Innokentiy VIII Pope since 1484 Country: Vatican

1. Biography of Innocent VIII
2. Early Life and Rise to Power
3. Pontificate and Controversies
4. Legacy

Biography of Innocent VIII

Innocent VIII, born Giovanni Battista Cibo, was the Pope of Rome from 1484 until his death in 1492. He was born in Genoa, Liguria, Italy in 1432 to Arano Cibo and Teodorina de Mari.

Early Life and Rise to Power

As the son of a Roman senator, Giovanni Cibo led a tumultuous youth, which resulted in numerous illegitimate children who later populated the Vatican palaces. With the patronage of the della Rovere cardinal family, he was appointed as the bishop of Savona in 1467, bishop of Molfetta in 1472, and became a cardinal in 1473. In 1484, he was elected as Pope, taking the name Innocent VIII, and pledged to protect the interests of the cardinals.

Pontificate and Controversies

In 1490, Innocent VIII convened a congress of Christian rulers in Rome with the aim of organizing a crusade against unbelievers. However, due to conflicts with Ferdinand I of Naples, the congress ended without results. Innocent held Prince Jem, the brother of Bayezid II, as a hostage. To secure his brother's release, the sultan paid the Pope 40,000 ducats and sent the Spear of Longinus, which was believed to have pierced Jesus, as a gift. Innocent accepted the gift but did not release the hostage.

On December 5, 1484, Innocent issued a severe bull against witches, which later became embodied in the infamous "Malleus Maleficarum" or "The Hammer of Witches." In 1487, he appointed Tomás de Torquemada as the Grand Inquisitor. As part of his fight against heresy, Innocent organized a crusade against the Waldensians, opposed the Hussites in Bohemia, and in December 1486, he prohibited the public reading of nine hundred theses by Pico della Mirandola under the threat of excommunication.

In his quest for personal enrichment, Innocent created numerous positions within the Curia, which he shamelessly traded. As a result, he had to battle corrupt officials who issued fake bulls in his name. In 1489, two forgers were executed.

Legacy

One of the few bright moments of Innocent VIII's pontificate was the conquest of Granada and the complete liberation of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors in 1492. As a gift from Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Pope received beautiful Moorish slaves and bestowed upon the king the title "Catholic Majesty."