Clement XII
Lorenzo Corsini · 1730 – 1740
Blind and bedridden for much of his pontificate, he nevertheless built the Trevi Fountain facade and issued the first papal condemnation of Freemasonry.
Lorenzo Corsini became pope in 1730 at age seventy-eight. He went blind within two years and was often bedridden, yet he governed for a decade. He condemned Freemasonry in 'In eminenti' (1738), the first papal document on the subject. He opened the Capitoline Museums to the public and commissioned the famous facade of the Trevi Fountain. He also tried to clean up the financial mess left by Benedict XIII's corrupt secretary.
Why He Matters
Clement XII governed blind and often bedridden, yet he left Rome more beautiful than he found it and addressed financial corruption head-on. His condemnation of Freemasonry set a position the Church would maintain for centuries.