50 euro – 400th Anniversary of the death of Pope Gregorio XV

With the 50 euro gold coin the Vatican State Mint commemorates the fourth centenary this year of the death of Pope Gregory XV. Artist Marianna Frisone draws creative inspiration from the funerary monument in the Ludovisi Chapel of the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in Rome that shows the Pope blessing while seated on a throne. Pope Gregory XV (born Alexander Ludovisi), the first Pope to be educated at a Jesuit college, became pope in 1621 during the Thirty Years’ War. The search for peace between the European nations involved marked his entire albeit brief pontificate. In 1621 he made the decision to have the Feast of Saint Joseph celebrated on 19 March. In 1622 he founded the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, a special office of the Holy See dedicated to spreading the Gospel through missionary activity and promoting the union of the Christian churches.