Pope Innocent X

Pope Innocent X
Bishop of Rome
Portrait of Innocent X, by Diego Velázquez, 1650
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	15 September 1644
Papacy ended	7 January 1655
Predecessor	Urban VIII
Successor	Alexander VII
Orders
Consecration	25 January 1626 by Laudivio Zacchia
Created cardinal	19 November 1629 by Urban VIII
Personal details
Born	Giovanni Battista Pamphilj or Pamphili 6 May 1574 Rome, Papal States
Died	7 January 1655(1655-01-07) (aged 80) Rome, Papal States
Previous post(s)	Legate to France (1625) Titular Latin Patriarch of Antioch (1626–1629) Apostolic Nuncio to Spain (1626–1629) Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Eusebio (1629–1644) Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy (1639–1644) Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church (1643–1644)
Motto	Allevitæ sunt aquæ super terram ("The Waters are Lifted Above the Earth")
Coat of arms
Other popes named Innocent

Pope Innocent X (Latin: Innocentius X; Italian: Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655.^[1]

Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, Pamphili was trained as a lawyer and graduated from the Collegio Romano. He followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle Girolamo Pamphili as auditor of the Rota, and like him, attaining the position of cardinal-priest of Sant'Eusebio. Before becoming pope, Pamphili served as a papal diplomat to Naples, France, and Spain.

Pamphili succeeded Pope Urban VIII (1623–44) on 15 September 1644 as Pope Innocent X, after a contentious papal conclave that featured a rivalry between French and Spanish factions.

Innocent X was one of the most politically shrewd pontiffs of the era, greatly increasing the temporal power of the Holy See. Major political events in which he was involved included the English Civil War, conflicts with French church officials over financial fraud issues, and hostilities with the Duchy of Parma related to the First War of Castro.

In theology, Innocent X issued a papal bull condemning the beliefs of Jansenism.