Above is a photo of the tomb of Pope Leo XI, who reigned at the helm of Peter for only 27 days. His tomb is bookended by the personification of virtue and liberty.

Leo XI was a Medici, the grandnephew of Leo X. Unlike his granduncle, he did not reign as a papal prince, yet shared his granduncle’s love of the arts and literature.

Leo XI worked on reforms to the Tridentine Rite and on the conversion of Henry IV of France to the Church, thereby strengthening relations between France and the Vatican.

While already elderly and ill when assuming the Chair of Peter, Leo XI is a reminder of how God uses us for the good at all stages in life, no matter how long or brief.