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History of the papacy

According to Catholic doctrine,popes are successors to Saint Peter.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the history of the Catholic Church in general, see Timeline of the Catholic Church andHistory of the Catholic Church.

The history of the papacy, the office held by the pope ashead of the Roman Catholic Church, spans from the timeof Peter to present day.

During the Early Church, the bishops of Rome enjoyed notemporal power until the time of Constantine. After the fallof Rome (the "Middle Ages", about 476), the papacy wasinfluenced by the temporal rulers of the surrounding ItalianPeninsula; these periods are known as the OstrogothicPapacy, Byzantine Papacy, and Frankish Papacy. Overtime, the papacy consolidated its territorial claims to aportion of the peninsula known as the Papal States.Thereafter, the role of neighboring sovereigns wasreplaced by powerful Roman families during the saeculumobscurum, the Crescentii era, and the Tusculan Papacy.

From 1048 to 1257, the papacy experienced increasing

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From 1048 to 1257, the papacy experienced increasingconflict with the leaders and churches of the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Thelatter culminated in the East–West Schism, dividing the Western Church and Eastern Church.From 1257–1377, the pope, though the bishop of Rome, resided in Viterbo, Orvieto, and Perugia,and then Avignon. The return of the popes to Rome after the Avignon Papacy was followed by theWestern Schism: the division of the western church between two and, for a time, three competingpapal claimants.

The Renaissance Papacy is known for its artistic and architectural patronage, forays intoEuropean power politics, and theological challenges to papal authority. After the start of theProtestant Reformation, the Reformation Papacy and Baroque Papacy led the Catholic Churchthrough the Counter-Reformation. The popes during the Age of Revolution witnessed the largestexpropriation of wealth in the church's history, during the French Revolution and those thatfollowed throughout Europe. The Roman Question, arising from Italian unification, resulted in theloss of the Papal States and the creation of Vatican City.

Contents [hide]

1 During the Roman Empire (until 493)1.1 Early Christianity

1.2 From Constantine (312–493)

2 Middle Ages (493–1417)2.1 Ostrogothic Papacy (493–537)

2.2 Byzantine Papacy (537–752)

2.3 Frankish influence (756–857)

2.4 Influence of powerful Roman families (904–1048)

2.5 Conflicts with the Emperor and East (1048–1257)

2.6 The wandering popes (1257–1309)

2.7 Avignon Papacy (1309–1377)

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2.8 Western Schism (1378–1417)

3 Early Modern and Modern Era (1417–present)3.1 Renaissance Papacy (1417–1534)

3.2 Reformation and Counter-Reformation (1517–1585)

3.3 Baroque Papacy (1585–1689)

3.4 During the Age of Revolution (1775–1848)

3.5 Roman Question (1870–1929)

3.6 From the creation of Vatican City (1929)

4 See also

5 Notes

6 References

During the Roman Empire (until 493) [edit]

Early Christianity [edit]

Further information: Primacy of Simon Peter and Persecution of Christians in the RomanEmpire

Catholics recognize the pope as the successor to Saint Peter, whom Jesus designated as the"rock" upon which the Church was to be built.[1][2] Although Peter never bore the title of "pope"(Latin papa), Catholics recognize him as the first pope and Bishop of Rome,[3] because he had theoffice, but not the title.[4] Official declarations of the Church speak of the popes as holding withinthe college of the bishops a position analogous to that held by Peter within the college of theApostles, namely Prince of the Apostles, of which the college of the Bishops, a distinct entity, is thesuccessor.[5][6][7]

Protestants tend to deny that Peter and those claimed to be his immediate successors had

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Raphael's The Baptism ofConstantine depicts Sylvester I insteadof his actual baptizer Eusebius ofNicomedia, an Arian bishop.

universally recognized supreme authority over all the early churches. The same Protestants saidthat Rome's prominence may be seen as only moral, not ecclesiastical, and that emergence of theRoman pontiff to supreme power and prominence happened by natural circumstance rather thandivine appointment.[8]

Many popes in the first three centuries of the Christian era are obscure figures. Several sufferedmartyrdom along with members of their flock in periods of persecution. Most of them engaged inintense theological arguments with other bishops.

From Constantine (312–493) [edit]

Main article: Bishops of Rome under Constantine I

The legend surrounding Constantine I's victory in theBattle of the Milvian Bridge (312) relates his vision of theChi Rho and the text in hoc signo vinces in the sky, andreproducing this symbol on the shields of his troops. Thefollowing year, Constantine and Licinius proclaimed thetoleration of Christianity with the Edict of Milan, and in 325Constantine convened and presided over the First Councilof Nicaea, the first ecumenical council. None of this,however, has particularly much to do with the pope, whodid not even attend the Council; in fact, the first bishop ofRome to be contemporaneously referred to as "pope"(pappas) is Damasus I (366–84).[9] Moreover, between 324and 330, Constantine built Constantinople as a new capital for the empire, and—with no apologiesto the Roman community of Christians—relocated key Roman families and translated manyChristian relics to the new churches he built from the ground up.[citation needed]

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The "Donation of Constantine", an 8th-century forgery used to enhance the prestige and authorityof popes, places the pope more centrally in the narrative of Constantinian Christianity. The legendof the Donation claims that Constantine offered his crown to Sylvester I (314–35), and even thatSylvester baptized Constantine. In reality, Constantine was baptized (nearing his death in May337) by Eusebius of Nicomedia, an Arian bishop, unlike the pope.[citation needed]

Although the "Donation" never occurred, Constantine did hand over the Lateran Palace to thebishop of Rome, and began the construction of Old St. Peter's Basilica (the "ConstantinianBasilica").[citation needed] The gift of the Lateran probably occurred during the reign of Miltiades(311–14), Sylvester I's predecessor, who began using it as his residence.[citation needed] Old St.Peter's was begun between 326 and 330 and took three decades to complete.

