Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII (Latin: Urbanus VIII; Italian: Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal territory by force of arms and advantageous politicking, and was also a prominent patron of the arts, commissioning works from artists like Bernini and a reformer of Church missions. His papacy also covered 21 years of the Thirty Years' War.
"Maffeo Barberini" redirects here. For his great-nephew, see Maffeo Barberini (1631–1685).
Urban VIII
6 August 1623
29 July 1644
24 September 1592
28 October 1604
by Fabio Blondus de Montealto
11 September 1606
by Paul V
29 July 1644 (aged 76)
Rome, Papal States
Antonio Barberini & Camilla Barbadoro
- Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura (1589–1592)
- Governor of Fano (1592–1604)
- Titular Archbishop of Nazareth (1604–1608)
- Apostolic Nuncio to France (1604–1606)
- Cardinal-Priest of San Montorio (1607–1610)
- Bishop of Spoleto (1608–1617)
- Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (1610–1623)
- Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio (1610–1623)
- Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church (1623)
However, the massive debts incurred during his pontificate greatly weakened his successors, who were unable to maintain the papacy's longstanding political and military influence in Europe. He was also an opponent of Copernicanism and involved in the Galileo affair which saw the astronomer tried for heresy. He is the last pope to date to take the pontifical name "Urban".
Papal styles of
Pope Urban VIII
His Holiness
Your Holiness
Holy Father
None
Portrayals in fiction[edit]
Urban VIII is a recurring character in the Ring of Fire alternative history hypernovel by Eric Flint et al. where he is favorably portrayed. He is especially prominent in 1634: The Galileo Affair (in which he makes the fictional Grantville priest, Larry Mazzare, a cardinal), and in 1635: The Cannon Law, 1635: The Papal Stakes, and 1636: The Vatican Sanction. He is somewhat less favorably presented in Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson. He is a sinister character in the radio play In Praise of Evil by David Pownall, first broadcast on BBC Radio in 2013. The play features an imaginary meeting between the Pope and the composer Monteverdi.