Urban VIII
235 pope of the Catholic Church from 1623 to 1644 (1568–1644)
AI overview
Urban VIII was the pope who led the Catholic Church from 1623 until his death in 1644, a period when the Church faced significant challenges from the Protestant Reformation and internal reform movements. He is historically notable for his role in major religious and political events of the 17th century, including his complex relationship with the scientific community—most famously his conflict with Galileo over the heliocentric theory.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1568
- Died
- 1644
- Works
- 27
Top works
- An answer to Pope Vrban his inurbanity
- Officium B. Philippi Confessoris
- Totius cleri Gallicani, Lutetiae congregati, ad sanctissimum D.D. nostrum Vrbanum VIII pont. maximum, epistola
- Poesie toscane del card. Maffeo Barberino hoggi papa Vrbano ottavo
- Breviarium Romanum
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Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
Article
Pope Urban VIII (Latin: Urbanus VIII; Italian: Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal territory by force of arms and advantageous politicking, and was also a prominent patron of the arts, commissioning works from artists like Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and a reformer of Church missions. His papacy also covered 21 years of the Thirty Years' War.
The massive debts incurred during his pontificate greatly weakened his successors, who were unable to maintain the papacy's longstanding political and military influence in Europe. He was also an opponent of Copernicanism and was involved in the Galileo affair, which saw the astronomer tried for heresy. He is the last pope to date to take the papal name Urban.