Gregory XIV
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Pope Gregory XIV |
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| Bishop of Rome | |
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| Papacy began | 5 December 1590 |
| Papacy ended | 16 October 1591 |
| Predecessor | Urban VII |
| Successor | Innocent IX |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1551 |
| Consecration | 13 March 1564 by St. Charles Borromeo |
| Created Cardinal | 12 December 1583 by Gregory XIII |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Niccolò Sfondrato |
| Born |
11 February 1535 Somma Lombardo, Duchy of Milan |
| Died | 16 October 1591 (aged 56) Rome, Papal State |
| Previous post |
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| Coat of arms |  |
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Papal styles of Pope Gregory XIV |
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| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | None |
Pope Gregory XIV (Latin: Gregorius XIV; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was Pope from 5 December 1590 to his death in 1591.
Niccolò Sfondrati was born at Somma Lombardo, then part of the Duchy of Milan, in the highest stratum of Milanese society. His mother, of the house of Visconti, died in childbirth. His father Francesco Sfondrati, a senator of the ancient comune of Milan, was created Cardinal-Priest by Pope Paul III in 1544.
In his youth he was known for his modest lifestyle and stringent piety. He studied law at Perugia and Padua, was ordained a priest and swiftly appointed Bishop of Cremona, in 1560, in time to participate in the sessions of the Council of Trent from 1561 to 1563. Pope Gregory XIII made him a Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere on 12 December 1583. Sfondrati was a close follower of Carlo Cardinal Borromeo, and when cardinal he celebrated the Requiem Mass for Borromeo on 7 November 1584. Sfondrati was an intimate friend and a great admirer of Philip Neri, an Italian priest who died in 1595 and was canonised in 1622.
After the death of Pope Urban VII on 27 September 1590, the Spanish ambassador Olivares presented the conclave a list of the seven cardinals who would be acceptable to his master Philip II of Spain. On 5 December 1590, after two months of deadlock, Sfondrati, one of Philip II's seven candidates but who had not aspired to the office, was elected pope. Alessandro Cardinal Montalto came to Sfondrati's cell to inform him that the Sacred College had agreed on his election and found him kneeling in prayer before a crucifix. On the next day he was elected Pope Gregory XIV he burst into tears and said to the cardinals: "God forgive you! What have you done?" In his bull of 21 March 1591, Cogit nos, he forbade under pain of excommunication all betting concerning the election of a Pope, the duration of a pontificate, or the creation of new cardinals.
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