Pope Alexander VI

Epic card · No. 10903

Pope Alexander VI (born Roderic de Borja y Llançol; c. 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. A member of the House of Borgia, he is one of several popes alleged to have been sexually active during their papacy. Alexander reigned as pope during the High Renaissance, a period in which nepotism and simony were widespread among the clergy. Born into the prominent Borja family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (in present-day Spain), he was known as Roderic de Borja, and he is commonly referred to by the Italianized form as Rodrigo Borgia. He studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Roman Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the...

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