orig. Alessandro Farnese
born Feb. 29, 1468, Canino, Papal States
died Nov. 10, 1549, Rome
Pope (1534–49).
The son of a noble Tuscan family, he was made a cardinal-deacon in 1493 and served as bishop in Parma and Ostia before being named dean of the College of Cardinals by Pope Leo X . Ordained a priest in 1519, he was unanimously elected pope in 1534. Though loose in morals in earlier years (he had three sons and a daughter), he became an efficient promoter of reform, convening the Council of Counter-Reformation . He also supported the newly founded Jesuit s and was a patron of the arts, the last in the tradition of the Renaissance popes.