HADRIAN VI

(1459–1523)

Pope (R. 1522–1523) of Dutch descent, born Adriaan Florisz Boeyens in Utrecht. He was educated by the Brethren of the Common Life (founded by Geert Groote) in the city of Zwolle. In 1491, Boeyens was appointed professor of theology at the University of Louvain. In 1507, he was chosen as a tutor of the young future emperor Charles V and served from 1512 as privy councilor to Charles’s aunt, Margaret of Austria, governor of the Low Countries. He was appointed bishop of Tortosa in 1516 and was made a cardinal in 1517. Boeyens published several books on theological subjects. He tried to neutralize Martin Luther’s Refor mation movement by reforming the church from within. Hadrian VI was the last non-Italian to be elected pope until John Paul II in 1978.