Pope Alexander VI was the most corrupt Pope to have ever lived. His corrupt political policy as Pope was a large precursor to the beginning of the protestant reformation in 1536 and in many ways his corrupt reign also directly influenced the beginning of the Protestant reformation. He was condemned by many for disregarding his priestly vows of celibacy and by placing political goals over his spiritual leadership. Pope Alexander VI also shocked many people during the 1500's by openly announcing the fact that he had several illegitimate children. Pope Alexander was additionally widely acclaimed for his practices of simony, the selling of indulgences, and nepotism. Furthermore, Pope Alexander VI wrote some of the most controversial papal bulls of all time like the Inter Caetera, which was a precursor to the Treaty of Tordesillas. .
The future Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, was a corrupt individual even before he had become Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. To show some of the most significant ways that Rodrigo was corrupt even before he was Pope, I have summarized some of his early life as religious leader and future Pope. Rodrigo began his political reign in 1456 when he was made Cardinal Deacon of St. Nicolo in Carcere. Interestingly enough, Rodrigo was only 25 years old when his uncle Pope Callixtus III promoted him to Cardinal Deacon in Carcere. Subsequently, Rodrigo was also given an official position in the Roman Curia by his Uncle Callixtus III as Vice Chancellor of the Roman Catholic Church. The first confrontation that Rodrigo had received that spoke out against him was when he was twenty-nine. In this confrontation, Pope Pius II realized the corruption of the young Rodrigo and wrote a letter to Rodrigo for his misconduct in Sienna and also wrote saying that Rodrigo often drank, gambled, and even often visited brothels (a house of "legal " prostitutes in Italy), even though Rodrigo had been ordained as Priest in 1468.
