Pope Paul V (1550-1621) served as leader of the Roman Catholic Church for almost 16 years (1605-1621). Educated as a lawyer, he was a renowned expert on canon law. As pope, he often mediated political conflicts and sometimes was at the center of disputes, such as one with Venice in 1606 that almost escalated into a war. One of his major accomplishments was completing the construction of the Vatican. He was most famous for clashing with Galileo, forbidding him to publicly support the Copernican theory of the universe.

Early Life and Career

Pope Paul V was born as Camillo Borghese in Rome, Italy, on September 17, 1550. He was a descendent of an influential noble family of Siena. Family members claimed they were related to Saint Catherine, the great mystic. Paul V studied philosophy and law at Perugia and Padua and became an expert canon lawyer. In 1588 he was sent by Pope...