Niccolò Sfondrati, one of Philip II’s candidates,…
December 1590 CE
Niccolò Sfondrati, one of Philip II’s candidates, had been born in 1535 at Somma Lombardo, then part of the Duchy of Milan), in the highest stratum of Milanese society.
His mother, of the house of Visconti, died in childbirth; his father Francesco, a senator of the ancient commune of Milan, had in 1544 been created Cardinal-Priest by Pope Paul III .
Known for his modest lifestyle and stringent piety, Niccolò studied at Perugia and Padua, was ordained as a priest, and swiftly appointed Bishop of Cremona, in 1560, in time to participate in the sessions of the Council of Trent from 1561 to 1563.
Pope Gregory XIII had made him a Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in 1583.
He had been a close follower of Carlo Cardinal Borromeo, and when cardinal he celebrated the Requiem Mass for Borromeo in 1584; he is also an intimate friend and a great admirer of Italian priest Philip Neri.
Sfondrati, who had not aspired to the papal office, is after two months of deadlock elected pope on December 5, 1590.
Alessandro Cardinal Montalto comes to Sfondrati's cell to inform him that the Sacred College has agreed on his election and finds him kneeling in prayer before a crucifix.
On the next day he is elected Pope Gregory XIV.
Bursting into tears, he says to the cardinals: "God forgive you! What have you done?"