Pope Urban VII

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Pope Urban VII" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Pope Urban VII
Bishop of Rome
Portrait by Jacopino del Conte (c. 1590, Vatican Museums)
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	15 September 1590
Papacy ended	27 September 1590
Predecessor	Sixtus V
Successor	Gregory XIV
Orders
Ordination	30 March 1553 by Filippo Archinto
Consecration	4 April 1553 by Girolamo Verallo
Created cardinal	12 December 1583 by Gregory XIII
Personal details
Born	Giovanni Battista Castagna 4 August 1521 Rome, Papal States
Died	27 September 1590(1590-09-27) (aged 69) Rome, Papal States
Previous post(s)	Archbishop of Rossano (1553) Governor of Fano (1555–1559) Governor of Perugia and Umbria (1559–1560) Apostolic Nuncio to Spain (1565–1572) Apostolic Nuncio to Venice (1573–1577) Governor of Bologna (1576–1577) Papal Legate to Flanders and Cologne (1578–1580) Cardinal-Priest of S. Marcello (1584–1590)
Coat of arms
Other popes named Urban

Papal styles of Pope Urban VII
Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Holy Father
Posthumous style	None

Pope Urban VII (Latin: Urbanus VII; Italian: Urbano VII; 4 August 1521 – 27 September 1590), born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of the Catholic Church, and ruler of the Papal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His papacy was the shortest recognized in history, during which a smoking ban encompassing churches across the world was implemented.

Castagna, born in Rome in 1521, was a highly educated man who held various positions within the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Archbishop of Rossano, Governor of Fano, Perugia, and Umbria, and participated in the Council of Trent. Later, he was appointed as the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain and Venice and served as the Papal legate to Flanders and Cologne. He was elevated to cardinalate in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII.

Upon the death of Pope Sixtus V, Castagna was elected as pope on 15 September 1590, taking the name Urban VII. He was known for his charity, public works projects, and strict opposition to nepotism. His papacy was short-lived as he died of malaria on 27 September 1590 after just 12 days in office. Urban VII is remembered for instituting the world's first known public smoking ban, threatening excommunication for those using tobacco in or near a church.