He was from a Florentine family, and followed his father as a canon lawyer, becoming an Auditor (judge) of the Roman Rota, the highest ecclesiastical court constituted by the Holy See. He was only ordained as a priest … See more

Clementine Vulgate
In November 1592, he published the Clementine Vulgate. It was issued with the Bull Cum Sacrorum (9 November 1592) which asserted that every subsequent edition must be assimilated to this one, that no word of the … See more

Law enforcement
Clement VIII was as vigorous as Pope Sixtus V (1585–90) in crushing banditry in the papal provinces … See more

Coffee aficionados often claim that the spread of its popularity among Catholics is due to Pope Clement VIII's influence. Responding to opposition to coffee as "Satan's drink", with the pope's advisers asking him to denounce the beverage. However, upon … See more

He was made Cardinal-Priest of S. Pancrazio in 1585 by Pope Sixtus V, who named him major penitentiary in January 1586 and in 1588 sent him as legate in Poland. He placed himself under the spiritual direction of the reformer Saint Philip Neri, … See more

Relations with France and Spain
The most remarkable event of Clement VIII's reign was the reconciliation to the Church of See more

Clement VIII was afflicted by gout, using a wheelchair by the late 1590s, and was forced to spend much of his later life immobilized in bed. He suddenly became ill on 10 February 1605 and his condition rapidly deteriorated over the next few weeks. He died on … See more