The Nephew of Pius II becomes Pius III, a decent old man and a short papacy. Listen to Fr. Conrad Murphy discuss the 8th shortest papacy in the History of the Church. Pope Pius III, nephew to Pope Pius II, was born Francesco Todeschnini Piccolomini on May 9th 1439 in Siena, Italy into the Italian noble family, the Piccolominis, known for their great wealth built through trade and who created merchant banks in Venice, Genoa, Trieste, Aquileia, as well as in some cities in France and Germany. Pope Pius II appointed Francesco a cardinal of the Church on March 5, 1460. He was later elected pope on September 22, 1503 after Pope Alexander VI died. Interestingly enough, Francesco was never ordained a priest and remained in the diaconal orders until September 30, following his election as pope. He was ordained by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere in the halls of the papal palace. The elected pope’s ulcerous leg made it impossible for him to stand during the ordination. On October 1, he was then ordained a bishop by della Rovere. Being already a frail old man at the time of his election, he was in office for only 27 days, and died on October 18, 1503. He was buried in the chapel of San Andrea in Saint Peter’s Basilica, next to his uncle, Pope Pius II. When the basilica was being rebuilt, his and Pope Pius II’s remains were moved to the church of San Andrea della Valle in Rome.
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