Who he was
Gian Pietro Carafa came of a great Neapolitan family and was trained by his relative Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, who handed on to him the see of Chieti. He served Leo X as envoy to England and nuncio in Spain, led a strict and blameless life, and in 1524 gave up his benefices to found, with St Cajetan, the Theatines, becoming their first superior. Paul III made him a cardinal in 1536 and Archbishop of Naples, and he was a leading figure in the reform of the Roman Court and the reorganisation of the Inquisition. He was elected in May 1555, already nearly eighty, against the wishes of the emperor.
What he is remembered for
He pressed reform hard, with new decrees almost daily, and set up dioceses in the Netherlands and the East. His reign was troubled by war with Spain, by the misconduct of his nephews, whom he finally banished, and by a breach with Cardinal Pole and the English Church. He died in August 1559 and now rests in Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
Sources
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