Pope Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally accepted civil calendar to this day.
Portrait by Bartolomeo Passarotti (c. 1586, Friedenstein Palace, Gotha)
Portrait of Gregory XIII by Lavinia Fontana (oil on canvas, private collection)
Detail of the tomb of Pope Gregory XIII celebrating the introduction of the Gregorian calendar.
Ugonottorum Strages medal
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull Inter gravissimas issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years differently so as to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long, more closely approximating the 365.2422-day 'tropical' or 'solar' year that is determined by the Earth's revolution around the Sun.
Christopher Clavius (1538–1612), one of the main authors of the reform
Pope Gregory XIII, portrait by Lavinia Fontana, 16C
First page of the papal bull Inter gravissimas
Detail of the pope's tomb by Camillo Rusconi (completed 1723); Antonio Lilio is genuflecting before the pope, presenting his printed calendar.
