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Pope Alexander VII

Type Figure Region Vatican Time 1599–1667 Also known as Alexander VII、Fabio Chigi、法比奥·奇吉

Fabio Chigi served as pope from 1655 to 1667 under the name Alexander VII.

Timeline

  1. 1599–1654Siena · TuscanyChigi received a humanist education in Siena and later studied theology in Rome. He served as papal nuncio in Cologne, Hamburg and elsewhere, and as ambassador to the Knights of Malta, was made cardinal in 1651, secretary of the papal congregation in 1652, and won the curia's trust through learning and steady diplomacy.
  2. 1655–1667Vatican · Vatican CityAfter his election as pope in April 1655, Alexander VII continued the Counter-Reformation line, curbed Jansenist influence, and disputed church privileges with Louis XIV. He commissioned Bernini to design the colonnade of St. Peter's Square and presided over the public conversion of Queen Christina of Sweden in 1655. In the 1660s papal diplomacy focused on mediating northern European and Iberian affairs, and his final years showed strain from tense relations with France.

Sources