Pope Benedict Pius Innocent, Mr.

a humorous reference to Pope Clement VII, Pope of the Catholic church from 1523-1534, who had shown himself to be unaware of the growing menace to his church from the Reformation, a religious movement that was attempting to reform the Roman Catholic Church. Further, he had aligned himself against Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1519-1558) resulting in poor relations. Charles V had Rome sacked in 1527 and Pope Clement was held prisoner for some months in one of his own castles. Later in the same year, he denied a divorce to Henry VIII, King of England, which ultimately resulted in the separation of England from the Catholic church.

See also Henry the VIII in this glossary.