Clement VII (1478-1534) was elected pope in 1523 and reigned during a stormy period in European religious and political affairs. Clement was born in Florence, Italy. His given and family name was Giulio de’ Medici. His cousin, Pope Leo X, made him a cardinal in 1513. The Medici were a powerful family in Florence and after his election, Clement determined to preserve his family’s control of the city. This control was threatened by struggles between the Holy Roman Empire and France for dominance in Italy. Clement shifted sides repeatedly. This policy proved disastrous when the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V captured King Francis I of France in 1525. They then raided Rome in 1527, forcing the pope to take refuge in the Castel Sant’Angelo.
Clement’s concentration on Italian politics interfered with any effective papal response to the emerging Protestant Reformation. Lutheranism spread in Germany and was winning over Scandinavia. Clement’s weak handling of the annulment (cancellation) of the marriage of King Henry VIII of England led to the split from Rome by the English church and the start of the Reformation in England.
