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* Protestant [[Reformation]]
* [[Council of Trent]]
* [[Pope Paul III]] | [[Pope Paul IV]] | [[Pope Pius V]] | [[Pope Sixtus V]]
* [[Jesuits]]
{{opinions}}
The Council, by virtue of its actions, repudiated the pluralism of the Secular Renaissance Church: the organization of religious institutions was tightened, discipline was improved, and the parish was emphasized. The appointment of Bishops for political reasons was no longer tolerated. In the past, the large landholdings forced many bishops to be "absent bishops" who at times were property managers trained in administration. Thus, the Council of Trent combated "absenteeism," which was the practice of bishops living in Rome or on landed estates rather than in their dioceses. The Council of Trent also gave bishops greater power to supervise all aspects of religious life. Zealous prelates such as Milan's Archbishop [[Carlo Borromeo]] (1538-1584), later canonized as a saint, set an example by visiting the remotest parishes and instilling high standards. At the parish level, the seminary-trained clergy who took over in most places during the course of the seventeenth century were overwhelmingly faithful to the church's rule of celibacy.
===[[Pope Paul IV]]===
Pope Paul IV (1555-1559) is sometimes deemed the first of the Counter-Reformation popes. He had resolute determination to eliminate [[Protestantism]] - and the ineffectual institutional practices of the Church that contributed to its appeal. Two of his key strategies were the [[Inquisition]] and censorship of prohibited books. In this sense, his aggressive and autocratic efforts of renewal greatly reflected the strategies of earlier reform movements, especially the legalist and observantine sides: burning heretics and strict emphasis on [[Canon law]]. It also reflected the rapid pace toward absolutism that characterized the sixteenth century.
While the aggressive authoritarian approach was arguably destructive of personal religious experience, a new wave of reforms and orders conveyed a strong devotional side. Devotionalism provided an individual outlet for religious experience, for example, through meditation by reciting of the Rosary. The devotional side of the Counter-Reformation combined two strategies of Catholic Renewal. For one, the emphasis of God as an unknowable absolute ruler - a God to be feared - coincided well with the aggressive absolutism of the Church of Paul IV. But it also opened up new paths toward popular piety and individual religious experience to its strong emotional and psychological side.
===[[Pope Pius V]]===
The papacy of Pius V (1566-1572) represented a strong effort not only to crack down against heretics and worldly abuses within the Church, but also to improve popular piety in a determined effort to stem the appeal of [[Protestantism]]. A man of impoverished upbringing taken in by the Dominicans, he was trained in a solid and austere piety. He began his pontificate by giving large alms to the poor, charity, and hospitals rather than focusing on patronage. As pontiff he practiced the virtues of a monk, known for daily meditations on bent knees in presence of the [[Blessed Sacrament]]. Pius V sought to improve the public morality of the Church, promote the [[Jesuits]], and support the [[Inquisition]]. He enforced the observance of the discipline of the [[Council of Trent]], and supported the missions of the [[New World]]. The [[Spanish Inquisition]], brought under the direction of the absolutist Spanish state since Ferdinand and Isabella, stemmed the growth of heresy before it could spread.
===[[Pope Sixtus V]]===
The pontificate of Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) opened up the final stage of the Counter Reformation. His reign focused on rebuilding [[Rome]] as a great European capital and Baroque city, a visual symbol for the Catholic Church.
===Orders==
New religious orders were a fundamental part of the Counter Reformation. Orders such as the [[Capuchins]], [[Ursulines]], [[Theatines]], the [[Barnabites]], and especially the [[Jesuits]] strengthened rural parishes, improved popular piety, helped to curb corruption within the church, and set examples that would be a strong impetus for Catholic renewal.
The Jesuits, founded by the Spanish nobleman and ex-soldier [[Ignatius of Loyola]] (1491-1556), were the most effective of the new Catholic orders. His Societas de Jesus was founded in 1534 and received papal authorization in 1540 under [[Pope Paul III]]. An heir to the devotional, observantine, and legalist traditions, the Jesuits organized their order along military lines, they strongly reflected the autocratic zeal of the period. Characterized by careful selection, rigorous training, and iron discipline, the worldliness of the Renaissance Church had no part in the new order. Loyola's masterwork [[Spiritual Exercises]] reflected the emphasis of handbooks characteristic of the earlier generation of Catholics before the [[Reformation]]. The great psychological penetration that it conveyed was strongly reminiscent of devotionalism. However, the Jesuits are really the heirs to the observantine reform tradition, taking strong monastic vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty and setting an example that improved the effectiveness of the entire Church. They became preachers, confessors to monarchs and princes. Their efforts stemmed [[Protestantism]] in [[Poland]], [[Bohemia]], [[Hungary]], southern [[Germany]], [[France]], and the Spanish Netherlands. They also strongly participated in the expansion of the Church in the [[Americas]] and [[Asia]], conducting efforts in missionary activity that outpaced [[Protestantism]]. Even Loyola's biography contributed to the new emphasis on popular piety that had been waning under the eras of politically oriented popes such as Alexander VI and Leo X. After recovering from a severe battle wound, he took a vow to "serve only God and the Roman pontiff, His vicar on earth." Once again, the emphasis on the [[Pope]] is a key reaffirmation of the Medieval Church as the [[Council of Trent]] firmly defeated all attempts of [[Conciliarism]], the belief that general councils of the church collectively were God's representative on earth, rather than the Pope. Firmly legitimizing the new role of the Pope as an absolute ruler strongly characteristic of the new age of absolutism ushered in by the sixteenth century, the Jesuits strongly contributed to the reinvigoration of the Counter-Reformation Church.
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