Pope Innocent XI
Pope Innocent XI reigned from 1676 to 1689, reformed the papal finances, and organised the coalition that saved Vienna from the Ottomans. Born Benedetto Odescalchi in Como in 1611 into a banking family, he trained in law at Rome and Naples, and served as a papal administrator in several provinces before becoming a cardinal. He was elected in 1676 after France's veto had been withdrawn, and made his acceptance conditional on the cardinals agreeing to a programme of reform. He governed with severity. He cut the papal household's spending, abolished sinecures, banned nepotism, forbade the sale of offices, and turned a deficit into a surplus. He closed Rome's theatres, restricted carnival, and issued instructions on clerical dress and on the conduct of women's clothing at court that made him unpopular locally. His central achievement was diplomatic. When Kara Mustafa besieged Vienna in 1683 with a very large army, Innocent had spent years assembling and funding a Holy League, and he supplied substantial subsidies from the reformed treasury. John III Sobieski of Poland relieved the city on 12 September 1683, and the league went on to take Buda in 1686 and Belgrade in 1688, permanently reversing Ottoman expansion in central Europe. He was in continuous conflict with Louis XIV over the régale and the Gallican Articles of 1682, refused to confirm French bishops so that dozens of sees stood vacant, and excommunicated the king's ambassador over diplomatic immunities; Louis seized Avignon in reply. He condemned Quietism and the laxist casuistry associated with the Jesuits. He died in 1689 and was beatified in 1956.
- Lived: 1611 CE – 1689 CE
- Nationality: Italian
- Roles: pope, cleric
