Pope Clement XIV

Pope Clement XIV, born Giovanni Vincenzo Agnoletto in 1705, was the head of the Catholic Church from 1769 to 1774. He is most known for his decisive act in 1773, when he abolished the Jesuits—a powerful Catholic religious order—due to political and social pressures, despite their influence and contributions to education and missions. His papacy was marked by efforts to maintain church unity and address internal conflicts. Clement XIV's tenure was short, and he died in 1774 at the age of 69, remembered for his diplomatic skills and controversial suppression of the Jesuits.