Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X
Bishop of Rome
Detail from Raphael's Portrait of Leo X
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	9 March 1513
Papacy ended	1 December 1521
Predecessor	Julius II
Successor	Adrian VI
Previous post(s)	Abbot Ordinary of Montecassino (1486–1504) Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Domnica (1492–1513) Apostolic Administrator of Pesaro (1503–1504) Apostolic Administrator of Amalfi (1510–1513)
Orders
Ordination	15 March 1513 by Raffaele Sansone Riario
Consecration	17 March 1513 by Raffaele Sansone Riario
Created cardinal	9 March 1489 (in pectore)[1] 29 March 1495 (revealed) by Innocent VIII
Personal details
Born	Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici 15 December 1475 Florence, Republic of Florence
Died	1 December 1521(1521-12-01) (aged 45) Rome, Papal States
Buried	Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome
Signature
Coat of arms
Other popes named Leo

Pope Leo X (Italian: Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 1475 – 1 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death, in December 1521.^[2]

Born into the prominent political and banking Medici family of Florence, Giovanni was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1489. Following the death of Pope Julius II, Giovanni was elected pope after securing the backing of the younger members of the College of Cardinals. Early on in his rule he oversaw the closing sessions of the Fifth Council of the Lateran, but struggled to implement the reforms agreed. In 1517 he led a costly war that succeeded in securing his nephew Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici as Duke of Urbino, but reduced papal finances.

In Protestant circles, Leo is associated with granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica, a practice that was soon challenged by Martin Luther's 95 Theses. Leo rejected the Protestant Reformation, and his Papal bull of 1520, Exsurge Domine, condemned Luther's condemnatory stance, rendering ongoing communication difficult.

He borrowed and spent money without circumspection and was a significant patron of the arts. Under his reign, Marco Girolamo Vida began composing at the Pope's request a Virgilian Latin epic poem about the life of Jesus called the Christiad, progress was made on the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica, and artists such as Raphael decorated the Vatican rooms. Leo also reorganised the Roman University, and promoted Renaissance humanist study of literature, poetry, and Classics. He died in 1521 and is buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. He was the last pope not to have been in priestly orders at the time of his election to the papacy.