Pope Paul III
A Renaissance pope of immense contradictions who embodied papal grandeur while reluctantly steering the Church into the Counter-Reformation.
1468–1549 (age 81)·Head of the Catholic Church from 1534 to 1549·Birthday: February 29
Biography
Alessandro Farnese, who became Pope Paul III, was a product of the Italian Renaissance's political and artistic flowering, a man who wore the papacy with worldly flair. Before his election, he was a cardinal known more for patronage, mistresses, and enriching his family than for piety. His pontificate, however, proved consequential. Confronted by the Protestant Reformation's seismic spread, he convened the Council of Trent in 1545, the defining assembly that launched the Catholic Counter-Reformation. He approved the Jesuit order, giving the Church a powerful new intellectual and missionary arm. A great patron of Michelangelo, he commissioned 'The Last Judgment' for the Sistine Chapel and oversaw the completion of St. Peter's Basilica's design. Paul III was a bridge figure, a nepotist who made cardinals of his teenage grandsons, yet whose necessary reforms helped reshape a Church in crisis.
#1 When Pope Was Born
The biggest hits of 1468
Pope's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1468Born
1473Started school
1481Became a teenager
1484Could drive
1486Could vote
1489Turned 21
1498Turned 30
1508Turned 40
1518Turned 50
1528Turned 60
1538Turned 70
1548Turned 80
1549Died at 81
Key Achievements
- Convened the Council of Trent in 1545, which established the doctrinal and disciplinary core of the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
- Formally approved the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1540 through the papal bull *Regimini militantis Ecclesiae*.
- Commissioned Michelangelo to paint 'The Last Judgment' on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.
- Appointed a commission that led to the 1542 establishment of the Roman Inquisition.
- Oversaw significant architectural planning for Rome, including confirming Michelangelo's design for the completion of St. Peter's Basilica.
Did You Know?
He had four children with his Roman mistress, Silvia Ruffini, before becoming pope.
The magnificent Palazzo Farnese in Rome, now the French embassy, was built for his family.
He made two of his grandsons cardinals, one of whom, Alessandro Farnese, was only 14 years old at the time.
He was the last pope to have a long reign (15 years) until the election of Pope Pius VI in the late 18th century.
“Let the Council of Trent begin, for the reform of the Church.”
