy (September 1544), the situation had so shaped itself that Emperor Charles V (1519–56) began to put down Protestantism by force. Pending the diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
of 1545 in Worms, the emperor concluded a covenant of joint action with the papal legate, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Paul III was to aid in the projected war against the German Evangelical princes and estates. The prompt acquiescence of Paul III in the war project was probably grounded on personal motives. The moment now seemed opportune for him, since the Emperor was sufficiently preoccupied in the German realm, to acquire for his son Pier Luigi the duchies of Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
. Although these belonged to the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, Paul III thought to overcome the reluctance of the Cardinals by exchanging the duchies for the less valuable domains of Camerino and Nepi
Nepi
Nepi is a town and comune in Italy in the province of Viterbo, region of Lazio. The town lies 30 km southeast of the city of Viterbo and about 13 km southwest from Civita Castellana....
. The Emperor agreed, because of his prospective compensation to the extent of 12,000 infantry, 500 mounted troops, and considerable sums of money.
In Germany the campaign began in the west, where Protestant movements had been at work in the archbishopric of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
since 1542. The Reformation was not a complete success there, because the city council and the majority of the chapter opposed it; whereas on 16 April 1546, Hermann of Wied
Hermann of Wied
Hermann of Wied was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1515 to 1546.-Biography:The fourth son of Frederick, count of Wied , Hermann was educated for the Church, he became elector and archbishop in 1515. He supported the claims of Charles V, whom he crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1520...
was excommunicated, his rank forfeited, and he was, in February, 1547, compelled by the Emperor to abdicate.
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League was a defensive alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although originally started for religious motives soon after the start of the Protestant Reformation, its members eventually intended for the League to replace the Holy...
(see Philip of Hesse). By the close of 1546, Charles V succeeded in subjugating South Germany, while the victory at the Battle of Muhlberg
Battle of Mühlberg
The Battle of Mühlberg was a large battle at Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony during the Protestant Reformation at which the Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of...
, on 24 April 1547, established his imperial sovereignty everywhere in Germany and delivered into his hands the two leaders of the league.
But while north of the Alps, in virtue of his preparations for the Augsburg Interim
Augsburg Interim
The Augsburg Interim is the general term given to an imperial decree ordered on May 15, 1548, at the 1548 Diet of Augsburg, after Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, had defeated the forces of the Schmalkaldic League in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47...
and its enforcement, the Emperor was widely instrumental in recovering Germany to Roman Catholicism, the Pope now held aloof from him because Charles V himself had stood aloof in the matter of endowing Pier Luigi with Parma and Piacenza, and the situation came to a total rupture when the imperial vice-regent, Ferrante Gonzaga
Ferrante Gonzaga
Ferrante I Gonzaga was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga and the founder of the branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla.-Biography:...
, proceeded forcibly to expel Pier Luigi.
The Pope's son was assassinated at Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, and Paul III believed that this had not come to pass without the emperor's foreknowledge. In the same year, however, and after the death of Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
(1515–47), with whom the Pope had once again sought an alliance, the stress of circumstances compelled him to do the Emperor's will and accept the ecclesiastical measures adopted during the Interim.
With reference to the assassinated prince's inheritance, the restitution of which Paul III demanded ostensibly in the name and for the sake of the Church, the Pope's design was thwarted by the Emperor, who refused to surrender Piacenza, and by Pier Luigi's heir in Parma, Ottavio Farnese.
In consequence of a violent altercation on this account with Cardinal Farnese, Paul III, at the age of eighty-one years, became so overwrought that an attack of sickness ensued from which he died, 10 November 1549.
Paul III proved unable to suppress the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, although it was during his pontificate that the foundation was laid for the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
. He decreed the second and final excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
of King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
in December 1538.
Pope Paul III and slavery
In May–June 1537 Paul issued three documents, the bulls "Sublimus DeiSublimus Dei
Sublimus Dei is a papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on June 2, 1537, which forbids the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and all other people...
" (also known as Unigenitus and Veritas ipsa), "Altituda divini consolii" along with "Pastorale officium", the latter the brief for the execution of "Sublimus Dei".
"Altituda divini consolii" was essentially a bull to settle a difference between the Franciscans and Dominicans over baptism, but "Sublimus Dei" is described by Prein (2008) as the "Magna Carta" for Indian human rights in its declaration that "the Indians were human beings and they were not to be robbed of their freedom or possessions".
"Pastorale officium" declared automatic excommunication for anyone who failed to abide by the new ruling. Stogre (1992) notes that "Sublimus Dei" is not present in Denzinger, the authoritative compendium of official teachings of the Catholic Church, and that the executing brief for it ("Pastorale officium") was annulled the following year in "Non Indecens Videtur". Davis (1988) asserts it was annulled due to a dispute with the Spanish crown. The Council of The West Indies and the Crown concluded that the documents broke their patronato rights and the Pope withdrew them, though they continued to circulate and be quoted by Las Casas and others who supported Indian rights.
According to Falkowski (2002) "Sublimus Dei" had the effect of revoking the bull of Alexander VI "Inter Caetera" but still leaving the colonizers the duty of converting the native people. Prein (2008) observes the difficulty in reconciling these decrees with "Inter Caetra".
Father Gustavo Gutierrez describes "Sublimus Dei" as "the most important papal document relating to the condition of native Indians and that it was addressed to all Christians". Maxwell (1975) notes that the bull did not change the traditional teaching that the enslavement of Indians was permissible if they were considered "enemies of Christendom" as this would be considered by the Church as a "just war". He further argues that the Indian nations had every right to self-defense. Stark (2003) describes the bull as "magnificent" and believes the reason that, in his opinion, it has belatedly come to light is due to the neglect of Protestant historians. Falola notes that the bull related to the native populations of the New World and did not condemn the transatlantic slave trade stimulated by the Spanish monarchy and the Holy Roman Emperor.
In 1545 Paul repealed an ancient law that allowed slaves to claim their freedom under the Emperor's statue on Capital Hill, in view of the number of homeless people and tramps in the city of Rome. The decree included those who had become Christians after their enslavement and those born to Christian slaves. The right of inhabitants of Rome to publicly buy and sell slaves of both sexes was affirmed. Stogre (1992) asserts that the lifting of restrictions was due to a shortage of slaves in Rome. In 1548 he authorized the purchase and possession of Muslim slaves in the Papal states.
Fictional portrayals
The character of Pope Paul III, played by Peter O'ToolePeter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
in the Showtime series The Tudors
The Tudors
The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
, is loosely inspired by him.