Innocent XII

Antonio Pignatelli (1615-1700) was born in Spinazzola, in Apulia, from the family of the Marquises of Spinazzola. Educated in the Jesuit College in Rome, he entered the Roman court during the pontificate of Urban VIII (1623-1644). Under subsequent popes he exercised numerous assignments outside of Rome, including those of Governor of Perugia and Viterbo, Inquisitor in Malta, Apostolic nuncio to Florence, Poland and Vienna. Placed at the head of the diocese of Lecce in 1671, he was appointed cardinal in 1681, archbishop of Faenza and then, since 1687, of Naples. On the death of Alexander VIII, in 1691, the conclave elected him pope with the name of Innocent XII. As pope, he fought nepotism vigorously and reiterated the condemnation of Jansenism and Quietism. Also set up in 1694 the Congregation for the Regulation and Reform of the Regular Orders. In his honour a tomb was erected after his death in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.