Pope Pius VIII

Pope Pius VIII (20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830), born Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in 1830.

Pope

Pius VIII
Bishop of Rome
Papacy began31 March 1829
Papacy ended30 November 1830
PredecessorLeo XII
SuccessorGregory XVI
Orders
Ordination17 December 1785
by Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj
Consecration17 August 1800
by Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj
Created cardinal8 March 1816
by Pius VII
Personal details
Birth nameFrancesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni
Born(1761-11-20)20 November 1761
Cingoli, Marche, Papal States
Died30 November 1830(1830-11-30) (aged 69)
Quirinal Palace, Rome, Papal States
Previous post
Coat of arms
Other popes named Pius

Pius VIII's pontificate was the shortest of the 19th century, and is likely the least remembered. His brief papacy witnessed the Catholic Emancipation in Great Britain in 1829, which he welcomed, and the July Revolution in France in 1830, which he reluctantly accepted. Pius VIII is often remembered for his writings on marriages between Catholics and Protestants in the 1830 encyclical Litteris altero abhinc, in which he declared that a marriage could only be properly blessed if proper provisions had been made to ensure the bringing up of children in the Catholic faith. His death less than two years after his election to the papacy has led to speculation of a possible murder.

Early life

Francesco Saverio Castiglioni was born in Cingoli, Marche, the third of eight children of Count Ottavio Castiglioni and his wife Sanzia Ghislieri. His baptismal name was recorded as Francesco Saverio Maria Felice. An ancestor of his was Pope Celestine IV. He studied at the Collegio Campana run by the Society of Jesus and, after that, at the University of Bologna where he earned a doctorate in canon law and in civil law in 1785. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on 17 December 1785.[1]

He served as the Vicar General of Anagni (1788–1790), Fano (1790–1797) and Ascoli Piceno (1797–1800).[1]

Episcopate and cardinalate

On 11 August 1800 Castiglioni was appointed Bishop of Montalto. He received episcopal consecration on 17 August in Rome at the Church of Santi Domenico e Sisto. Cardinal Giuseppe Doria Pamphili served as consecrator, assisted by Nicola Buschi and Camillo Campanelli. He refused to swear allegiance to Napoleon or to his client state, the Kingdom of Italy. On 29 July 1808 he was arrested and taken to Milan. Castiglioni was subsequently taken to Pavia, to Mantua, and then to Turin, where he arrived on 10 November 1813. On 18 November he was brought back to Milan. Finally, after Napoleon fell, Castiglioni returned to his diocese on 16 June 1814.[1] He was praised by Pope Pius VII who in 1816 elevated him to the cardinalate as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Traspontina. He held various high offices thereafter, including that of Apostolic Penitentiary. He soon became a Cardinal-Bishop of the suburbicarian see of Frascati.

Castiglioni was considered a front-runner in the conclave of 1823. He was known to be close to Pius VII, who often referred to Castiglioni as "Pius VIII."[2] However, he failed to gain the necessary votes, in part due to controversy surrounding an alliance between him and another favorite, Secretary of State Ercole Consalvi. Annibale Cardinal della Genga was elected instead, and he took the name of Pope Leo XII.

Papacy
Papal styles of
Pope Pius VIII
Reference styleHis Holiness
Spoken styleYour Holiness
Religious styleHoly Father
Posthumous styleNone

Election

After the death of Pope Leo XII in 1829, Castiglioni was again considered to be a major candidate, though was questioned due to his frail health. Despite these concerns, he was elected as pope in the papal conclave of 1829. Given that Pope Pius VII had referred to him as Pius VIII, it seemed only suitable that it was the pontifical name that he chose. He was crowned on 5 April 1829 by Cardinal Giuseppe Albani.[1]

Modernism and Biblical translations

As Pope Pius VIII, he initiated some reforms in the Papal States. On 24 May 1829 he issued an encyclical, Traditi humilitati. Regarding religious pluralism, he condemned the "foul contrivance of the sophists of this age" that would place Catholicism on par with any other religion. Regarding Bible translations, he wrote in that encyclical:

We must also be wary of those who publish the Bible with new interpretations contrary to the Church's laws. They skillfully distort the meaning by their own interpretation. They print the Bibles in the vernacular and, absorbing an incredible expense, offer them free even to the uneducated. Furthermore, the Bibles are rarely without perverse little inserts to ensure that the reader imbibes their lethal poison instead of the saving water of salvation.[3]

On 25 March 1830, in the brief Litteris altero, he condemned the masonic secret societies and modernist biblical translations. Pius VIII accepted the situation on mixed marriages between Protestants and Catholics in Germany, but he opposed changes in Ireland and Poland, which were still strongly Catholic. In Litteris altero abhinc, he declared that a mixed marriage could only be blessed by a priest if proper promises had been made to educate the children of the marriage as Catholics.[4]

