page_title: Pope Julius II
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: Pope Julius II / Death
caption_attribution_description: English: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Tomb (1505-1545) for Julius II, San Pietro in Vincoli (Rome) Deutsch: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Grabmal (1505 bis 1545) für Julius II., San Pietro in Vincoli (Rom)
context_page_description: Pope Julius II was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the Fearsome Pope, he chose his papal name not in honour of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar. One of the most powerful and influential popes, Julius II was a central figure of the High Renaissance and left a significant cultural and political legacy.
  Julius II became Pope in the context of the Italian Wars, a period in which the major powers of Europe fought for primacy in the Italian peninsula. Louis XII of France controlled the Duchy of Milan, previously held by the Sforzas, and French influence had replaced that of the Medici in the Republic of Florence. The Kingdom of Naples was under Spanish rule, and the Borja family from Spain was a major political faction in the Papal States following the reign of Alexander VI. The Archduke of Austria Maximilian I was hostile to France and Venice, and desired to descend in Italy in order to obtain the Papal coronation as Holy Roman Emperor.
context_section_description: On the Vigil of Pentecost in May 1512, Pope Julius, aware that he was seriously ill and that his health was failing, despite comments on the part of some cardinals about how well he looked, remarked to Paris de Grassis, "They are flattering me; I know better; my strength diminishes from day to day and I cannot live much longer. Therefore I beg you not to expect me at Vespers or at Mass from henceforth." Nonetheless, he continued his restless activities, including Masses, visits to churches, and audiences. On the morning of 24 June Paris found the Pope debilem et semifebricantem. On Christmas Eve, Julius ordered Paris to summon the College of Cardinals and the Sacristan of the Apostolic Palace, quia erat sic infirmus, quod non-speraret posse diu supravivere. From then until 6 January he was confined to bed, and most of the time with a fever; he had lost his appetite, but the doctors were unable to diagnose his languor. On 4 February he had an extensive conversation with Paris concerning the arrangements for his funeral.
  Pope Julius was reported to be seriously ill in a dispatch received in Venice on 10 February 1513. He received Holy Communion and was granted the plenary indulgence on the morning of 19 February, according to the Venetian Ambassador. On the 20th, according to Paris de Grassis, he received Holy Communion from the hands of Cardinal Raffaele Riario, the Camerlengo. He died of a fever in the night of 20–21 February 1513.
  On the evening of 21 February, Paris de Grassis conducted the funeral of Julius II, even though the Canons of the Vatican Basilica and the beneficiati refused to cooperate. The body was placed for a time at the Altar of Saint Andrew in the Basilica and was then carried by the Imperial Ambassador, the papal Datary, and two of Paris' assistants to the altar of the Chapel of Pope Sixtus, where the Vicar of the Vatican Basilica performed the final absolution. At the third hour of the evening, the body was laid in a sepulcher between the altar and the wall of the tribune.
  Despite the fact that the so-called "Tomb of Julius" by Michelangelo is in San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome, Julius is in fact buried in the Vatican. Michelangelo's tomb was not completed until 1545 and represents a much-abbreviated version of the planned original, which was initially intended for the new St. Peter's Basilica. His remains lay alongside his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, but were later desecrated during the Sack of Rome in 1527. Today both men lie in St. Peter's Basilica on the floor in front of the monument to Pope Clement X. A simple marble tombstone marks the site. Julius II was succeeded by Pope Leo X.
caption: The monument of Julius II, with Michelangelo's statues of Moses, with Rachel and Leah
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