Innocent XI

Innocent XI., Pope (1611-89), Benedict Odescalchi, born at Como, after serving as a soldier became a priest, and on the death of Clement X. (1676) was elected Pope. He was distinguished for his efforts to reform the administration and the morals of the Papal court, and for his opposition to the Jesuits. Louis XIV. quarrelled with him for abolishing the sanctuary allowed in the privileged quarters round the residences of some ambassadors in Rome, with the result that Papal pretensions received a severe check in France, and that the Pope preferred the cause of William of Orange to that of Louis' protege, James II.