1527, "The Sack of Rome"
      In the year 1527, Europe was in turmoil. The Protestant Revolt had torn society apart and most of the major rulers of the day were more concerned with personal gain than fighting to restore Christendom. Christianity itself was in a state of crisis. The Protestant Revolt, while wrong in itself, was not without valid grounds for protest. Corruption was widespread among the Church leadership, giving men like Martin Luther plenty of ammunition for encouraging rebellion.
       Because of this crisis, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V asked for a general council to be called that would address the many problems within the Church. The Throne of Peter at this time was occupied by Pope Clement VII, a man whose greatest mistakes were nothing that he did, but rather, what he failed to do. Personally, Clement VII was of the highest moral character and had a true love for the Church and the freedom of his Italian homeland. However, he was woefully indecisive and unreliable. Although he first allied with Emperor Charles V, he continuously put off calling a council throughout his reign. His inaction spelled greater success for the Protestant uprisings and eventually the Emperor was worn down fighting them and obliged to make peace with the enemies of the Church. His political unreliability also cost Europe dearly.
H.H. Pope Clement VII
      Rather than presenting a united front against the internal and external threats facing Christian Europe, the supposedly Catholic King of France, Francis I, attacked the Holy Roman territories in northern Italy. Pope Clement VII was inclined to favor Francis I as a means of hopefully restoring more of Italy to Italian control. However, the Emperor defeated the French and the world was faced with the tragic case of the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire on opposite political sides. In 1527 the French launched the Second Italian War, and Emperor Charles V was again obliged to send his armies south. However, confronted by enemies on all sides, most of the troops available were German and Spanish mercenaries. Most were, in fact, German Lutherans, who hated the Catholic Church and were none too fond of their own devoutly Catholic Emperor. Because of the extreme financial stress on the imperial government, the salaries of the troops did not arrive in time. All of these factors worked together to spark the horrific 'Sack of Rome'.
      From May 6, the defenseless city of Rome was terrorized and the citizens murdered. The only force to oppose the imperial troops was the small but steadfastly loyal Papal Swiss Guard. While defending the Vatican, 142 Swiss Guards were killed, including their commander, in order to buy time for a dettachment of Guards to escort Pope Clement VII along a fortified wall to Castel Sant Angelo. The brave Swiss Guards lost one fourth of their number, but managed to take eight hundred German troops with them in the battle. The Pope remained imprisoned under constant threat of death until December.
       The following year, Emperor Charles V went
Swiss Guards still watch the gates to Vatican City
in person to Rome to reconcile with Pope Clement VII, and again urge him to call a general council to address the problems in the Church. Peace was restored, but the counter-reformation was not called until the reign of Pope Paul III, when the Protestant break had become permanent. The Sack of Rome was an accurate view of the European crisis. The troops behaved badly, the Pope, while personally upright, was guilty of grave inaction and the Emperor's reputation was unjustly tarnished. In the entire affair, only the noble Swiss Guard managed to walk away proudly, having done their duty to the last.
This picture shows imperial forces threatening Castel Sant Angelo. Pope Clement VII can be seen in the center window. The Sack of Rome was so terrible that even many anti-Church writers condemned it for its inhumane brutality.