Succession of Pope Sixtus V
- When
- 1585
- Where
- Papal States
- Episodes
- 3
Following the death of Pope Gregory XIII on 10 April 1585, Cardinal Felice Peretti was elected to the papacy on 24 April 1585. He took the name Sixtus V and was crowned on 1 May 1585, succeeding Gregory XIII as head of the Catholic Church.
Episodes
- Death of Gregory XIII
Gregory XIII died on 10 April 1585 after suffering from fever and ill health in the preceding days.
- Election of Sixtus V
Cardinal Felice Peretti was elected pope on 24 April 1585, taking the name Sixtus V.
- Coronation of Sixtus V
Sixtus V was crowned by protodeacon Ferdinando de' Medici on 1 May 1585.
Background and detail
Death of Gregory XIII. Pope Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni, served as head of the Catholic Church from 13 May 1572 until his death in April 1585. He suffered from a fever on 5 April 1585 and celebrated Mass on 7 April while in ill health, dying on 10 April 1585.
Election of Sixtus V. Cardinal Felice Peretti, known as Cardinal Montalto, had lived in enforced retirement during Gregory XIII's pontificate. His discretion contributed to his election to the papacy on 24 April 1585, where he assumed the title Sixtus V to honor Pope Sixtus IV.
Papal Coronation. The papal coronation of Sixtus V was held on 1 May 1585. He was crowned by the protodeacon Ferdinando de' Medici, formally beginning his tenure as head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States.
People involved
- Sixtus V · Elected Pope
- Gregory XIII · Predecessor Pope
- Ferdinando de' Medici · Protodeacon
Sources
- Pope Gregory XIII Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-11
- Pope Sixtus V Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-22
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.