Middle Ages (493–1417) [edit]

Ostrogothic Papacy (493–537) [edit]

Main article: Ostrogothic Papacy

The Ostrogothic Papacy period ran from 493 to 537. The papal election of March 483 was thefirst to take place without the existence of a Western Roman emperor. The papacy was stronglyinfluenced by the Ostrogothic Kingdom, if the pope was not outright appointed by the OstrogothicKing. The selection and administration of popes during this period was strongly influenced byTheodoric the Great and his successors Athalaric and Theodahad. This period terminated withJustinian I's (re)conquest of Rome during the Gothic War, inaugurating the Byzantine Papacy(537–752).

The role of the Ostrogoths became clear in the first schism, when, on November 22, 498, two menwere elected pope. The subsequent triumph of Pope Symmachus (498–514) over AntipopeLaurentius is the first recorded example of simony in papal history.[10] Symmachus also instituted

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Justinian I re-conquered Rome and

the practice of popes naming their own successors, which held until an unpopular choice wasmade in 530, and discord only ended with the selection in 532 of John II, the first to rename himselfupon succession.[citation needed]

Theodoric was tolerant towards the Catholic Church and did not interfere in dogmatic matters. Heremained as neutral as possible towards the pope, though he exercised a preponderant influencein the affairs of the papacy.[11] Ostrogothic influence ended with the reconquest of Rome byJustinian, who had had pro-Gothic Pope Silverius (536–537) deposed and replaced with his ownchoice, Pope Vigilius (537–555).

Byzantine Papacy (537–752) [edit]

Main articles: Byzantine Papacy and Papal States

The Byzantine Papacy was a period of Byzantinedomination of the papacy from 537 to 752, when popesrequired the approval of the Byzantine Emperor forepiscopal consecration, and many popes were chosenfrom the apocrisiarii (liaisons from the pope to theemperor) or the inhabitants of Byzantine Greece, Syria, orSicily. Justinian I conquered the Italian peninsula in theGothic War (535–54) and appointed the next three popes,a practice that would be continued by his successors andlater be delegated to the Exarchate of Ravenna.

With the exception of Pope Martin I, no pope during thisperiod questioned the authority of the Byzantine monarchto confirm the election of the bishop of Rome beforeconsecration could occur; however, theological conflicts

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appointed the next three popes.consecration could occur; however, theological conflictswere common between pope and emperor in the areassuch as monotheletism and iconoclasm. Greek speakersfrom Greece, Syria, and Byzantine Sicily replaced members of the powerful Roman nobles in thepapal chair during this period. Rome under the Greek popes constituted a "melting pot" of Westernand Eastern Christian traditions, reflected in art as well as liturgy.

Pope Gregory I (590–604) was a major figure in asserting papal primacy and gave the impetus tomissionary activity in northern Europe, including England.

The Duchy of Rome was a Byzantine district in the Exarchate of Ravenna, ruled by an imperialfunctionary with the title dux. Within the exarchate, the two chief districts were the country aboutRavenna where the exarch was the centre of Byzantine opposition to the Lombards, and theDuchy of Rome, which embraced the lands of Latium north of the Tiber and of Campania to thesouth as far as the Garigliano. There the pope himself was the soul of the opposition.

The pains were taken, as long as possible, to retain control of the intervening districts and withthem communication over the Apennine mountains. In 728 the Lombard King Liutprand took theCastle of Sutri, on the road to Perugia, but restored it to Pope Gregory II "as a gift to the blessedApostles Peter and Paul". The popes continued to acknowledge the imperial Government.

In 738 the Lombard duke Transamund of Spoleto captured the Castle of Gallese, which protectedthe road to Perugia. By a large payment Pope Gregory III induced the duke to restore the castle tohim.

Frankish influence (756–857) [edit]

Main article: Frankish Papacy

In 751, Aistulf took Ravenna and threatened Rome. In response to this threat, Pope Stephen IImade an unusual journey north of the Alps to visit the Frankish king, Pepin III, to seek his help

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made an unusual journey north of the Alps to visit the Frankish king, Pepin III, to seek his helpagainst the invading Lombards.

The pope anointed Pepin at the abbey of St Denis, near Paris, together with Pepin's two youngsons Charles and Carloman. Pepin duly invaded northern Italy in 754, and again in 756. Pepin wasable to drive the Lombards from the territory belonging to Ravenna but he did not restore it to itsrightful owner, the Byzantine emperor. Instead, perhaps accepting the validity of the Donation ofConstantine, he handed over large areas of central Italy to the pope and his successors.

The land given to pope Stephen in 756, in the so-called Donation of Pepin, made the papacy atemporal power and for the first time created an incentive for secular leaders to interfere with papalsuccession. This territory would become the basis for the Papal States, over which the popes ruleduntil the Papal States were incorporated into the new Kingdom of Italy in 1870. For the next elevencenturies, the story of Rome would be almost synonymous with the story of the papacy.

The Lombard kingdom reached its height in the 7th and 8th century. Paganism and Arianism wereat first prevalent among the Lombards but were gradually supplanted by Catholicism. Romanculture and Latin speech were gradually adopted and the Catholic bishops emerged as chiefmagistrates in the cities. Lombard law combined Germanic and Roman traditions. After Aistulf'sdeath King Desiderius renewed the attack on Rome. In 772, Pope Adrian I enlisted the support ofCharlemagne, Pepin's successor, who intervened, and, after defeating the Lombards, added theirkingdom to his own.

