Innocent VIII
Giovanni Battista Cybo · 1484 – 1492
A Renaissance pope remembered for acknowledging his illegitimate children and issuing the bull that intensified witch trials in Europe.
Giovanni Battista Cybo was a Genoese nobleman who became pope in 1484. He was the first pope to publicly acknowledge his illegitimate children, a sign of the moral laxity of the Renaissance papacy. His bull 'Summis desiderantes affectibus' (1484) authorized inquisitors to pursue witchcraft in Germany, helping launch the witch-hunting craze. He also received the Ottoman prince Djem as a hostage. His pontificate illustrates the Renaissance papacy at its most worldly.
Why He Matters
Innocent VIII's papacy is a sobering chapter in Church history. His authorization of witch trials contributed to suffering across Europe. The Church has since acknowledged the injustices of this period.