Who he was
Of an old Roman noble family, he spent a long life in the service of the Church, as nuncio to Naples and in charge of the papal finances, but was made a cardinal only by Clement IX on his deathbed. He was close to eighty when he was elected after a conclave of nearly five months, and accepted only after protesting. With age he left much of the daily government to Cardinal Paluzzi-Altieri, a kinsman by adoption.
What he is remembered for
He canonised St Cajetan, St Philip Benizi, St Francis Borgia, St Louis Bertrand and St Rose of Lima, the first saint of the Americas, and beatified St Pius V, St John of the Cross and the Martyrs of Gorkum. He sent strong support to Poland against the Turks. In Rome he set the ten marble angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo.
Sources
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