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Innocent XIII
Mosaic portrait in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, Rome. Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Popes

Innocent XIII

The 244th pope · Michelangelo dei Conti before his election

Born
13 May 1655
Birthplace
Rome, Italy
Pope from
8 May 1721
Pope until
7 March 1724
Died
7 March 1724

Who he was

The son of the Duke of Poli, of the family that had given the Church Innocent III, he studied at the Roman College and served as nuncio in Lucerne and Lisbon. Clement XI made him a cardinal and Bishop of Osimo and then Viterbo, a see he gave up through illness. He was elected after a stormy conclave and reigned less than three years.

What he is remembered for

He invested the Emperor Charles VI with Sicily, supported the exiled Stuart claimant James III, and helped Venice and Malta against the Turks. He insisted that the French bishops accept Unigenitus without conditions. He kept his family's gains strictly within the limits set by Innocent XII.

Sources

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