After being physically attacked by his enemies in the streets of Rome, Pope Leo III made his way in799 through the Alps to visit Charlemagne at Paderborn.

It is not known what was agreed between the two, but Charlemagne traveled to Rome in 800 tosupport the pope. In a ceremony in St Peter's Basilica, on Christmas Day, Leo was supposed toanoint Charlemagne's son as his heir. But unexpectedly (it is maintained), as Charlemagne rosefrom prayer, the pope placed a crown on his head and acclaimed him emperor. It is reported that

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Charlemagne expressed displeasure but nevertheless accepted the honour. The displeasure wasprobably diplomatic, for the legal emperor was supposed to be seated in Constantinople.Nevertheless this public alliance between the pope and the ruler of a confederation of Germanictribes was a reflection of the reality of political power in the west. This coronation launched theconcept of the new Holy Roman Empire which would play an important role throughout the MiddleAges. The Holy Roman Empire only became formally established in the next century. But theconcept is implicit in the title adopted by Charlemagne in 800: 'Charles, most serene Augustus,crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman empire.'

Influence of powerful Roman families (904–1048) [edit]

Main articles: Saeculum obscurum, Crescentii and Tusculan Papacy

The period beginning with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasting for sixty years untilthe death of Pope John XII in 964 is sometimes referred to as Saeculum obscurum or the "darkage." Historian Will Durant refers to the period from 867 to 1049 as the "nadir of the papacy".[12]

During this period, the popes were controlled by a powerful and corrupt aristocratic family, theTheophylacti, and their relatives.[13]

Conflicts with the Emperor and East (1048–1257) [edit]

Main article: History of the papacy (1048–1257)

The Imperial crown once held by the Carolingian emperors was disputed between their fracturedheirs and local overlords; none emerged victorious until Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor invaded Italy.Italy became a constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, from which point theemperors were German. As emperor's consolidated their position, northern Italian city-states wouldbecome divided by Guelphs and Ghibellines. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor found three rivalpopes when he visited Rome in 1048 because of the unprecedented actions of Pope Benedict IX.

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He deposed all three and installed his own preferred candidate: Pope Clement II.

The history of the papacy from 1048 to 1257 would continue to be marked by conflict betweenpopes and the Holy Roman Emperor, most prominently the Investiture Controversy, a dispute overwho—pope or emperor—could appoint bishops within the Empire. Henry IV's Walk to Canossa in1077 to meet Pope Gregory VII (1073–85), although not dispositive within the context of the largerdispute, has become legendary. Although the emperor renounced any right to lay investiture in theConcordat of Worms (1122), the issue would flare up again.

Long-standing divisions between East and West also came to a head in the East–West Schismand the Crusades. The first seven Ecumenical Councils had been attended by both Western andEastern prelates, but growing doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political and geographic differencesfinally resulted in mutual denunciations and excommunications. Pope Urban II (1088–99) speech atthe Council of Clermont in 1095 became the rallying cry of the First Crusade.

Unlike the previous millennium, the process for papal selection became somewhat fixed during thisperiod. Pope Nicholas II promulgated In nomine Domini in 1059, which limited suffrage in papalelections to the College of Cardinals. The rules and procedures of papal elections evolved duringthis period, laying the groundwork for the modern papal conclave. The driving force behind thesereforms was Cardinal Hildebrand, who later became Gregory VII.

The wandering popes (1257–1309) [edit]

Main articles:

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The papal palace in Viterbo... ...and Orvieto

Main articles:ViterboPapacy,OrvietoPapacy andPerugiaPapacy

The pope is thebishop of Rome,but nowhere is itwritten that hehas to stay there (in fact, only 200 years prior, cardinals would have been required to reside inRome). Political instability in thirteenth-century Italy forced the papal court to move to severaldifferent locations. Destinations included Viterbo, Orvieto, and Perugia. The popes brought theRoman Curia with them, and the College of Cardinals met in the city where the last pope had diedto hold papal elections. Host cities enjoyed a boost to their prestige and certain economicadvantages, but the municipal authorities risked being subsumed into the administration of thePapal States if they allowed the pope to overstay his welcome.

According to Eamon Duffy, "aristocratic factions within the city of Rome once again made it aninsecure base for a stable papal government. Innocent IV was exiled from Rome and even Italy forsix years, and all but two of the papal elections of the thirteenth century had to take place outsideRome. The skyline of Rome itself was now dominated by the fortified war-towers of the aristocracy(a hundred were built in Innocent IV's pontificate alone) and the popes increasingly spent their timein the papal palaces at Viterbo and Orvieto."[14]

Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) [edit]

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The Palais des Papes in Avignon

The division of Europeanallegiances at a point during theWestern Schism

Main article: Avignon Papacy

During this period, seven popes, all French, resided inAvignon starting in 1309: Pope Clement V (1305–14),Pope John XXII (1316–34), Pope Benedict XII (1334–42),Pope Clement VI (1342–52), Pope Innocent VI (1352–62),Pope Urban V (1362–70), Pope Gregory XI (1370–78). In1378, Gregory XI moved the papal residence back toRome and died there.

Western Schism (1378–1417) [edit]

Main article: Western Schism

After seventy years in France the papal curia was naturallyFrench in its ways and, to a large extent, in its staff. Backin Rome some degree of tension between French andItalian factions was inevitable. This tension was brought toa head by the death of the French pope Gregory XI withina year of his return to Rome. The Roman crowd, said to bein threatening mood, demanded a Roman pope or at leastan Italian one. In 1378 the conclave elected an Italian fromNaples, Pope Urban VI. His intransigence in office soonalienated the French cardinals. And the behaviour of theRoman crowd enabled them to declare, in retrospect, thathis election was invalid, voted under duress.

