Pope Innocent VIII

Pope Innocent VIII (Latin: Innocentius Octavus; 1432 – July 25, 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cibo, was an Italian cleric of the Roman Catholic Church and the 214th Pope from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492.^[2]

Pope Innocent VIII
Bishop of Rome
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	29 August 1484
Papacy ended	25 July 1492
Predecessor	Sixtus IV
Successor	Alexander VI
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Savona (1466–1472) Bishop of Molfetta (1472–1484) Cardinal-Priest of Santa Balbina (1473–1474) Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia (1474–1484) Camerlengo of the College of Cardinals (1482; 1484)
Orders
Ordination	c. 1450
Consecration	28 January 1467
Created cardinal	7 May 1473 by Sixtus IV
Personal details
Born	Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo) 5 November[1] 1432 Genoa, Republic of Genoa
Died	25 July 1492(1492-07-25) (aged 59–60) Rome, Papal States
Coat of arms
Other popes named Innocent

Papal styles of Pope Innocent VIII
Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Holy Father
Posthumous style	None

Early years

In 1432, Giovanni Battista Cybo was born in Genoa, the son of Arano Cybo and wife Teodorina de Mari. His father was from an old Genoese family of Greek ancestry,^[3] a viceroy of Naples and then a senator in Rome under Pope Calixtus III. Giovanni Battista's early years were spent at the Neapolitan court. While in Naples he was appointed a Canon of the Cathedral of Capua, and was given the Priory of Santa Maria d'Arba in Genoa.^[4] After the death of King Alfonso (1458), friction between Giovanni Battista and the Archbishop of Genoa induced him to resign his canonry, and to go to Padua and then to Rome for his education.

Early career

In Rome he became a priest in the retinue of Cardinal Calandrini, half-brother to Pope Nicholas V (1447–55). In 1467, he was made Bishop of Savona by Pope Paul II, but exchanged this see in 1472 for that of Molfetta in south-eastern Italy. In 1473, with the support of Giuliano Della Rovere, later Pope Julius II, he was made cardinal by Pope Sixtus IV, whom he succeeded on 29 August 1484 as Pope Innocent VIII.^[5]'

Bishop

Pope Paul II made Cibo the Bishop of Savona in 1467. He was made Bishop of Molfetta in 1472.^[6]

Cardinal

In 1473, Pope Sixtus IV raised Cibo to the rank of cardinal.^[6]

Pope

Cardinal Cibo was elected pope on August 29, 1484;^[6] and he chose to be called Innocent VIII.

Pope Innocent was involved in Italian and European political disputes.^[6]

Papal actions

• 1486 – Henry VII of England confirmed as king^[7]
• 1487 – Tomás de Torquemada made grand inquisitor of Spain.^[7]
• 1492 – Ferdinand II of Aragon awarded the epithet "Catholic Majesty " after the Moors left Granada^[6]

Related pages

• List of popes