GREGORY XIV

original name Niccol Sfondrati born Feb. 11, 1535, Somma, near Milan died Oct. 16, 1591, Rome, Papal States pope from 1590 to 1591. Appointed bishop of Cremona in the duchy of Milan (1560), he was made cardinal by Pope Gregory XIII (1583) and elected pope on Dec. 5, 1590. He continued the policies of his immediate predecessors, particularly in furthering the internal reform of the church.