The French cardinals withdrew to a conclave of their own, where they elected one of their number,Robert of Geneva. He took the name Clement VII. By 1379, he was back in the palace of popes in

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Avignon, while Urban VI remained in Rome.

This was the beginning of the period of difficulty from 1378 to 1417 which Catholic scholars refer toas the "Western Schism" or, "the great controversy of the antipopes" (also called "the secondgreat schism" by some secular and Protestant historians), when parties within the Catholic Churchwere divided in their allegiances among the various claimants to the office of pope. The Council ofConstance, in 1417, finally resolved the controversy.

For nearly forty years the Church had two papal curias and two sets of cardinals, each electing anew pope for Rome or Avignon when death created a vacancy. Each pope lobbied for supportamong kings and princes who played them off against each other, changing allegiance whenaccording to political advantage.

In 1409 a council was convened at Pisa to resolve the issue. The council declared both existingpopes to be schismatic (Gregory XII from Rome, Benedict XIII from Avignon) and appointed a newone, Alexander V. But the existing popes had not been persuaded to resign so the church hadthree popes.

Another council was convened in 1414 at Constance. In March 1415 the Pisan pope, John XXIII,fled from Constance in disguise; he was brought back a prisoner and deposed in May. The Romanpope, Gregory XII, resigned voluntarily in July.

The Avignon pope, Benedict XIII, refused to come to Constance. In spite of a personal visit fromthe emperor Sigismund, he would not consider resignation. The council finally deposed him in July1417. Denying their right to do so, he withdrew to an impregnable castle on the coast of Spain.Here he continued to act as pope, creating new cardinals and issuing decrees, until his death in1423.

The council in Constance, having finally cleared the field of popes and antipopes, elected PopeMartin V as pope in November.

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Pope Leo X with his cousins Giuliode' Medici (left, the future Pope ClementVII) and Luigi de' Rossi (right), whomhe appointed as cardinal-nephews.

Early Modern and Modern Era (1417–present) [edit]

Renaissance Papacy (1417–1534) [edit]

Main article: Renaissance Papacy

From the election of Pope Martin V of the Council ofConstance in 1417 to the Reformation, WesternChristianity was largely free from schism as well assignificant disputed papal claimants. Martin V returned thepapacy to Rome in 1420. Although there were importantdivisions over the direction of the religion, these wereresolved through the then-settled procedures of the papalconclave.

Unlike their European peers, popes were not hereditarymonarchs, so they could only promote their family intereststhrough nepotism.[15] The word nepotism originally referredspecifically to the practice of creating cardinal-nephews,when it appeared in the English language about 1669.[16]

According to Duffy, "the inevitable outcome of all of thiswas a creation of a wealthy cardinalatial class, with strongdynastic connections."[17] The College was dominated bycardinal-nephews—relatives of the popes that elevatedthem, crown-cardinals—representatives of the Catholicmonarchies of Europe, and members of the powerful Italian families. The wealthy popes andcardinals increasingly patronized Renaissance art and architecture, (re)building the landmarks of

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Rome from the ground up.

The Papal States began to resemble a modern nation state during this period, and the papacytook an increasingly active role in European wars and diplomacy. Pope Julius II become known as"the Warrior Pope" for his use of bloodshed to increase the territory and property of thepapacy.[18] The popes of this period used the papal military not only to enrich themselves and theirfamilies, but also to enforce and expand upon the longstanding territorial and property claims ofthe papacy as an institution.[19] Although, before the Western Schism, the papacy had derivedmuch of its revenue from the "vigorous exercise of its spiritual office," during this period the popeswere financially dependent on the revenues from the Papal States themselves. With ambitiousexpenditures on war and construction projects, popes turned to new sources of revenue from thesale of indulgences and bureaucratic and ecclesiastical offices.[20] Pope Clement VII's diplomaticand military campaigns resulted in the Sack of Rome in 1527.[21]

Popes were more frequently called upon to arbitrate disputes between competing colonial powersthan to resolve complicated theological disputes. Columbus' discovery in 1492 upset the unstablerelations between the kingdoms of Portugal and Castile, whose jockeying for possession ofcolonial territories along the African coast had for many years been regulated by the papal bulls of1455, 1456, and 1479. Alexander VI responded with three bulls, dated May 3 and 4, which werehighly favorable to Castile; the third Inter caetera (1493), awarded Spain the sole right to colonizemost of the New World.

According to Eamon Duffy, "the Renaissance papacy invokes images of a Hollywood spectacular,all decadence and drag. Contemporaries viewed Renaissance Rome as we now view Nixon'sWashington, a city of expense-account whores and political graft, where everything and everyonehad a price, where nothing and nobody could be trusted. The popes themselves seemed to set thetone."[17] For example, Leo X was said to have remarked: "Let us enjoy the papacy, since God hasgiven it to us."[15] Several of these popes took mistresses and fathered children and engaged in

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The breach of the Porta Pia duringthe Capture of Rome

intrigue or even murder.[17] Alexander VI had four acknowledged children: Cesare Borgia, LucreziaBorgia, Gioffre Borgia, and Giovanni Borgia.

Reformation and Counter-Reformation (1517–1585) [edit]

Main article: Reformation Papacy

Baroque Papacy (1585–1689) [edit]

The pontificate of Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) opened up the final stage of the CatholicReformation, characteristic of the Baroque age of the early seventeenth century, shifting awayfrom compelling to attracting. His reign focused on rebuilding Rome as a great European capitaland Baroque city, a visual symbol for the Catholic Church.

