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His ambitions materialized when he chose Baldassare Cossa—a man with a ruthless drive—to help ascend to the papacy. After creating an alliance with Cossa, bribes flowed, and in 1410, Cossa was crowned Pope John XXIII. This marked the Medici's emergence as a dominant force in the Church and the foundation of their power, forever altering the trajectory of Florence and earning them unprecedented access to papal finances.