The Unknown Pope: Benedict XV () and the Pursuit of Peace
An in-depth and extensively researched biography of Pope Benedict XV.
Best known for his efforts to end World War I, Benedict XV was the first contemporary pope to assume the role of peacemaker, a role that has persisted in the papacy since.
Although Benedict's Peace Note was rejected by officials, he went on to help establish Save the Children and to lead European efforts at humanitarian aid. His brief pontificate resulted in a positive reassessment of the Church's attitude towards colonialism and colonized peoples.
Using previously unpublished correspondence and private papers from the Vatican archives, John Pollard has written the first biography on Benedict XV in almost half a century.
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Who was Pope Benedict XV?
Pope Benedict XV, born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 3 September to his death in His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I and its political, social and humanitarian consequences in Europe.
Between and , the CatholicChurch had experienced its two longestpontificates in history up to that point. Together Pius IX and Leo XIIIruled for 57 years. In , the College of CardinalschoseDellaChiesa at the age of 59, indicatingtheirdesire for another long-lasting pontificate at the outbreak of World War I, which he labeled “the suicide of civilized Europe.” The war and its consequences were the main focus of Benedict. He declared the neutrality of the Holy See and attempted from that perspective to mediatepeace in and Both sidesrejected his initiatives. GermanProtestantsrejected any “Papal Peace” as insulting. FrenchpoliticianGeorgesClemenceauregarded the Vaticaninitiative as anti-French.
Having failed with diplomatic initiatives, the Pope focused on humanitarianefforts to lessen the impacts of the war, such as attendingprisoners of war, the exchange of woundedsoldiers and food deliveri
Pope Benedict XV
The Italian prelate Giacomo della Chiesa () reigned as Pope Benedict XV from to His pontificate was spent in dealing with the effects of World War I.
Giacomo della Chiesa was born at Pegli on Nov. 21, He studied at the University of Bologna and the Collegio Capranica in Rome and then became a papal diplomat. After 4 years in Spain he was recalled in to the Vatican Secretariat of State. In he was made archbishop of Bologna, in May he became a cardinal, and on September 3 of that year he was elected pope.
Benedict played no effective role in the war crisis. His predecessor, Pius X, had retired to a position of international isolation. Benedict, while condoning Austria's attack on Serbia as legitimate, tried to remain neutral. However, his belief that the fall of Czarist Russia would provide an opportunity for the expansion of Roman Catholicism weakened his neutral stance. On the other hand, he refused to accede to the Western powers' urging that he condemn German belligerence. Benedict's policy was also influenced by his desire to prevent Catholic nations from fighting each other. His attitude vexed the Allies, who saw it as a further frustration of their
Pope Benedict XV
By John Pollard
Pope Benedict XV ()
Benedict XV, who was pope from to , posed for this portrait ca.
Bain News Service: Pope Benedict XV, black-and-white photograph, n.p., c. ; source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain,
Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Della Chiesa, Giacomo
(Benedict XV)
Pope
Born 21 November in Pegli, Genoa, Italy
Died 22 January in The Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
Summary
Much of the reign of Pope Benedict XV was dominated by the First World War. Pope Benedict deplored this war and thus, together with his Secretary of State, he tried to bring an end to it through persistent, but unsuccessful, peace diplomacy. He also helped alleviate the suffering it caused through various humanitarian initiatives.Introduction
Cardinal Giacomo Della Chiesa () was elected pope, taking the name Benedict XV, a few weeks after the outbreak of the First World War, on 3 September Although he had been archbishop of Bologna in central Italy for six and a half years prior to his election, his earlier ecclesiastical career had been in papal diplomacy, first in the papal embassy in Madrid, , and th
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