During the Age of Revolution (1775–1848) [edit]

Main article: Popes during the Age of Revolution

Roman Question (1870–1929) [edit]

Main article: Roman Question

The provisional capital of Italy had been Florence since1865. After defeating the papal forces in 1870, the Italiangovernment moved to the banks of the Tiber a year later.Victor Emmanuel installed himself in the Quirinal Palace.Rome became once again, for the first time in thirteencenturies, the capital city of a united Italy. Rome wasunusual among capital cities only in that it contained thepower of the pope and a small parcel of land (Vatican City)

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the Capture of Romebeyond national control. This anomaly was not formallyresolved until the Lateran pacts of 1929.

The last eight years of his long pontificate – the longest in Church history – Pope Pius IX spent asprisoner of the Vatican. Catholics were forbidden to vote or being voted in national elections.However, they were permitted to participate in local elections, where they achieved successes.[22]

Pius himself was active, during those years, by creating new diocesan seats and appointingbishops to numerous dioceses, which had been unoccupied for years. Asked if he wanted hissuccessor to follow his Italian policies, the old pontiff replied:

My successor may be inspired by my love to the Church and my wish to do the rightthing. Everything changed around me. My system and my policies had their time, I amtoo old to change direction. This will be the task of my successor.[23]

Pope Leo XIII, considered a great diplomat, managed to improve relations with Russia, Prussia,German France, England and other countries. However, in light of a hostile anti-Catholic climate inItaly, he continued the policies of Pius IX towards Italy, without major modifications.[24] He had todefend the freedom of the Church against Italian persecutions and attacks in the area ofeducation, expropriation and violation of Catholic Churches, legal measures against the Churchand brutal attacks, culminating in anticlerical groups attempting to throw the body of the deceasedPope Pius IX into the Tiber river on July 13, 1881.[25] The pope even considered moving thepapacy to Trieste or Salzburg, two cities under Austrian control, an idea which the Austrianmonarch Franz Josef I gently rejected.[26]

His encyclicals changed Church positions on relations with temporal authorities, and, in the 1891encyclical Rerum novarum addressed for the first time social inequality and social justice issueswith Papal authority. He was greatly influenced by Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, a German

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bishop who openly propagated siding with the suffering working classes[27] Since Leo XIII, Papalteachings expand on the right and obligation of workers and the limitations of private property:Pope Pius XI Quadragesimo anno, the Social teachings of Pope Pius XII on a huge range of socialissues, John XXIII Mater et magistra in 1961, Pope Paul VI, the encyclical Populorum progressio onWorld development issues, and Pope John Paul II, Centesimus annus, commemorating the 100thanniversary of Rerum novarum of Pope Leo XIII.

The eclipse of papal temporal power during the 19th century was accompanied by a recovery ofpapal prestige. The monarchist reaction in the wake of the French Revolution and the lateremergence of constitutional governments served alike, though in different ways, to sponsor thatdevelopment. The reinstated monarchs of Catholic Europe saw in the papacy a conservative allyrather than a jurisdictional rival. Later, when the institution of constitutional governments broke theties binding the clergy to the policies of royal regimes, Catholics were freed to respond to therenewed spiritual authority of the pope.

The popes of the 19th and 20th centuries exercised their spiritual authority with increasing vigorand in every aspect of religious life. By the crucial pontificate of Pope Pius IX (1846–1878), forexample, papal control over worldwide Catholic missionary activity was firmly established for thefirst time in history.

From the creation of Vatican City (1929) [edit]

Further information: Vatican City

The pontificate of Pope Pius XI was marked by great

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A map of Vatican City, asestablished by the Lateran Treaty(1929)

The pontificate of Pope Pius XI was marked by greatdiplomatic activity and the issuance of many importantpapers, often in the form of encyclicals. In diplomaticaffairs, Pius was aided at first by Pietro Gasparri and after1930 by Eugenio Pacelli (who succeeded him as Pope PiusXII). Cardinal Gasparri's masterpiece was the LateranTreaty (1929), negotiated for the Vatican by FrancescoPacelli. Nevertheless, the Fascist government and thepope were in open disagreement over the restriction ofyouth activities; this culminated in a strong papal letter(Non abbiamo bisogno, 1931), arguing the impossibility ofbeing at once a Fascist and a Catholic. Relations betweenMussolini and the Holy See were cool ever after.

Negotiations for the settlement of the Roman Question began in 1926 between the government ofItaly and the Holy See, and in 1929 they culminated in the agreements of the three Lateran Pacts,signed for King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and for Pope Pius XIby Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri in the Lateran Palace (hence the name by whichthey are known).

The Lateran Treaty included a political treaty, which created the state of the Vatican City andguaranteed full and independent sovereignty to the Holy See. The pope was pledged to perpetualneutrality in international relations and to abstention from mediation in a controversy unlessspecifically requested by all parties. The concordat established Catholicism as the religion of Italy.And the financial agreement was accepted as settlement of all the claims of the Holy See againstItaly arising from the loss of temporal power in 1870.

