9*2 INN 
ternal eftate, faying, that he could bellow upon him what 
was his own, but not what was St. Peter’s. Innocent 
aifo endeavoured to fupprefs forne of the grofs fuperfti- 
tions which reigned in the Romiffichurch. Among thefe 
was that of the office of the immaculate conception ; the 
religious veneration of a hermit, called Anthony Cala, in 
the kingdom of Naples; and a multitude of ridiculous 
^iid pernicious indulgences. He likewife attempted, by 
wife inftitutions and judicious regulations, to reform 
the manners of the clergy, and to ftem the torrent of li¬ 
centious morals among the laity. 
In the year 1678, Innocent and the king of France be¬ 
came embroiled in a controverfy, which terminated in a 
meafure fatal to the authority of Rome in that kingdom. 
The fubjedl of it was a right called in France the regale, 
by which the king claimed the collation to all benefices 
which became vacant in the diocefe of a deceafed bifhop 
before the nomination of his fucceffor, and likewife, the 
granting of the inveftiture to every new biffiop, and re¬ 
quiring him on that occafion to fwear allegiance to him 
as his liege-lord. Thefe claims were vigoroufly oppofed 
by the pope, and maintained with no lefs vigour by the 
king. The pontiff fent forth his bulls and mandates ; 
the monarch oppofed their-execution by the terror of pe¬ 
nal laws, and the authority of fevere edifts againft all who 
Ihould dare to treat them with the fmalleft regard. When 
the pontiff' refuted to confirm the biffiops who were no¬ 
minated by the monarch, the latter took care to have 
them confecrated and induced into their refpeftive fees ; 
and thus, in fome meafure, declared to the world, that 
the Gallican church could govern itfelf without the in¬ 
tervention of the Roman pontiff. Innocent, who pof- 
feffed a high fpirit, and purfued all his purpofes with in¬ 
flexible firmnefs, did not lofe courage at the fight of thefe 
vigorous proceedings; but threatened the monarch with 
the divine vengeance, iffued bull after bull, and exhibit¬ 
ed much of the intrepidity which had formerly diftin- 
guifhed the lordly rulers of the Rornifh church. His ob- 
Itinacy, however, only increafed the indignation and re¬ 
sentment of Louis. And accordingly, that monarch futn- 
raoned the famous aflembly of bifhops, which met at Pa¬ 
ris, in the year 1682, and drew up the Four celebrated 
Propofitions, declaring the power of the pope tp be mere¬ 
ly fpiritual, and alfo inferior to that of a general council ; 
and maintaining the inviolability of the rules, inftitutions, 
and obfervances, of the Gallican church. Thefe propofi¬ 
tions were folemnly adopted by the whole aflembly, and 
propofed to the whole body of the clergy, and to all the 
univerfities throughout the kingdom, as a facred rule of 
faith. At the fame time the king iffued bn edifl, com¬ 
manding all his fubjefts to receive them, with a ftrift pro¬ 
hibition againft affertingor maintaining the contrary doc¬ 
trine. Innocent did not think it advii'eable to proceed to 
extremities againft the authors of filch a decifion, backed 
by fo formidable a fupporter; he, therefore, contented 
himfelf with declaring all the tranfaflions of the aflembly 
null and void ; reprimanding the biffiops for abandoning 
the caufe of the church ; and employing learned cham¬ 
pions to defend the papal claims both in public and pri¬ 
vate. Innocent died in 1689, after prefiding over the 
Roman fee twelve years and fix months. He was not 
learned, but he was virtuous, and pious toaufterity ; and, 
on account of his zeal for the reformation of abufes, 
the improvement of morals, as well as the-reftoration of 
difcipli.ne in the church, though, perhaps, in fome in- 
ftances carried too far, he is defervediy claffed among the 
belt of the popeg. 
IN'NOCENT XII. (pope), originally called Anthony 
Pignatelli, was defeended from an illuftrious family at 
Naples, and bom there in the year 1615. After being 
educated to the church, he was introduced at the court 
of Rome under the pontificate of Urban VIII. His firft 
appointment was to the office of inquifitor at Malta ; 
whence he was preferred to the government of Viterbo. 
