Pope Leo XII

Pope

Leo XII
Pope; Leo XII
Bishop of Rome
	Portrait by Charles Picqué, 1828
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	28 September 1823
Papacy ended	10 February 1829
Predecessor	Pius VII
Successor	Pius VIII
Previous post(s)	Titular Archbishop of Tyrus (1794‍–‍1816); Apostolic Nuncio to Germany (1794‍–‍1804); Archbishop of Senigallia (1816); Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere (1816‍–‍1823); Prefect of the Roman Curia (1820‍–‍1823); Prefect of the Congregation of Ecclesiastical Immunity (1820‍–‍1823); Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (1821‍–‍1823); Vicar General of Rome (1821‍–‍1823);
Orders
Ordination	4 June 1783; by Marcantonio Colonna
Consecration	24 February 1794; by Henry Benedict Stuart
Created cardinal	8 March 1816; by Pius VII
Personal details
Born	Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760; Genga, Papal States
Died	10 February 1829 (aged 68); Rome, Papal States
Signature
Coat of arms
	Other popes named Leo

Pope Leo XII (Italian: Leone XII; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829.^[1]

Leo XII was in ill health from the time of his election to the papacy to his death less than 6 years later, though he was noted for enduring pain well. He was a deeply conservative ruler, who enforced many controversial laws, including one forbidding Jews to own property. Though he raised taxes, the Papal States remained financially poor.

^ For the correct biographical information, date and place of birth and surname, see Ph. Boutry, Souverain et Pontife. Recherche prosographiques sur la Curie romaine à l'age de la Restauration (1814–1846), Roma, Ecole francaise, 2002. pp. 359–361.

[1] For the correct biographical information, date and place of birth and surname, see Ph. Boutry, Souverain et Pontife. Recherche prosographiques sur la Curie romaine à l'age de la Restauration (1814–1846), Roma, Ecole francaise, 2002. pp. 359–361.

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