Pope Marcellus II

Pope Marcellus II (Italian: Marcello II; 6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 1555 to his death, 22 days later.

Marcellus succeeded Pope Julius III. Before his accession as pope he had been Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. He is the most recent pope to choose to retain his birth name as his regnal name upon his accession, and the most recent pope to date with the regnal name "Marcellus".

Marcello Cervini's father, Ricardo Cervini, was a personal friend of Pope Clement VII. Cervini served in the household of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. When Farnese became Pope Paul III, Cervini served as his secretary and was employed on a number of diplomatic missions. On 10 April, 1555, he was elected to succeed Pope Julius III. He died of a stroke twenty-two days later.

A native of Montefano, a small village near Macerata and Loreto he was the son of Ricardo Cervini who was the Apostolic Treasurer in Ancona. The family originated in Tuscany, in the town of Montepulciano, which had once been subject to Siena, but later was under the control of Florence. Marcello had two half-brothers, Alexander and Romulus.

Marcello was educated locally, and at Siena and Florence, where he became proficient in writing Latin, Greek, and Italian. He also received instruction in jurisprudence, philosophy, and mathematics. His father had an interest in astrology and upon discovering that his son's horoscope presaged high ecclesiastical honours, Riccardo set the young Cervini on a path to the priesthood.

After his period of study at Siena, Cervini traveled to Rome in the company of the delegation sent by Florence to congratulate the new Pope on his election. His father and Pope Clement VII were personal friends, and Marcello was made Scrittore Apostolico. He was set to work on astronomical and calendar studies, a project which was intended to bring the year back into synchronization with the seasons. In 1527, he fled home after the Sack of Rome, but eventually returned and was taken into the household of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese senior. Cervini was ordained a priest in 1535.

In 1534, after Farnese had become Pope Paul III, Cervini was appointed a papal secretary (1534–49) and served as a close advisor to the pope's nephew Alessandro Farnese. He was made a papal protonotary. He travelled in the suite of the Pope during the papal visit to Nice, where Paul III was promoting a truce between Francis I and Charles V. He then accompanied the young Cardinal Farnese on a journey to Spain, France and the Habsburg Netherlands to help implement the terms of the truce. Paul III later appointed him Bishop of Nicastro in 1539. Cervini was not, however, consecrated bishop until the day he himself was elected pope. On 19 December 1539, while Cervini was still on the embassy to the Netherlands, Paul III created him Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.

When, almost immediately afterwards, Cardinal Farnese was recalled to Rome, Cervini stayed on in Spain as nuncio. Over the course of the next decade Cervini also became the apostolic administrator of the dioceses of Reggio and Gubbio. His house in Rome became a center of Renaissance culture, and he himself corresponded with most of the leading humanists.