Afteovards Ire fuftained the character of papal nuncio at 
T N N 
Florence, in Poland, and at Vienna; was nominated blfliop 
of Lecce; appointed fecretary to the congregation of bi¬ 
ffiops and regular clergy; and made mafter of the cham¬ 
ber to pope Clement X. He filled the fame poll under 
Innocent XI. who created him biilrop of Faenza, and le¬ 
gate to.Bologna; and finally preferred him to the arch- 
biffiopric of Naples, and a feat in the facred college, in. 
the year 1681. After the death of Alexander VIII. in 
the year 1691, the conclave was agitated by the intrigues 
of different contending parties between five and fix months, 
till at length the election fell upon the cardinal archbi- 
ffiop, who took the name of Innocent XII. In imitation 
of the good example of pope Innocent XI. he applied 
himfelf to the reformation of the church and court of 
Rome. The wealth which many of his predeceffors had 
been accuftomed to accumulate, or to bellow on their 
wort'nlefs relatives, he devoted to the public benefit, em¬ 
ploying it in the erection of holpitals, and other ufeful 
inftitutions, and, particularly, on the improvement of .the 
ports of Anzio and Nettuno. In the year 1693, he con¬ 
demned the Four Propofitions fubferibed by the Gallican 
church in the pontificate of Innocent XI. and the king, 
from motives of temporary policy, was now induced to 
leave the Gallican clergy to his mercy, who, in order to 
make their peace with the pontiff, were obliged fora time 
to renounce the doflrine which not many years before 
they had folemnly ellablilhed. In the year 1699, he iffued 
a public brief of cenfure againft the celebrated Fenelon’s 
treatife, entitled, Explication des Maximes des Saints fur la 
Vie interieure ; in which that excellent prelate acquiefced, 
without allowing any of his friends to defend what the 
pope had condemned. Innocent died in 1700, at the ad¬ 
vanced age of eighty-five, after prefiding over the Roman 
church nine years and between two and three months. 
He was-a man who rendered himfelf univerfally refpecled 
by his eminent talents, and univerfally beloved by his dif- 
tinguiflied virtues. 
IN'NOCENT XIII. (pope), formerly known by the 
name of Michael-Angelo Conti, was thefon of Charles 
Conti, duke of Poli, a branch of one of the mod illuf¬ 
trious noble families at Rome, where the lubjeft of this 
article was born in the year 1655. The firft poll which 
he filled under the papal adminiftration, was that of go¬ 
vernor of Viterbo, to -which lie was appointed in the year 
1693. Two years afterwards he was created titular 
archbiffiop of Tarfus, and fent legate to the Swifs catholic 
cantons. In the year 1698, he went in the character of 
nuncio to the court of Liibon, where he Hill refided when 
he was promoted to-the purple in 1707, and afterwards 
till 1711, when he returned to Italy. In the follow¬ 
ing year he was prefented to the biffiopric of Viterbo, 
which he voluntarily refigned in 1719. He was unani- 
moully elected fucceffor to Clement XI. in the papal dig¬ 
nity, in the year 1721, when he took the name of Inno¬ 
cent XIII. out of refpefl to the memory of Innocent III. 
the mod illuftrious of the feven popes who had before 
been chofen from different branches of the Conti family. 
He was a man eminent for w'ifdom, virtue, and learning, 
and had diftinguifted himfelf, when a cardinal, above 
moft of the members of the facred college; but the infir¬ 
mities, to which he had been for fome years fubjeft, pre¬ 
vented him from diftinguiftiing his pontificate by any ac¬ 
tions which are worthy-of being recorded. He died in 
1724, when in the fixty-ninth year of his age, two years 
and nearly ten months aftdr his election to the papacy. At 
the time of his death, many of his relations filled feveral 
of the principal offices in the Roman church ahd ftate. 
IN'NOCENTLY, adv. Without guilt.—The humble 
and contented man pleafes himfelf innocently and eafily* 
. while the ambitious man attempts to pleafe others fin- 
fully and difficultly. South.— With fimplicity ; with filli- 
nefs or imprudence.—Without hurt;—Balls at his feet lay 
innocently dead. Cowley. 
INNOCENTS’ DAY, a feftivalof the Chriftian church, 
obierved on December 28, in memory of the maflacre of 
the- 
