Pope Alexander VI - A doomed pope?

[Bob Crowley]

Pope Alexander VI was one of the most corrupt popes to hold the sea of Peter.

Pope Alexander VI - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Alexander is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. As a result, his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate.

Of Alexander's many mistresses, one of his favourites was Vannozza dei Cattanei, born in 1442, and who was married to three different men. The relationship began in 1470, and she had four children whom the pope openly acknowledged as his own: Cesare (born 1475), Giovanni, afterwards duke of Gandia (commonly known as Juan, born 1474 or 1476), Lucrezia (born 1480), and Gioffre (Goffredo in Italian, born 1481 or 1482).

Rodrigo only legitimized his children after becoming pope. He had pretended that his four children with Vannozza were his niece and nephews and that they were fathered by Vannozza's husbands.[53] G. J. Meyer argued that the birth dates of the four children in comparison with Alexander's known whereabouts preclude him from having fathered any of them. His "acknowledgement" merely consisted of addressing them as "beloved son / daughter" in correspondence (while applying the same address to, e.g., Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the same letter).[3]

Another mistress was the beautiful Giulia Farnese ("Giulia la Bella"), wife of Orsino Orsini. Giulia was mother of Laura Orsini, born in 1492, probably daughter of Alexander. However, he still loved Vannozza and his children by her. Caring for them proved the determining factor of his whole career. He lavished vast sums on them. Vannozza lived in the Palace of a late Cardinal, or in a large, palatial villa. The children lived between their mother's home and the Papal Palace itself.[36]

I was reading a passage from Butler's "Saint of the Day" last night. For the 18th June it was "Blessed Osanna of Mantua", who lived from 1449 to 1505. Alexander was Pope from 1492 to 1503, towards the end of her life.

The passage stated "She was deeply distressed by the state of the Church under the dissolute Borgia Pope Alexander VI and prayed to Our Lady and the saints for his salvation, but ti seems that he was beyond even their intercession, for "God ever kept motionless, with aspect and countenance of wrath, and he gave no reply to anyone who prayed; not to the Madonna, not to the apostles, not to my soul".

It would appear that as far as God was concerned, Alexander VI was finished - doomed if you like. Being Pope was no guarantee of God's favour.