Election as pope , Though not neglecting to follow the course of affairs, Felice carefully avoided every occasion of offence. This discretion contributed not a little to his election to the papacy on 24 April 1585, with the title of Sixtus V to honour
Pope Sixtus IV, also a Franciscan like himself. One of the things that commended his candidacy to certain cardinals may have been his physical vigour, which seemed to promise a long pontificate. that there were more heads on spikes across the
Ponte Sant'Angelo than melons for sale in the marketplace. And clergy and nuns were executed if they broke their vows of chastity. Next Sixtus set to work to repair the finances. By the sale of offices, the establishment of a new "Monti" and by levying new taxes, he accumulated a vast surplus, which he stored up against certain specified emergencies, such as a
crusade or the defence of the
Holy See. Sixtus prided himself upon his hoard, but the method by which it had been amassed was financially unsound: some of the taxes proved ruinous, and the withdrawal of so much money from circulation could not fail to cause distress. The Pope set no limit to his plans, and achieved much in his short pontificate, always carried through at top speed: the completion of the dome of
St. Peter's; the
loggia of Sixtus in the
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano; the chapel of the Praesepe in
Santa Maria Maggiore; additions or repairs to the
Quirinal,
Lateran and
Vatican palaces; the erection of four
obelisks, including that in
Saint Peter's Square; the opening of six streets; the restoration of the
aqueduct of
Septimius Severus ("
Acqua Felice"); Besides numerous roads and bridges, The spatial organization, monumental inscriptions and restorations throughout the city reinforced the control, surveillance, and authority that alluded to his power.
Church administration The subsequent administrative system of the Catholic Church owed much to Sixtus. He limited the
College of Cardinals to seventy. He doubled the number of the congregations and enlarged their functions, assigning to them the principal role in the transaction of business (1588). He regarded the
Jesuits with disfavour and suspicion. He considered radical changes to their constitution, but death prevented the execution of his purpose.
Sixtine Vulgate and Septuagint In May 1587, the Sixtine Septuagint was published under the auspices of Sixtus V. In May 1590 the Sixtine Vulgate was issued. The edition was preceded by the Bull
Aeternus ille, in which the Pope declared the authenticity of the new Bible. The bull stipulated "that it was to be considered as the authentic edition recommended by the
Council of Trent, that it should be taken as the standard of all future reprints, and that all copies should be corrected by it." "This edition was not to be reprinted for 10 years except at the Vatican, and after that any edition must be compared with the Vatican edition, so that "not even the smallest particle should be altered, added or removed" under pain of the "greater
excommunication."
Consistories Sixtus V created 33 cardinals in eight
consistories during his reign, which included his grandnephew
Alessandro Peretti di Montalto and his future successor
Ippolito Aldobrandini who would later become Pope Clement VIII.
Beatifications and canonizations During his pontificate, Sixtus V
beatified Ubaldesca Taccini (1587) and
canonized one saint,
Didacus of Alcalá (10 July 1588).
Roman Curia In 1588, Sixtus V published the
bull Immensa Aeterni Dei which reorganised the
Roman Curia into departments.
Foreign relations (1585) In his larger political relations, Sixtus entertained fantastic ambitions, such as the annihilation of the
Turks, the conquest of
Egypt, the transport of the
Holy Sepulchre to Italy, and the accession of his nephew to the throne of France. The situation in which he found himself was difficult: he could not countenance the designs of those he considered as
heretical princes, and yet he mistrusted King
Philip II of Spain and viewed with apprehension any extension of his power. Sixtus excommunicated King
Henry III of Navarre, who was the
heir presumptive to the throne of France, and contributed to the
Catholic League, but he chafed under his forced alliance with King Philip II of Spain, and looked for an escape. The victories of Henry and the prospect of his conversion to Catholicism raised Sixtus V's hopes, and to a corresponding degree determined Philip II to tighten his grip upon his wavering ally. The Pope's negotiations with Henry's representative evoked a bitter and menacing protest and a categorical demand for the performance of promises. Sixtus took refuge in evasion and temporised until his death on 27 August 1590. The reasoning on the latter would be that the soul of the unborn child would be denied Heaven. Sixtus also attempted in 1586 to introduce into the secular law in Rome the
Old Testament penalty for
adultery, which is death. The measure ultimately failed.
Death and legacy About 5,000
bandits were executed by Sixtus V in the five years before his death in 1590, but there were reputedly 27,000 more at liberty throughout
Central Italy. As Sixtus V lay on his deathbed, he was loathed by his political subjects, but history has recognized him as one of the most important popes. On the negative side, he could be impulsive, obstinate, severe, and autocratic. On the positive side, he was open to large ideas and threw himself into his undertakings with energy and determination; this often led to success. His pontificate saw great enterprises and great achievements. The pope became ill with a fever on 24 August which intensified the following day. Sixtus V died on 27 August 1590. == See also ==