Voting Station

Pope Sixtus V

Please vote to see the next celebrity.

Religious Figure

The Resume

    (December 13, 1521-August 27, 1590)
    Born in Grottammare, Italy
    Birth name was Felice Piergentile
    228th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
    Excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England and King Henri IV of France

Why he might be annoying:

    He was recalled from his post in Venice as Inquisitor General for being too severe (1560).
    He had nuns and priests executed if they broke their vows of chastity.
    He tried (but failed) to revise Roman laws to impose the death penalty for adultery.
    His rebuilding program for Rome destroyed several ancient buildings and monuments.
    He jacked up taxes in the Papal States.
    He also raised money by selling off Church offices.
    He tried unsuccessfully to put his nephew on the throne of France.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He restored law and order in the Papal States, which had fallen into chaos under his predecessor.
    He personally approved the printing of an improved edition of St. Jerome’s Vulgate Bible, said to be ‘as splendid a translation of the Bible into Latin as the King James version is into English.’
    He restored several Imperial Roman aqueducts and improved the city’s water supply.
    He began the draining of the Pontine Marshes – a frequent source of malaria outbreaks – and reclaiming the land for agriculture.
    His reorganization of the Church administration would remain largely unchanged until the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 172 Votes: 48.84% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 22 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 8 Votes: 0% Annoying