A national concordat with Germany was one of Pacelli's main objectives as secretary of state. As

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nuncio during the 1920s, he had made unsuccessful attempts to obtain German agreement forsuch a treaty, and between 1930 and 1933 he attempted to initiate negotiations withrepresentatives of successive German governments, but the opposition of Protestant and Socialistparties, the instability of national governments and the care of the individual states to guard theirautonomy thwarted this aim. In particular, the questions of denominational schools and pastoralwork in the armed forces prevented any agreement on the national level, despite talks in the winterof 1932.[28][29]

Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor on 30 January 1933 and sought to gain internationalrespectability and to remove internal opposition by representatives of the Church and the CatholicCentre Party. He sent his vice chancellor Franz von Papen, a Catholic nobleman and formermember of the Centre Party, to Rome to offer negotiations about a Reichskonkordat.[30] On behalfof Cardinal Pacelli, his long-time associate Prelate Ludwig Kaas, the out-going chairman of theCentre Party, negotiated first drafts of the terms with Papen.[31] The concordat was finally signed,by Pacelli for the Vatican and von Papen for Germany, on 20 July and ratified on September 10,1933.[32]

Between 1933 to 1939, Pacelli issued 55 protests of violations of the Reichskonkordat. Mostnotably, early in 1937, Pacelli asked several German cardinals, including Cardinal Michael vonFaulhaber to help him write a protest of Nazi violations of the Reichskonkordat; this was to becomePius XI's encyclical Mit brennender Sorge. The encyclical, condemning the view that "exalts race,or the people, or the State, or a particular form of State ... above their standard value and divinizesthem to an idolatrous level", was written in German instead of Latin and read in German churcheson Palm Sunday 1937.[33]

World War II (1939–1945) [edit]

Main articles: Vatican City during World War II and Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust

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When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, the Vatican declared neutrality to avoidbeing drawn into the conflict and also to avoid occupation by the Italian military. In 1944, theGerman Army occupied Rome. Adolf Hitler proclaimed that he would respect Vatican neutrality.However, several incidents, such as giving aid to downed Allied airmen, nearly caused NaziGermany to invade the Vatican. Rome was liberated by the Allies after several months ofoccupation.

The Church policies after World War II of Pope Pius XII focused on material aid to war-torn Europewith its 15 million displaced persons and refugees, an internal internationalization of the RomanCatholic Church, and the development of its worldwide diplomatic relations. His encyclical Evangeliipraecones[34] increased the local decision-making of Catholic missions, many of which becameindependent dioceses. Pius XII demanded recognition of local cultures as fully equal to Europeanculture.[35][36] He internationalized the College of Cardinals by eliminating the Italian majority andappointed cardinals from Asia, South America and Australia. In Western Africa[37] SouthernAfrica[38] British Eastern Africa, Finland, Burma and French Africa Pope Pius establishedindependent dioceses in 1955.

While after years of rebuilding the Church thrived in the West and most of the developing world, itfaced most serious persecutions in the East. Sixty million Catholics came under Soviet dominatedregimes in 1945, with tens of thousands of priests and religious killed, and millions deported intoSoviet and Chinese Gulags. The communist regimes in Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Chinapractically eradicated the Roman Catholic Church in their countries[39]

From Vatican II (1962–present) [edit]

Further information: Second Vatican Council

The continuing strength of the forces within the churchfavoring theological innovation and energetic reform

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The opening of the Second Sessionof the Second Vatican Council

became unmistakably evident at the Second VaticanCouncil, convened by Pope John XXIII (1958–1963), andfound expression especially in its decrees on ecumenism,religious liberty, the liturgy, and the nature of the church.The ambivalence of some of those decrees, however, andthe disciplinary turmoil and doctrinal dissension followingthe ending of the council, brought about new challenges topapal authority.

On October 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII opened the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council. The 21stecumenical council of the Catholic Church emphasized the universal call to holiness and broughtmany changes in practices, including an increased emphasis on ecumenism; fewer rules onpenances, fasting and other devotional practices; and initiating a revision of the services, whichwere to be slightly simplified and made supposedly more accessible by allowing the use of nativelanguages instead of Latin. Opposition to changes inspired by the Council gave rise to themovement of Traditionalist Catholics who disagree with changing the old forms of worship.

On December 7, 1965, a Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of His Holiness Pope Paul VI and theEcumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I lifted the mutual excommunication against Catholic andOrthodox which had been in force since the Great Schism of 1054.

The bishops agreed that the pope exercises supreme authority over the church, but defined"collegiality", meaning that all bishops share in this authority. Local bishops have equal authorityas successors of the Apostles and as members of a larger organization, the Church founded byJesus Christ and entrusted to the apostles. The pope serves as a symbol of unity and hasadditional authority to ensure the continuation of that unity. During the Second Vatican Council,Catholic bishops drew back a bit from statements which might anger Christians of other faiths.[40]

Cardinal Augustin Bea, the President of the Christian Unity Secretariat had always the full support

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of Pope Paul VI in his attempts to ensure that the Council language is friendly and open to thesensitivities of Protestant and Orthodox Churches, whom he had invited to all sessions at therequest of Pope John XXIII. Bea also was strongly involved in the passage of Nostra aetate, whichregulates relation of the Church with the Jewish faith and members of other religions[41]

The establishment of national conferences of bishops tended to erode papal authority to somedegree, and Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae (1968), reaffirming the prohibition of artificialbirth control, was met with both evasion and defiance in the USA and Western Europe but warmlywelcomed in South America, Eastern and Southern Europe.[42]

Pope Paul VI (1963–1978), however, continued the ecumenical efforts of Pope John XXIII in hiscontacts with Protestant and Orthodox churches. He also continued John XXIII's attempts to makediscreet moves in the direction of pragmatic accommodation with the Communist regimes ofeastern Europe, a policy that were possible in the eras of Krushchev and Brezhnev. Paul VI alsoreorganized the curia and spoke strongly for peace and social justice.

