Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III (Latin: Paulus III; Italian: Paolo III; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549.

Paul III came to the papal throne in the time following the sack of Rome in 1527, which was rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church as the Protestant Reformation progressed. His pontificate initiated the Catholic Reformation with the Council of Trent in 1545, and witnessed wars of religion in which Emperor Charles V launched military campaigns against the Protestants in Germany. He recognized new Catholic religious orders and societies such as the Jesuits, the Barnabites, and the Congregation of the Oratory. His efforts were distracted by nepotism to advance the power and fortunes of his family, including his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese.

Paul III was a significant patron of artists, including Michelangelo, and Nicolaus Copernicus dedicated his heliocentric treatise to him.

Born in 1468 at Canino, Latium (then part of the Papal States), Alessandro Farnese was the second son of Pier Luigi I Farnese, Signore di Montalto (1435–1487) and Giovanna Caetani, a member of the Caetani family which had produced Pope Gelasius II and Pope Boniface VIII. The Farnese family had prospered over the centuries, but it was Alessandro's ascendency to the papacy and his dedication to family interests which brought about the most significant increase in the family's wealth and power.

Alessandro was given a humanist education at the University of Pisa and the court of Lorenzo de' Medici. Initially trained as an apostolic notary, he joined the Roman Curia in 1491 and in 1493 Pope Alexander VI appointed him Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano. Alessandro's sister, Giulia, was reputedly a mistress of Alexander VI, and might have been instrumental in securing this appointment for her brother. For this reason, he was sometimes mockingly referred to as the "Borgia brother-in-law", just as Giulia was mocked as "the Bride of Christ". Much later (in 1535), the Venetian nobleman Soriano recorded that Alessandro was called cardinale Fregnese (Cardinal Pussy, or Cardinal Cunt) on account of the relationship between his sister and Alexander VI.

As a young cleric, Alessandro lived a notably dissolute life, taking a mistress, Silvia Ruffini. Between about 1500 and 1510, she gave birth to at least four children: Costanza, Pier Luigi (who was later created Duke of Parma), Paolo, and Ranuccio. In July 1505, Pope Julius II legitimated the two eldest sons so that they could inherit the Farnese family estates. On 23 June 1513, Pope Leo X published a second legitimation of Pier Luigi, and also legitimized Ranuccio (the second son Paolo had already died).

On 28 March 1509, Alessandro was named Bishop of Parma, but he was not ordained a priest until 26 June 1519 and not consecrated a bishop until 2 July 1519. As Bishop of Parma, he came under the influence of his vicar-general, Bartolomeo Guidiccioni. This led to Alessandro breaking off the relationship with his mistress and committing himself to reform in his diocese. Under Pope Clement VII (1523–34) he was named Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Dean of the College of Cardinals.

On the death of Clement VII in 1534, he was elected as Pope Paul III on 13 October 1534. Farnese, who did not fall within any of the factions, was considered a very good choice by the cardinals since his state of health denoted a short papacy which would give those cardinals time to select a proper candidate for a future conclave. On 3 November, Paul III was formally crowned by the protodeacon Innocenzo Cybo.