Roman Catholic Pope. Born Giovanni Battista Pamphili, his family was directly descended from Pope Alexander VI. By the age of twenty, he graduated with a bachelor of laws and was promptly appointed as an advisor and auditor of the Rota, the church's appellate court. By 1623, he was serving as an apostolic diplomat to the Kingdom of Naples, he traveled to France and Spain and and three years later he was designated Latin Patriarch of Antioch. The following year he was assigned as diplomat to the Spanish court and this association would prove to be a valuable asset in future years. He was created a Cardinal in 1629 and after a contentious conclave, he was elected to follow Urban VIII in 1644 as pope. His first challenge as Innocent X was to deal with the Barberini for their theft of public funds. In November of 1648, he issued his "Zelo Domus Dei" which condemned the articles of the Peace of Westphalia given they were detrimental to the Catholic religion. Seven years later, another bull condemning Jansenism as heresy led to the razing of the Janenist convent and the dissolving of the community. When the Duke of Parma possibly murdered the newly appointed bishop and refused to redeem bonds, the Pope retaliated by seizing Castro and burning it to the ground. During the Civil War in England and Ireland, he supported Ireland sending ammunition and money. Despite the gratitude of the Irish Catholics, Oliver Cromwell prevailed, thwarting his efforts. He raised the college in Rosario to a university. Known today as the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, it is the oldest university in Asia. One mar on his papacy stems from his dependence on Donna Olimpia Maidalchini, the wife of his deceased brother, for guidance on matters of promotion and politics. However, no evidence of an inappropriate relationship between the two was ever noted. He suffered in his later years from gout which probably hastened his death. His early diplomatic experience made him a politically shrewd pope who expanded the temporal power of the Catholic Church.