Born
20 November 1761
Birthplace
Cingoli, Italy
Pope from
31 March 1829
Pope until
30 November 1830
Died
30 November 1830
Who he was
A nobleman from Cingoli, schooled by the Jesuits, he was a canon lawyer who worked with his teacher Devoti and then served as a vicar-general. As Bishop of Cesena he was arrested and taken to France for refusing the oath to Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy. He was made a cardinal in 1816 and was elected as a mild, learned man after a five-week conclave.
What he is remembered for
His reign of twenty months saw Catholic Emancipation pass in Britain and Ireland in 1829, and he ruled in 1830 that mixed marriages could be blessed only when the children were promised a Catholic upbringing. On his election he made all his relatives give up their posts. He was known for his learning in canon law, coins and the Bible.
Sources
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