Pope Paul VI faced criticism throughout his papacy from both traditionalists and liberals forsteering a middle course during Vatican II and in the course of the implementation of its reformsthereafter.[43] His passion for peace during the Vietnam War was not understood by all. The urgenttask of overcoming World poverty and start real development resulted partly in benign neglect ofpapal teachings by the influential and the rich. On basic Church teachings, this pope wasunwavering. On the tenth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, he strongly reconfirmed his teachings.[44]

In his style and methodology, he was a disciple of Pius XII, whom he deeply revered.[45] He sufferedunder the attacks of his predecessor for his alleged silences, knowing from personal associationwith the late pope the real concerns and compassion of Pius XII.[45] Pope Paul is not credited tohave had the encyclopaedic culture of Pius XII, nor his phenomenal memory, his amazing gift forlanguages, his brilliant style in writing,[46] nor did he have the Charisma and outpouring love,sense of humor and human warmth of John XXIII. He took on himself the unfinished reform work of

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these two popes, bringing them diligently with great humility and common sense and without muchfanfare to conclusion.[44] In doing so, Paul VI saw himself following in the footsteps of the ApostlePaul, torn to several directions as Saint Paul, who always said, I am attracted to two sides at once,because the Cross always divides.[47]

He became the first pope to visit all five continents.[48] Paul VI systematically continued andcompleted the efforts of his predecessors, to turn the Euro-centric Church into a Church for thewhole world, by integrating the bishops from all continents in its government and in the Synodswhich he convened. His August 6, 1967 Motu Proprio Pro Comperto Sane opened the RomanCuria to the bishops of the world. Until then, only Cardinals could be leading members of theCuria.[48]

An inner joy seems to have been a characteristic of Paul VI. His confessor, the Jesuit Paolo Dezzaarrived at the Vatican every Friday evening at seven p.m. to hear confession of Paul VI. The onlywords he ever spoke about his long service to Paul VI during his pontificate were, that this pope isa man of great joy.[49] After the death of Pope Paul VI, Dezza was more outspoken, saying that "ifPaul VI was not a saint, when he was elected pope, he became one during his pontificate. I wasable to witness not only with what energy and dedication he toiled for Christ and the Church butalso and above all, how much he suffered for Christ and the Church. I always admired not only hisdeep inner resignation but also his constant abandonment to divine providence.".[50] It is thischaracter trait, which led to the opening of the process of beatification and canonization for PaulVI.

With the accession of Pope John Paul II after the

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Pope John Paul II (1978–2005)

With the accession of Pope John Paul II after themysterious death of Pope John Paul I (who only survivedas pope for 33 days), the church had, for the first timesince Pope Adrian VI in the 16th century, a non-Italianpope. John Paul II has been credited with helping to bringdown communism in eastern Europe by sparking whatamounted to a peaceful revolution in his Polish homeland.Lech Wałęsa, one of the several founders of the Solidarityworker movement that ultimately toppled communism,credited John Paul with giving Poles the courage to riseup.[51] The last Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev acknowledged publicly the role of John Paul II inthe fall of Communism.[52] The pope himself stated after the fall of Communism that "the claim tobuild a world without God has been shown to be an illusion" (Prague, April 21, 1990).

But this world without God exists in Capitalism too. Therefore, as did his predecessors, John Paulrepeated the content of Christianity, its religious and moral message, its defense of the humanperson, and warned against the dangers of capitalism. "Unfortunately, not everything the Westproposes as a theoretical vision or as a concrete lifestyle reflects Gospel values."

The long pontificate of John Paul is credited with re-creating a sense of stability and even identityto the Catholic Church after years of questioning and searching.[53] His teaching was firm andunwavering on issues which seemed to be in doubt under his predecessor including the ordinationof women, liberation theology and priestly celibacy.[54] He virtually stopped the liberal laicisation ofproblem priests policy of Pope Paul VI,[55] which inadvertently may have contributed to problems inthe USA.[56] His authoritative style was reminiscent of Pope Pius XII, whose teaching he repeated inhis own words, such as the identity of the Catholic Church with the Body of Christ and hiscondemnations of capitalism "viruses": secularism, indifferentism, hedonistic consumerism,

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Pope Francis

Catholicism portal

practical materialism, and also formal atheism.[57]

As always after a long pontificate, a new page was opened in the history of the Church with theelection of a new pope. Pope Benedict XVI was elected in 2005. In his inaugural homily, the newPontiff explained his view of a relation with Christ:

“ Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we letChrist enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselvestotally to Him, are we not afraid that He might takesomething away from us? [...] No! If we let Christ intoour lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothingof what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Onlyin this friendship do we experience beauty andliberation [...] When we give ourselves to Him, wereceive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open widethe doors to Christ – and you will find true life.[58] ”

On February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would tender his resignation onFebruary 28, 2013, less than three weeks later. On March 13, 2013, Pope Francis—the first Jesuitpope and the first pope from the Americas—was elected to the papacy.

See also [edit]

List of popes

Index of Vatican City-related articles

Notes [edit]

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1. ^ "The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church, §881" . Catechism of the Catholic Church, SecondEdition. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2014.

2. ^ Kirsch, Johann Peter. "St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11.New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 21 Jul. 2014

3. ^ Joyce, G. H. (1913). "Pope". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

4. ^ Wilken. p. 281. "Some (Christian communities) had been founded by Peter, the disciple Jesusdesignated as the founder of his church. But there is another school of thought on this issue of Peterbeing given the title of founder of the Christian church. The Biblical truth is that Peter had no moreinfluence over the church than any other disciple of Jesus. In fact, Paul did more to build upChristianity than any other disciple. The "keys of the kingdom" that Jesus supposedly gave to Peterwas simply the privilege given to all the Apostles to preach the Gospel. Once the position wasinstitutionalized, historians looked back and recognized Peter as the first pope of the Christianchurch in Rome" Missing or empty |title= (help).

