Pope Paul II

Pietro Barbo, the future Pope Paul II, was born in Venice on 25 February 1417. His parents were Nicola Barbo and Polerina Condulmaro, the sister of the future Pope Eugene IV (1431-1447).

Initially, Pietro was trained for the business world but switched to a spiritual life when Uncle Gabriel became Pope Eugene. Pietro moved up the corporate ladder quickly, becoming an archdeacon of Bologna, the Bishop of Cervia and the Bishop of Vicenza. In 1440, he was named Cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria Nuovo. When he moved to Rome to serve, he had his brother, Paolo, administer in Vicenza. He also served two terms as Camerlengo. The next year he became the lay abbot of Santa Maria in Sylvio. Four years later, he became the archpriest of the Vatican Basilica.

Cardinal Barbo had a habit of dressing excessively, with the best of silks and jewels. He was very generous, making friends by lavishing money on them. He was influential during the terms of Eugene IV, Nicholas V, and Calixtus III. But he disagreed with Pius II and was not as prominent.

In 1464, Pope Pius II died suddenly as his Crusade was mounting. Instead of a battle in Turkey, in August, there was a conclave in Rome. Fourteen of nineteen cardinals present voted for Cardinal Barbo. Their votes were seen as votes against the reformist policies of Pius II.

The new Pope Paul II promised an ecumenical council within three years of his election. But he changed his mind in months, which lost him the confidence of the cardinals. One of the possible reasons for this change of heart was a view that the ecumenical council would indicate an abridgement of the Pope’s absolute monarchy in the Papal States, which would be an abridgement of his sole authority in spiritual matters.

Soon after the coronation, Paul withdrew from the public eye. He held audiences only at night. Even his friends had to wait weeks to get an audience. Some say he became suspicious. Stories emerged about the difficulty of choosing a name, including Marco, which was a Venetian war cry. He had a papal tiara designed with costly gems. Then he built Palazzo San Marco, now referred to as Palazzo Venezia, and lived there instead at the Lateran or other papal palaces. Pope Paul amassed a huge collection of art and antiques and introduced the printing press into Rome.

A quick note, here. Mussolini used the Palazzo Venezia as his headquarters and home when in Rome. His speeches were made from a balcony there.

One conflict he had with the college of cardinals was the naming of more cardinals, identifying them, or the naming of friends and nephews to the college. He also gave all the cardinals the right to wear the red biretta, not just the cardinal bishops.

In an attempt to direct the humanists, Pope Paul II tried to eliminate repetitive offices, like the College of Abbreviators, who wrote documents. He also eliminated the Roman Academy, an intellectuals’ club, not an educational place. The Academy was filled with humanists having neo-pagan interests and religious skepticism. Some leaders were arrested on charges of irreligion, immorality and alleged conspiracy against the pope. These men were tortured and imprisoned. But they were finally released. One of the primary men involved was Bartolomeo Platina. He was freed, but, after Pope Paul’s death and the election of Pope Sixtus VI, Platina wrote a searing analysis of Paul as revenge. His words seemed to be the one analysis that people believed for centuries.

Before Paul died, he tried fruitless negotiations with the Tsar of Russia to reunite the Catholic and Orthodox churches. He had as little success negotiating with the Sultan, although the on again and off again crusade won one island off the islands of Venice. Pope Paul II was negotiating an alliance with the Iranian Prince Uzom-Hassan against the Turks when he died suddenly on July 26,1471.