in 1575. He appointed his illegitimate son Giacomo, born to his mistress at Bologna before his papacy, castellan of Sant'Angelo and Gonfalonier of the Church; Venice, anxious to please the Pope, enrolled his son among its nobles, and Philip II of Spain appointed him general in his army. Gregory also helped his son to become a powerful feudatary through the acquisition of the Duchy of Sora, on the border between the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. In order to raise funds for his endeavors, Gregory confiscated a large proportion of the houses and properties throughout the states of the Church. This measure enriched his treasury for a time, but alienated a great body of the nobility and gentry, revived old factions, and created new ones, and caused economic and social chaos in the Papal States. Canonizations and beatifications The pope canonized four saints during his pontificate and in 1584 beatified his predecessor Pope Gregory VII. Consistories During his pontificate, the pope created 34 cardinals in eight consistories; this included naming his nephew Filippo Boncompagni to the cardinalate in the pope's first consistory in 1572. Gregory XIII also named four of his successors as cardinals all in 1583: Giovanni Battista Castagna (Urban VII), Niccolò Sfondrati (Gregory XIV), Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti (Innocent IX), and Alessandro de' Medici (Leo XI). Death The pope suffered from a fever on 5 April 1585 and on 7 April said his usual private Mass, still in ill health. He seemed to recover enough that he was able to conduct meetings throughout 8 and 9 April, although it was observed he did not feel well. But a sudden change on 10 April saw him confined in his bed and it was observed that he had cold sweat and a weak pulse; he received the Extreme Unction moments before he died. See also Computus Clavius Cardinals created by Gregory XIII Explanatory notes References Citations Sources Initial text from the 9th edition (1880) of an unnamed encyclopedia. External links "Papal Library" website: Gregory XIII Monument to Gregory XIII [archived] 1502 births 1585 deaths Boncompagni Clergy from Bologna Italian popes Popes 16th-century popes People of the Second Desmond Rebellion Burials at St. Peter's Basilica