Pope Leo XII [1823-29]
Annibale della Genga, pope from 1823 to 1829, was an Italian noble of the Genga family. A native of Komagna, he was born on August 22, 1760. In 1790 he first gained public, recognition of his talents by the success with which he accomplished the delicate task laid upon him by Pius VI of pronouncing a funeral discourse over the emperor Joseph II. In 1793 he was sent as nuncio to Lucerne with the title of archbishop of Tyre; in the following year he went, also as nuncio, to Cologne; in 1805 he attended the diet of Ratisbon as papal plenipotentiary; and in 1808 he shared with Caprara a difficult mission to France.
Some years of retirement at the abbey of Mmitieelli followed; but in 1811 he was made the bearer of the pope's congratulations to Louis XVIIL ; in 1816 he became cardinal priest of Sta. Maria Maggiore, receiving also the bishopric of Sinigaglia, while in 1820 he became cardinal vicarius.
On September 28, 1823, he was chosen to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Pius VII; at the time it was believed that he had not long to live, and, in point of fact, on the 23d day of the following December his condition became so serious that the last sacraments were administered to him; suddenly, however, he recovered.
Leo XII as a cardinal had become a bitter adversary of Consalvi. Yet his policy did not differ essentially from that of the great diplomatist. Consalvi was not resentful, but gave to the new pope the benefit of his deep insight into ecclesiastical politics and soon won his unbounded admiration. France, Spain, England, the South American Republics, etc., in their relations to the papacy, Consalvi knew to perfection, and the art of shrewd diplomacy and dissimulation no one could teach better than he. His wonderful knowledge of existing conditions and relations gave him deep insight into the future and enabled him in some measure to foresee the reaction in favor of the papacy that was to follow the French Revolution. The pope rewarded the aged statesman by making him Prefect of the Propaganda.
Before his elevation to the pontifical office Leo had figured as an opponent of the Jesuits. As pope he outdid his predecessor in showing them favor. He restored for them the Collegium Romanttm, the Oratorio del Cardvita, and the Osservatotio Gregoriano, and left nothing undone that would increase their efficiency as the foremost agency in the restoration and extension of ecclesiastical dominion. Under Jesuit influence he issued (May, 1824) an Encyclical, in which he denounced modern forms of Christianity that call themselves " philosophical " and preach toleration and indifferentism, and Bible societies which are spreading themselves over the whole earth and in contempt of the prohibition of the church are translating or rather perverting the Holy Scriptures into the languages of the peoples, so that in them (the translated Scriptures) not Christ's, but man's, nay, the Devil's gospel is to be found. In a brief published in 1826 he set forth his abhorrence of all non-Catholic Christians : " Every one separated from the Roman Catholic Church, however unblamable in other respects his life may be, because of this sole offense, that he is sundered from the unity of Christ, has no part in eternal life ; God's wrath hangs over him."
One of the first cares of Leo XII was for the due observance of the approaching jubilee year, and on May 27, 1824, the bull was sent forth which invited all Christendom to Rome in the following December. Following the advice of Consalvi, he proclaimed a jubilee in thankfulness to God for the suppression of the Revolution. Special indulgences were offered for prayers for the extirpation of heresy. In connection with the jubilee the Spanish Minorite Julianus, an intolerant fanatic, was canonized, and miracles (?) in St.. Peter's (among them the flying of a half-roasted bird from a spit) attested the divine recognition of his sainthood. Other canonizations, as that of the Jesuit Rodriguez and that of Gallantini, founder of the Congregation of Christian Instruction, showed clearly the reactionary and intolerant tendency of the administration. But foreign Governments responded coldly to the appeals made for their co-operation in forwarding pilgrims, and even Leo's own subjects viewed the preparations made in their neighborhood with indifference or aversion, and the most determined efforts of the papal government did not succeed in averting a somewhat ridiculous failure.
Leo succeeded in making concordats highly advantageous to the Roman See with the German, Dutch, South American, and other governments. Everywhere the spirit of reaction against revolution was manifest and the Roman Catholic Church came to be looked upon even by Protestant rulers and statesmen as a conservative force that could not safely be ignored.
Throughout his pontificate Leo showed himself a man of simple tastes and laborious habits; his diplomatic relations with the European powers were on the whole characterized by firmness, tact, and moderation, and perhaps the most unfavorable criticism to be made upon his domestic policy is that it was un-practical in its meddlesomeness and un-statesmanlike in its severity. He died on February 10, 1829, and was succeeded by Pius VIII. The administration of Leo XII. was so unpopular and his person was an object of such general execration, that it was not unnatural that his death, which was an occasion of general rejoicing, should have been attributed to poisoning.
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