5. ^ "Second Vatican Council" . p. 22 |chapter= ignored (help).

6. ^ Pope John Paul II (7 October 1992). "Talk" .

7. ^ Avery Dulles (1987). The Catholicity of the Church . Oxford University Press. p. 140. ISBN 0-19-826695-2.

8. ^ Wells, David F. "The Rise of the Papacy" . Ligonier Ministries. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

9. ^ Baumgartner, 2003, p. 6.

10. ^ Richards, 1979, p. 70.

11. ^ Löffler, Klemens. "Ostrogoths." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1911. 21 Jul. 2014

12. ^ Durant, Will. The Age of Faith. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972, p. 537.

13. ^ Brook, Lindsay (2003). "Popes and Pornocrats: Rome in the early middle ages". Foundations 1(1): 5–21.

14. ^ Duffy, 2006, p. 156.

15. ̂a b Spielvogel, 2008, p. 369.

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16. ^ Oxford English Dictionary. September 2003. "Nepotism "

17. ̂a b c Duffy, 2006, p. 193.

18. ^ Spielvogel, 2008, p. 368.

19. ^ Duffy, 2006, p. 190.

20. ^ Duffy, 2006, p. 194.

21. ^ Duffy, 2006, p. 206.

22. ^ Schmidlin 119.

23. ^ Schmidlin 109.

24. ^ Schmidlin 409.

25. ^ Schmidlin 413.

26. ^ Schmidlin 414.

27. ^ in his book Die Arbeiterfrage und das Chistentum

28. ^ Ludwig Volk Das Reichskonkordat vom 20. Juli 1933, p. 34f., 45–58.

29. ^ Klaus Scholder "The Churches and the Third Reich" volume 1: especially Part 1, chapter 10; Part2, chapter 2

30. ^ Volk, p. 98-101. Feldkamp, 88–93.

31. ^ Volk, p. 101,105.

32. ^ Volk, p. 254.

33. ^ Phayer 2000, p. 16; Sanchez 2002, p. 16-17.

34. ^ issued on June 2, 1951

35. ^ Audience for the directors of mission activities in 1944 A.A.S., 1944, p. 208.

36. ^ Evangelii praecones. p. 56.

37. ^ in 1951,

38. ^ 1953

39. ^ see Persecutions of the Catholic Church and Pius XII

40. ^ Peter Heblethwaite, Paul VI

41. ^ October 28, 1965

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42. ^ see Humanae Vitae

43. ^ Graham, Paul VI, A Great Pontificate, Brescia, November 7, 1983, 75

44. ̂a b Graham, 76

45. ̂a b Graham 76.

46. ^ Pallenberg, Inside the Vatican, 107,

47. ^ Guitton, 159

48. ̂a b Josef Schmitz van Vorst, 68

49. ^ Hebblethwaite,339

50. ^ Hebblethwaite, 600

51. ^ "The pope started this chain of events that led to the end of communism," Wałęsa said. "Beforehis pontificate, the world was divided into blocs. Nobody knew how to get rid of communism. "Hesimply said: Don't be afraid, change the image of this land."

52. ^ "What has happened in Eastern Europe in recent years would not have been possible without thepresence of this Pope, without the great role even political that he has played on the world scene"(quoted in La Stampa, March 3, 1992).

53. ^ George Weigel, Witness to Hope, biography of Pope John Paul II

54. ^ Redemptor Hominis Orinatio 'Sacercotalis

55. ^ Peter Hebblethwaite, Paul VI New York, 1993

56. ^ According to some critics like Hans Küng in his 2008 autobiography

57. ^ see Anni sacri58. ^ Vatican.va – Homily on Christ

References [edit]

Collins, Roger (2009). Keepers of the Keys: A History of the Papacy. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-01195-0.

Pennington, Arthur Robert (1882). Epochs of the Papacy: From Its Rise to the Death of Pope

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[show]V · T · E ·

[show]V · T · E ·

[show]V · T · E ·

Pius IX. in 1878. G. Bell and Sons.

Duffy, Eamon (2006). Saints & Sinners (3 ed.). New Haven Ct: Yale Nota Bene/Yale UniversityPress. ISBN 0-300-11597-0.

Mcbrien, Richard (1997). Lives of the Popes: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II. SanFrancisco: Harper SanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-065304-3.

Maxwell-Stuart, P. (1997). Chronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacyover 2000 Years. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01798-0.

Rendina, Claudio (2002). The Popes: Histories and Secrets. Washington: Seven Locks Press.ISBN 1-931643-13-X.

Barraclough, Geoffrey (1979). The Medieval Papacy. New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-95100-6.

Buttler, Scott; Norman Dahlgren; David Hess (1997). Jesus, Peter & the Keys: A ScripturalHandbook on the Papacy. Santa Barbara: Queenship Publishing Company. ISBN 1-882972-54-6.

Toropov, Brandon (2002). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Popes and the Papacy.Indianapolis: Alpha Books. ISBN 0-02-864290-2.

Sullivan, Francis (2001). From Apostles to Bishops: The Development of the Episcopacy in theEarly Church. New York: Newman Press. ISBN 0-8091-0534-9.

McCabe, Joseph (1939). A History of the Popes . London.: Watts & Co.

Periods of Papal History

History of the Catholic Church

Vatican City articles

Categories: History of the Papacy Popes

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