Pope Pius VIII
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| Pius VIII | |
|---|---|
| Image:Pius8.JPG | |
| Birth name | Francesco Saverio Castiglioni |
| Papacy began | March 31, 1829 |
| Papacy ended | December 1, 1830 |
| Predecessor | Leo XII |
| Successor | Gregory XVI |
| Born | November 20, 1761 Cingoli, Italy |
| Died | December 1, 1830 Quirinal Palace, Rome |
| Other Popes named Pius | |
Pope Pius VIII (November 20, 1761 – December 1, 1830), born Francesco Saverio Castiglioni, was Pope from 1829 to 1830.
He was born in Cingoli, Italy. He studied Canon law and, in 1800 became bishop of Montalto. After he refused to swear allegiance to Napoleon I of France (1804–14, 1815) he was taken to France, but following the defeat of France, he was, in 1816, made a cardinal.
Contents |
[edit] Elected Pope
He held various high offices thereafter, including that of Major Penitentiary, and, after the death of Pope Leo XII (1823–29), was elected Pope in the papal conclave.
[edit] Policies
As Pope Pius VIII, he initiated some reforms in the States of the Church. On 24 May 1829 he issued an encyclical, Traditi humilitati nostrae. On 25 March 1830, in the brief Litteris altero, he condemned masonic secret societies and modernist biblical translations.
During his brief pontificate, the Catholic Emancipation occurred in the United Kingdom, and the July Revolution (1830) in France – after which he recognised Louis Philippe (1830–48) as the de facto king of France after the toppling of the Bourbon claimant.
Pius VIII accepted the situation on mixed marriages in Germany, but opposed liberalising tendencies in Ireland and Poland.
[edit] Health, death and conspiracy theory
Pius VIII was in very poor health from his election until his death. Nevertheless there were rumours that he had been poisoned. Prince Don Agostino Chigi, a contemporary of the Pope's and one of the papal nobility associated with the papal court, recorded in his diary (2 December, 1830):
"Nella sezione del cadavere del Pontefice che seguì ieri sera per quanto si dice, furono trovate le viscere sanissime e solo si è rinvenuta qualche debolezza nel polmone, altri dicono qualche sfiancamento nel cuore; resterebbe perciò a sapersi di qual male sia morto."
(Translation: "During the dissection of the Pope's body, which occurred yesterday evening, as far as they say, only very healthy internal organs (viscera) were found, except some weakness of the lungs, or, according to others, a tired heart; it is therefore impossible to know the cause of death.")
These few words have been interpreted by some partisans of a conspiracy theory as evidence that the Pope had indeed been poisoned.
| Styles of Pope Pius VIII | |
| Image:Emblem of the Papacy.svg | |
| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | none |
[edit] External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Pope Pius VIII encyclicals and other works, IntraText Digital Library
- Agostino Chigi Diary, IntraText Digital Library (italian)
| Preceded by: Leo XII | Pope 1829–30 | Succeeded by: Gregory XVI |
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