Other activities
1829 painting by Horace Vernet of Pius VIII in the Sedia gestatoria

His brief pontificate saw the Catholic Emancipation in the United Kingdom and the July Revolution in France, which occurred in 1829 and 1830, respectively. Pius VIII recognised Louis Philippe I (1830–48) as French king and allowed him to use the French king's customary title "Roi Très Chretien," which means "His Most Christian Majesty."[5]

Pius VIII also held three consistories in which he elevated a total of six men into the cardinalate. He held these ceremonies on 27 July 1829, 15 March 1830 and 5 July 1830.[6]

He canonized no saints during his brief pontificate but he beatified two individuals. On 23 December 1829 he beatified Benincasa da Montepulciano, and on 4 March 1830 he beatified Chiara Gambacorti. In 1830 Pius VIII proclaimed Saint Bernard of Clairvaux a Doctor of the Church.

Of remarkable importance to the future is a letter of his to a French bishop, in which he allowed the taking of moderate interest (under the principle of foregoing a profit by investing the lent capital; see Vix pervenit for the discussion of the topic).

Being, at that time, head of the Roman State, he remained popular for decades for removing the so-called cancelletti (grids) from the taverns, which Leo XII had ordered to be put there to hinder the consumption of wine unless accompanied by a meal. A poem was written about him that ran thus: "Allor che il sommo Pio / comparve innanzi a Dio / gli domandò: Che hai fatto? / Rispose: Nient'ho fatto. / Corresser gli angeletti: / Levò i cancelletti." (Which is approximately in English: At the time when the highest Pius / approached God in the highest / He asked him: What have you got done? / He answered: "There's nothing I've got done." / But the angels present knew better: / "He cancelled the cancelletter".)[7]

Health and death
Monument in Saint Peter's Basilica

Pius VIII was in very poor health during most of his papacy. He became very ill in early November 1830, developing fistulas on his neck and knee while his entire body became covered with pustules, which the doctors were able to manage by 15 November. Pius VIII became seriously ill on 23 November and had difficulties in breathing for the following three nights until being given the Viaticum on 28 November and the Extreme Unction later that day.[5][8] He died on 30 November 1830 at the age of 69 in the Quirinal Palace in Rome.

Certain theories have emerged suggesting that Pius VIII was poisoned, but no proof has been found to verify this claim.[5] Cardinal Camillo di Pietro gave the funeral oration for the late pope, before the cardinals entered the conclave to choose a successor. Pius VIII was succeeded by Pope Gregory XVI.

Episcopal lineage

The pope's episcopal lineage, or apostolic succession was:[9]

See also

References
    1. "CASTIGLIONI, Francesco Saverio (1761-1830)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
    2. Pirie, Valérie. LEO XII (DELLA GENGA) Pickle Pushing. Web. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
    3. "TRADITI HUMILITATI (On His Program For The Pontificate): Pope Pius VIII". Eternal Word Television Network. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
    4. "Pope Pius VIII". New Advent. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
    5. "Papal Profile: Pope Pius VIII". The Mad Monarchist. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
    6. Miranda, Salvador. Consistories for the creation of Cardinals: 19th Century (1800-1903) The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Web. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
    7. As represented in one of the books of the Concerto Romano cycle.
    8. "Sede Vacante 1830-1831". 15 August 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
    9. David M. Cheney, "Bishop Oscar Cantoni", Catholic Hierarchy, retrieved 9 August 2019

    Literature
    • Giuseppe Monsagrati: Pio VIII. In: Massimo Bray (ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Vol. 3  (Innocenzo VIII, Giovanni Paolo II), Rome, 2000, OCLC 313581724
    • Christof Dahm (1994). "Pius VIII". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). 7. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 673–677. ISBN 3-88309-048-4.
    Catholic Church titles
    Preceded by
    Francesco Antonio Marcucci    		 Bishop of Montalto
    11 August 1800 – 8 March 1816    		 Succeeded by
    Pietro Paolo Mazzichi
    Preceded by
    Carlo Bellisomi    		 Bishop of Cesena
    8 March 1816 – 4 August 1821    		 Succeeded by
    Antonio Maria Cadolini
    Preceded by
    Michele di Pietro    		 Major Penitentiary of Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary
    4 August 1821 – 31 March 1829    		 Succeeded by
    Emmanuele De Gregorio
    Preceded by
    Leo XII    		 Pope
    31 March 1829 – 30 November 1830    		 Succeeded by
    Gregory XVI
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