Leo X, a Renaissance Prince Who Sealed the Lutheran Schism

We jump from the 10th century to the 16th century in our series on Popes named Leo before Leo XIV. Leo X issued Decet Romanum Pontificem, excommunicating Luther.

From Aleteia

By I. Media

Born Giovanni de' Medici on December 11, 1475, in Florence and died on December 1, 1521, in Rome, Leo X was the son of Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492). Known as “the Magnificent,” Lorenzo was considered one of the greatest statesmen of his time and the architect of Florence's golden age.

Educated in this privileged environment, Giovanni de' Medici was destined from childhood for a career in the Church. He shared this vocation with his cousin Giulio de' Medici, the future Pope Clement VII (1523-1534), whom he took care to create cardinal shortly after his election to the papacy.

From the cradle to the Church

Tonsured at the age of only six in 1482, Giovanni de’ Medici received numerous titles from an early age. He was appointed apostolic protonotary in 1483 and received the Abbey of Montecassino in commendam in 1486.

In 1489, at the age of only 13, he began studying theology and philosophy at the University of Pisa, and was created cardinal at the age of 16 in 1492 by Pope Innocent VIII. Shortly afterwards, he took part in the conclave that led to the election of Rodrigo Borgia as Alexander VI, of whom he became a fierce opponent.

During the same period, the fall of the Medici family in Florence forced him into exile in extraordinary circumstances, as he had to flee the city disguised as a Franciscan monk. Appointed legate to Bologna and Romagna in 1511, he was taken prisoner during the Battle of Ravenna against the French in 1512, but managed to escape.

A patron of the arts

After the death of Pope Julius II, he became pope on March 11, 1513, under the name Leo X. The pontificate of this Renaissance prince, elected at the age of 37 (making him one of the youngest popes in history), was marked by intense activity in the field of patronage of the arts. 

He collected numerous manuscripts and had a critical edition of Dante published. The painter Raphael was invited to continue the frescoes in the papal chambers and produced the famous portrait of Leo X, with his rather chubby face, wearing the red camail and mozzetta of the popes. 

According to the Swiss chronicler François Bonivard (1493-1570), "Leo X was knowledgeable in Greek and Latin literature, and an even better musician... He was a handsome figure, but his face was ugly and deformed, for it was rather large and swollen."

Politically, Leo X signed the Treaty of Viterbo with Francis I on October 13, 1515, recognizing him as Duke of Milan. A year later, the Concordat of Bologna granted the King of France the right to appoint abbots and bishops in his kingdom in exchange for formal recognition of the Pope's authority.

This concordat put an end to the tensions between the French monarchy and the papacy, which had begun in 1438 when King Charles VII signed the Pragmatic Sanction. This ordinance made the king the guardian of the rights of the Church of France, thus paving the way for a form of Gallicanism.

The excommunication of Martin Luther

The pontificate of Leo X was also marked by the first tremors of the Lutheran schism, linked to the sale of indulgences, which the papacy needed to finance the construction of St. Peter's Basilica.

Pope Leo X made several failed attempts at dialogue, motivated more by a desire for political conciliation with the German principalities than by theological issues, which interested him little. Finally, the pope finally condemned Luther's theses on June 15, 1520, with the bull Exsurge Domine.

By burning this bull in public at Christmas, Martin Luther marked an irreconcilable breaking point: Leo X excommunicated him on January 3, 1521, with the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. What might have seemed like a simple “monks' dispute” turned into a serious conflict that would mark several centuries of European history.

The pope died shortly after the publication of this bull, at the age of only 45, leaving behind the memory of a great patron but a poor theologian.

Earlier in the series: Leo the Great, Leo II, Leo III, Leo IV, Leo V, Leo VI, Leo VII, Leo VIII. Leo IX