Clement X: The Oldest Pope Ever Elected

Pope Clement X by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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On April 29th 1670, Cardinal Emilio Bonaventura Altieri was elected Pope Clement X (r. 1670-76).

Clement X was almost eighty-years old at the time, which makes him the oldest pope ever elected. 

Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpted Clement X during the last year of the pope's life. Housed in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, it is one of the last works Bernini ever sculpted.

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Pope Clement X by Gianlorenzo Bernini, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome