Pope Urban VII
| Urban VII | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Papacy began | 15 September 1590 |
| Papacy ended | 27 September 1590 |
| Predecessor | Sixtus V |
| Successor | Gregory XIV |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Giovanni Battista Castagna |
| Born | 4 August 1521 Rome, Papal State |
| Died | 27 September 1590 (aged 69) Rome, Papal State |
| Other Popes named Urban | |
| Papal styles of Pope Urban VII |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | none |
Pope Urban VII (4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was Pope for thirteen days in September 1590. He was of Genoese origin, although born in Rome. He was created Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcello in 1584. He was chosen successor of Pope Sixtus V (1585–90) on 15 September 1590, but died of malaria (27 September 1590) before coronation, making his either the shortest or second shortest papal reign in history, depending on whether Pope-elect Stephen is considered a real pope (he has not been so considered by the Catholic Church since 1961).
He had previously served as governor of Bologna and as archbishop of Rossano, and was for many years nuncio to Spain; his election to the papacy was largely backed by the Spanish faction.
Urban VII's short passage in office gave rise to the world's first known public smoking ban, as he threatened to excommunicate anyone who "took tobacco in the porchway of or inside a church, whether it be by chewing it, smoking it with a pipe or sniffing it in powdered form through the nose".[1]
References
- ↑ Editorial in European Heart Journal - http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/eurheartj/press_releases/freepdf/ehl266.pdf
Bibliography
"Pope Urban VII" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.- The Death of the Popes by Wendy J. Reardon, 2004.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by Sixtus V |
Pope 1590 |
Succeeded by Gregory XIV |
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