Who he was
Giovanni Battista Cibo was the son of a Roman senator of Genoese family. Before taking holy orders he fathered two children; he then became Bishop of Savona and of Molfetta and, in 1473, a cardinal. He was elected in August 1484 and took his name in honour of his fellow Genoese Innocent IV. A kindly man, he worked for peace among Christian princes and for a crusade, though he was drawn into a long quarrel with King Ferrante of Naples, and he died in Rome in July 1492.
What he is remembered for
He saw the fall of Granada in 1491, which completed the reconquest of Spain, and he received the Holy Lance in Rome from the Sultan. He canonised St Leopold of Austria in 1485. His reign suffered from an empty treasury, which he met by creating and selling offices, and from disorder in Rome.
Sources
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