Reigned 1585–90: Pope Sixtus V (Felice Peretti; 1521– 1590).
A strong and practical pope who organized and streamlined the church and is today considered one of the great leaders of the Catholic Reformation. He was pope at the beginning of the wars between England and Spain. He renewed the excommunication of Elizabeth in 1588, exonerating from sin anyone who killed the queen. He urged the invasion of England, agreeing to help fund Philip II’s Spanish Armada, but only if the mission was successful. He never paid.

Philip II had long believed that a Spanish invasion of England would be necessary to end the war and to restore Catholicism in Elizabeth’s realm. After years of planning, he decided to launch a huge naval attack in 1588. He sought support from Pope Sixtus V, who agreed to renew the bull of excommunication against the queen. This action was intended to rouse Catholics in England to join the invading Spanish and overthrow Elizabeth. As it turned out, however, the threat of invasion—which ultimately failed—brought the English people together. The safety and independence of their country proved more important to them than their religious identity. Most Catholics in England remained loyal to the government during this crisis; it was from the community of English Catholic exiles in Europe that serious plots against the queen arose.