CLEMENT
29
CLEMENT
nuncio to Naples; and he is credited with no slight
share in the re-establishment of jieace after the stormy-
days of Masaniello. Under Alexander VII he was
made secretary of tlie Congregation of Bishoiis and
Regulars. Clement IX named him sujierintendent of
the paiial exchequer. On his accession to the jia-
pacy, he gave to his new kin.sman, Cardinal Paoluzzi-
Alti'eri, the uncle of Laura's husband, the office of
cardinal nephew, and w-ith advancing years gradually
entrusted to him the management of affairs, to such
an extent that the
liifing Romans
said he had re-
served to himself
nnly the episcopal
functions of bene-
fliicrc et sancti-
ficare, resigning in
favour of the car-
dinal the admini-
strative duties of
regere et gubcr-
iiiire. Neverthe-
less, the "BuUar-
iuni Romanum"
roil tains many
evidences of his
religious activity,
among which may
lie mentioned the
eanonization of
Sts. Cajctan,
Philip Benitius,
Francis Borgia, Louis Bertrand, and Rose of .Lima;
also the beatification of Pope Pius V, John of the
Cross, and the Martyrs of Gorcum in Holland.
He laboured to preserve the peace of Europe, menaced
by the ambition of Louis XIV, and began with that
imperious monarch the long struggle concerning the
rigale, or revenues of vacant dioceses and abbeys.
He supiiorted the Poles with strong financial aid
in their hard struggle with their Turkish invaders.
He decorated the bridge of Sant' Angelo with the ten
statues of angels in Carrara marble still to be seen
there. To Clement we owe the two beautiful foun-
tains which adorn the Piazza of St. Peter's. At a
cost of 300,000 scudi (dollars) he erected the exten-
sive Palazzo Altieri. His remains lie in St. Peter's
church near the tribune, where a monument has been
erected to his memory.
Arisio. Mimoric sullii vila di Clcmente X (Rome, 1863); Von Reumoxt, Grxrh. d. SladI Rom (Berlin, 1867), III. ii. 635-36; Cerboti. riibhoumfia liomana (Rome. 1893), 226. 563; NoVAEs, Elemcnli dclla slarm dc' romani ponlcfici da .S. Piclro fino a Pio VI (Rome, 1821-25); de Montor, History of the Roman Pontiffs (New York, 1867), II.
James F. Loughlin.
Clement XI, Pope (Giovanni Francesco Ai^ BANi) ; b. at I'rbino, 23 July, 1649 ; elected 23 Novem- ber, 1700; d. at Rome 19 March, 1721. The Albani (q. V.) were a noble Umbrian family. Under Urban VIII the grandfather of the future pope had held for thirteen years the honourable office of Senator of Rome. An uncle, Anni- bale .\lbani, was a distinguished scholar and was Prefect of the Vatican Li- brarj-. tliovnnni Francesco was sent /~\ I to Rome in his eleventh year to prose- r\ n J cute his stiulies at the Roman College. ^ ViX/ / j^g made rapid progress and was known as an author at the age of eighteen, Cleme.nt'xi translating from the Greek into elegant Latin. He attracted the notice of the patroness of Roman literati, Queen Christina of Sweden, whc before he became of age enrolled him in herexclusive .1 vciulcmin. With equal ardour and suc- cess he applied himself to the profoundcr branches,
theology and law, and was created doctor of canon
and civil law. So brilliant an intellect, joined with
stainless morals and piety, secured for him a rapid
advancement at the papal court. At the age of
twenty-eight he was made a prelate, and governed
successively Rieti, Sabina, and Orvieto, everywhere
acceptable on account of his reputation for justice and
prudence. Recalled to Rome, he was appointed
Vicar of St. Peter's, and on the death of C'ardinal
Slusio succeeded to the important position of Secre-
tary of Papal Briefs, which he held for thirteen years,
and for which his command of classical latinity singu-
larly fitted him. On 13 February, 1690, he was cre-
ated cardinal-deacon and later Cardinal-Priest of
the Title of San Silvestro, and was ordained to the
priesthood.
The conclave of 1700 would have terminated speed- ily with the election of Cardinal Mariscotti, had not the veto of France rendered the choice of that able cardinal impossible. After delib(>rating for forty-six days, the Sacred College united in selecting Cardinal Albani, whose virtues and ability overbalanced the objection that he was only fifty-one years old. Three days were spent in the effort to overcome his reluc- tance to accept a dignity the heavy burden of which none knew better than the experienced curialist (Gal- land in Hist. Jahrbuch, 1SS2, III, 208 sqq.). The period was critical for Europe and the papacy. Dur- ing the conclave Charles II, the last of the Spanish Hapsburgs, had died childless, leaving his vast domin- ions a prey to French and Austrian ambition. His will, making Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV, sole heir to the Spanish Empire, was contested by the Emperor Leopold, who claimed Spain for his second son Charles. The late king, before making this will, had consulted Pope Innocent XII, and Cardinal Al- bani had been one of the three cardinals to whom the pontiff had entrusted the case and who advised him to pronounce secretly in its favour. This was at the time unknown to the emperor, else Austria would have vetoed the election of Albani. The latter was finally persuaded that it was his duty to obey the call from Heaven; on .30 November he was consecrated bishop, and on 8 December solemnly enthroned in the Vatican. The enthusiasm with which his elevation was greeted throughout the world is the best evidence of his worth. Even Protestants received the intelli- gence with joy and the city of Nuremberg struck a medal in his honour. The sincere Catholic reformers greeted his accession as the death-knell of nepotism; for, though he had many relatives, it was known that he had instigated and written the severe condemna- tion of that abuse issued by his predecessor. As pon- tiff, he did not belie his principles. He bestowed the offices of his court upon the most worthy subjects and ordered his brother to keep at a distance and refrain from adopting any new title or interfering in matters of state. In the government of the States of the Church, Clement was a capable administrator. He provided diligently for the needs of his sul)jects, was extremely charitable to the poor, bettered the condi- tion of the prisons, and secured food for the populace in time of scarcity. He won the good will of artists by prohibiting the exportation of ancient master- pieces, and of scientists by commissioning Bianchini to lay down on the pavement of Sta Maria degli An- gioli the meridian of Rome, known as the Clementina.
His capacity for work was prodigious. He slept but little and ate so sparingly that a few pence per day sufficed for his table. Everj' day he confessed and celelirated Mass. He entered minutely into the de- tails of every measure which came before him, and with his own hand prepared the numerous allocutions. Briefs, and constitutions afterwards collected and pub- lished. He also found time to preach his beautiful homilies and was frecpiently to be seen in the confes- sional. Though his powerful frame rnore than onw
