Pius VIII

Pius VIII

Coat of arms of Pius VIII., Modern drawing

. Pius VIII (* 20th November 1761 in Cingoli at Ancona , Papal States ; † 30th November 1830 in Rome ) - baptized as Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni - was pope from 1829 to 1830.

Life

Francesco Castiglioni comes from the old Italian noble family Castiglione . He completed his theological studies at the Collegio Campana in Osimo and at the Collegio Montalto in Bologna . In 1785 he completed his studies with a focus on canon law ( Dr. iur. Utr. ) And was ordained a priest on December 17 of the same year in Rome.

Predestined by his studies, he was appointed secretary of the commission for the assessment of the resolutions of the Synod of Pistoia (1786). He was then appointed vicar general in various dioceses before he was appointed provost of his birthplace in Cingoli in 1797 .

Pope Pius VII appointed Castiglioni Bishop of Montalto on October 10, 1800 . During his tenure there, Italy was occupied by the Napoleonic troops. His courage and resistance earned him great esteem among the population. The French imprisoned Castiglioni in Milan in July 1808 . He was only released after the French troops withdrew in 1814. He remained bishop in Cingoli until 1816.

On March 8, 1816, he was appointed cardinal and bishop of Cesena . In 1821 he was appointed major penitentiary of the Curia in the Vatican and at the same time Cardinal Bishop of Frascati . In 1822 he was appointed Prefect of the Index Congregation . After the death of Pius VII in 1823, Castiglioni was considered the most promising candidate for his successor. The conflict between moderates ( politicanti ) on the one hand and conservative forces ( zelanti = "zealots") on the other prevented his election. The relationship with Pope Leo XII. (a "zealot") was burdened after the conflicts in the conclave . Castiglioni's career was not significantly affected, however.

pontificate

Pope Leo XII. died on February 10, 1829, and Castiglioni was elected Pope in the conclave on March 31, and was crowned on April 5, 1829 . Pius VIII, as he now called himself, announced the program of his pontificate in the encyclical Traditi humilitati nostrae on May 24, 1829 . His health was already very poor at this point and he died on November 30, 1830 of complications from asthma.

Conservative in the theological field, Pius VIII is still considered one of the most modern popes of the 19th century. His equilibrium and diplomatic skills were not regained until the 20th century by his successors. What is particularly striking is the foresight with which he accepted the July Revolution of 1830 in France. Against the resistance of the curia and French legitimists , he agreed with the parliamentary form of government under "Citizen King" Louis-Philippe I and allowed him to use the honorary title "Roi Très Chretien" ("Most Christian King") , traditionally with the French kings.

literature

• Giuseppe Monsagrati:  Pio VIII. In: Massimo Bray (ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi. Volume 3:  Innocenzo VIII, Giovanni Paolo II. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2000 ( treccani.it ).
• Christof Dahm :  Pius VIII. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 673-677.
• Entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia (English)

Web links

Commons : Pius VIII  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• CASTIGLIONI, Francesco Saverio (1761-1830). In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website, English)
• Works by and about Pius VIII  in the German Digital Library

predecessor	Office	successor
Leo XII.	Pope 1829-1830	Gregory XVI.
Bartolomeo Pacca	Cardinal Bishop of Frascati 1821–1829	Emmanuele De Gregorio
Carlo Antonio Giuseppe Bellisomi	Bishop of Cesena 1816–1821	Antonio Maria Cadolini B