Pope Innocent XIII (
13 May,
1655 –
7 March,
1724) was pope from 1721 until his death.
He was born
Michelangelo Conti in
Poli, near
Rome. Like
Pope Innocent III (1198–1216),
Pope Gregory IX (1227–1241) and
Pope Alexander IV (1254-1261), he was a member of the family of the Conti, counts and dukes of Segni. He included the family crest in his Pontifical coats of arms.
He became
Cardinal-Priest of
Santi Quirico e Giulitta under
Pope Clement XI (1700–21) in 1706. From 1697 to 1710 he acted as papal
nuncio to the Kingdom of
Portugal, where he is believed to have formed those unfavourable impressions of the
Jesuits which afterwards influenced his conduct towards them. In 1721 his high reputation for ability, learning, purity, and a kindly disposition secured his election to succeed Clement XI as Pope Innocent XIII. His pontificate was prosperous, but comparatively uneventful.
Innocent XIII prohibited the Jesuits from prosecuting their mission in
China, and ordered that no new members should be received into the order. This indication of his sympathies encouraged some
French bishops to approach him with a petition for the recall of the
bull Unigenitus by which
Jansenism had been condemned; the request, however, was peremptorily denied.
Innocent XIII, like his predecessor, showed much favour to
James Francis Edward Stuart, the "Old Pretender" to the British throne and liberally supported him. The Pope's cousin, Francesco Maria Conti, from
Siena, became chamberlain of James' little court in the Roman
Muti Palace.