Pope Sixtus IV
Sixtus IV | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
Portrait by Pedro Berruguete, c. 1476–1482 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | 9 August 1471 |
| Papacy ended | 12 August 1484 |
| Predecessor | Paul II |
| Successor | Innocent VIII |
| Previous post(s) |
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| Orders | |
| Consecration | 25 August 1471 by Guillaume d'Estouteville |
| Created cardinal | 18 September 1467 by Paul II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francesco della Rovere 21 July 1414 |
| Died | 12 August 1484 (aged 70) Rome, Papal States |
| Signature | |
| Coat of arms | |
| Other popes named Sixtus | |
| Papal styles of Pope Sixtus IV | |
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| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | None |
Ordination history of Pope Sixtus IV | |||||||||||||||
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Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, Italian: Sisto IV; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Library. A patron of the arts, he brought together the group of artists who ushered the early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age.
Sixtus created the Spanish Inquisition through the Papal bull Exigit Sinceræ Devotionis (1478), and annulled the Pontifical decrees of the Council of Constance. He was noted for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy, a plot to remove the Medici family from power in Florence.