Of all the Medici, Leo X was the most notorious! He steered the barque of Peter from March 1513 through December 1521. Groomed as a young and powerful man, he assumed the papacy and is famously known for asserting power on the seat of Peter when he said, “God has been pleased to give us the papacy, let us enjoy it.” That quote has since echoed through the centuries, demonstrating the corruption of Church power.

He had a cruel sense of humor. His lack of leadership and pastoral charity led him to butting heads with an Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, which split the Church over the Lutheran doctrine opposing the sale of indulgences.

Leo X was the patron of the arts, bringing it to the center stage of the life of the Church. Leo X gave us the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel, which adorned the papal palace, and brought Michelangelo and Raphael to the center of global attention. Raphael is the master who painted the portrait above, which resides in Florence.

Leo X was the last Renaissance pope and the final pope who viewed the papacy as a temporal monarchy. His legacy, as complex as it is, reassures me that the Spirit of God remains with the Church, even through her most corrupt pastoral leaders, sustaining her through the fire.