Who he was
Of the great Chigi family of Siena, he was sickly as a child and taught at home, then took doctorates in philosophy, law and theology. He was Inquisitor of Malta, nuncio at Cologne, and papal envoy at the talks that led to the Peace of Westphalia, then Secretary of State and cardinal under Innocent X. He was elected unanimously after a conclave of eighty days.
What he is remembered for
With Bernini he gave Rome the colonnade of St Peter's Square, the Chair of St Peter in the basilica and the Scala Regia, and he enlarged the Sapienza university and the Vatican Library. He received Queen Christina of Sweden into Rome after her conversion and confirmed her on Christmas Day 1655. He also renewed the condemnation of Jansenism, and suffered a long quarrel with Louis XIV of France.
Sources
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