Pope Alexander VIII
Charities on a large scale and unbounded nepotism (among the various nominations, his 22-year-old nephew Pietro was made cardinal, nephew Marco Duc of Fiano and nephew Antonio Church general) exhausted the papal treasury, reversing the policies of his predecessor. Out of compassion for the poor of the impoverished Papal States, he sought to help them by reducing taxes. But this same generous nature led him to bestow on his relations the riches they were eager to accumulate; on their behalf, and to the discredit of his pontificate, he revived sinecure offices which had been suppressed by Innocent XI. He bought the books and manuscripts of Queen Christina of Sweden for the Vatican Library. Alexander VIII assisted his native Venice by generous subsidies in the war against the Turks, as well as sending seven galleys and 2,000 infantry for the campaign in Albania.
In 1690 he condemned the doctrines of the so-called philosophical sin, taught in the Jesuit schools. That year he also canonised St John of God.
Alexander VIII died on February 1, 1691. His tomb in St. Peter's was designed by Count Arrigo di San Martino and sculpted (1691-1725) by Angelo de' Rossi and Giuseppe Bertosi.
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References
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
- Rendina, Claudio (1984). I papi. Storia e segreti. Rome: Newton Compton.
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External links
"Pope Alexander VIII" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.- Ottoboni family
| Roman Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Innocent XI |
Pope 1689–91 |
Succeeded by Innocent XII |
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