GREGORY XV. (Alessandro Ludovisio), pope from 1621 to 1623, born at Bologna in 1554, succeeded Paul V. on the 9th of February 1621. Beyond assisting the German emperor against the Protestants, and the king of Poland against the Turks, he interfered little in European politics. He was a learned divine and manifested a reforming spirit; and his pontificate was marked by the canonization of St Theresa, Francis Xavier, Ignatius Loyola, and Philip Neri. He died on the 18th of July 1623, and was succeeded by Urban VIII.