Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. His pontificate was overshadowed by the constant pressure to suppress the Society of Jesus but despite this, he championed their order and also proved to be their greatest defender at that time. He was also one of the few early popes who favoured dialogue with Protestants and to this effect hoped to mend the schism with the Catholic Church that existed in England and the Low Countries. These efforts ultimately bore little fruit. Biography Early life Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico was born in 1693 to a recently ennobled family of Venice, the second of two children of the man who bought the unfinished palace on the Grand Canal (now Ca' Rezzonico) and finished its construction. His parents were Giovanni Battista della Torre Rezzonico and Vittoria Barbarigo. Carlo received a Jesuit education in Bologna and later studied at the University of Padua where he obtained his doctorate in canon law and civil law. From there, he travelled to Rome where he attended the Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles. In 1716 Rezzonico became the Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura and in 1721 was appointed Governor of Fano. He was ordained to the priesthood on 23 December 1731 in Rome. Pope Clement XII appointed him to the cardinalate in 1737 as the Cardinal-Deacon of San Nicola in Carcere. He also filled various important posts in the Roman Curia. Rezzonico was chosen as Bishop of Padua in 1743 and he received episcopal consecration in Rome by Pope Benedict XIV himself, in the presence of Giuseppe Accoramboni and cardinal Antonio Saverio Gentili as co-consecrators. Rezzonico visited his diocese on frequent occasions and reformed the way that the diocese ran, paying attention to the social needs of the diocese. He was the first to do this in five decades. He later opted to become the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in 1747 and later still to become the Cardinal-Priest of San Marco in 1755. Pontificate Election to the papacy Pope Benedict XIV died of gout in 1758 and the College of Cardinals gathered at the papal conclave in order to elect a successor. Direct negotiations between the