Read Prisoner of the Vatican Online
Authors: David I. Kertzer
6.Â
Civiltà Cattolica
1878,1, Cronaca contemporanea, p. 250.
7. Quotations found in Martina 1990b, pp. 855â57.
8. Pirri 1951, part 2, n. 190b, Dichiarazioni ufficiose diramate dall'Agenzia Stefani.
9. Quazza 1999, n. 3891, Sella a Clotilde Sella, Roma, 16 gennaio 1878.
10. Pasztor 1968, p. 197.
11. Pirri 1951, part 2, n. 187.
12. Martina 1990a, pp. 516â517.
13. AAEESS, Italia, pos. 631, fasc. 402, pp. 17â18, Documenti relativi alla morte e funerali di Vittorio Emanuele, n. 5. Circolari Segrete ai Vescovi del Regno in ordine ai funerali pel defunto Re, Roma dalla Segreteria di Stato, Li 10 Gennaio 1878; and Roma, 12 Gennaio 1878.
14.Â
Civiltà Cattolica
1878,1, Cronaca contemporanea, p. 376.
15.Â
Civiltà Cattolica
1878, II, Cronaca contemporanea, pp. 104â5. The French ambassador to Italy reported on January 19,1878, that the pope did allow bishops to perform funeral services in the lands that the Vatican considered to be legitimately ruled by the Savoyards, which included both Piedmont and Lombardy. MAES, CP, Rome, vol. 1063, f. 45r, AF SS DP no.7, Ã M. Waddington, MAE, le 19 janvier 1878.
16.Â
Civiltà Cattolica
1878, I, Cronaca contemporanea, pp. 364â79; Martina 1990a, pp. 518â19. Duggan 2000, pp. 452â53.
17. The French ambassador to the Holy See, who was close to Pius in his last year, observed that the older he got, the more mystical he became. As he despaired of gaining help from the mighty of this world, he became ever more convinced that God would intervene directly to ensure the Church's triumph. (MAES, CP, Rome, vol. 1061, ff. 17râ23r, Ambassade de France, M. le Due Decazes près le St. Siège, Ministre des Affaires Etrangères, le 10 janvier 1877; ff. 69râ70v, 9 février 1877.)
18. Matteo Liberatore, "La conclusione dell'Enciclica di Leone XIII,"
Civiltà Cattolica
1878, III, p. 11; Ignesti 1988, pp. 81â82.
19. Pelczar 1911, v. 3, p. 391; Manfroni 1920, p. 331; Soderini 1934, p. 3; ASR, Questura di Roma, b. 15, f. 104,7/2/78 ore 13, Crispi a Comm. Bolis; MAES, CP, Rome, vol. 1063, f. 104r; Pflanze 1990, p. 410.
20.Â
Civiltà Cattolica
1878,1, pp. 599â603; ASR Questura b. 15 (1878), Ufficio di Pubblica Sicurezza del Rione Borgo, n. 31, Affollamento in San Pietro per la morte del Papa; "I Romani ai piedi di Pio IX,"
L'Osservatore Romano,
11 febbraio 1878, p. 1.
21. Manfroni 1920 , p. 338.
22. "Ultime notizie,"
L'Osservatore Romano,
15 febbraio 1878, p. 3.
23. MAEI, CP, Rome, vol. 51, ff. 167r,
1691.
24. ASR, Questura di Roma, b. 15, f. 104, fasc. Disposizioni ministeriali preliminari sui servii per la morte del Papa, 4 sett. 1871; MAEI, CP, Rome, v. 51, f. 165,11 février 1878, n. 11778/3743; Manfroni 1920, pp. 334â42; "La tumulazione di Pio IX,"
L'Osservatore Romano,
14 febbraio 1878, p. 1.
25. For exampleâand this is one of a huge numberâin giving the chronology of major events in the pope's life,
L'Osservatore Romano's
entry for September 20,1870, reads: "Rome taken and imprisonment of Pius IX," while its last entry was "February 7,1878, Pius IX dies in Rome in the Vatican palace where he had been a prisoner since September 20,1870" ("I fasti cronologici di Pio IX,"
L'Osservatore Romano,
15 febbraio 1878, p. 1).
26. Halperin 1939, p. 471; Chadwick 1997, pp. 365â66; Aubert 1990b, pp. 755â56; Candeloro 1953, p. 157.
11. Picking a New Pope
1. DDI, series 2, vol. 2, n. 484, Il Ministro a Vienna, Minghetti, al Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, 5 giugno 1871.
2. DDI, series 2, vol. 3, n. 22, Il Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, al Ministro a Parigi, Nigra, 16 luglio 1871.
3. Rothan 1885, vol. 2, p. 391.
4. Soderini 1934, p. 91.
5. DDI, series 2, vol. 3, n. 376, Il Ministro a Lisbona, Oldoini, al Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, 28 febbraio 1872; n. 551, Visconti a Nigra, 10 giugno 1872.
6. DDI, series 2, vol. 3, n. 513, Il Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, al Ministro a Lisbona, Oldoini, "Mémoire confidentiel," Roma, 10 maggio 1872.
7. DDI, series 2, vol. 3, n. 537, Il Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, al Ministro a Berlino, de Launay, 29 maggio 1872.
8. In fact, unbeknownst to the Italian government, the French were then engaged in secret discussions with both the Austrians and the Portuguese, aimed at pushing the idea of a non-Italian pope. They had no luck, for both the Austrians and Portuguese suspected that the French wanted to elect a French pope who would serve French interests (Engel-Janosi 1954, p. 361).
9. DDI, series 2, vol. 4, n. 493, Il Ministro a Vienna, di Robilant, al Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, 13 maggio 1873; n. 503, Il Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, al Ministro a Vienna, di Robilant, 20 maggio 1873.
10. DDI, series 2, vol. 5, n. 70, Il Ministro a Vienna, di Robilant, al Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, Vienna, 5 settembre 1873.
11. DDI, series 2, vol. 6, n. 228, Il Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, al Ministro a Parigi, Nigra, 6 giugno 1875.
12. As it happened, Visconti needn't have worried, for Patrizi died before the end of the year.
13. DDI, series 2, vol. 6, n. 558, Il Ministro degli Esteri, Visconti Venosta, al Ministro a Lisbona, Oldoini, 19 gennaio 1876.
14. DDI, series 2, vol. 7, n. 303, Il Segretario Generale all'Interno, LaCava, al Ministro degli Esteri, Melegari, 5 agosto 1876; n. 316, Il Ministro degli Esteri, Melegari, all'Incaricato d'Affari a Parigi, Ressman, 10 agosto 1876.
15. DDI, series 2, vol. 7, n. 424, L'Incaricato d'affari a Parigi, Ressman, al Ministro degli Esteri, Melegari, 16 settembre 1876.
16. DDI, series 2, vol. 7, n. 452, L'ambasciatore a Londra, Menabrea, al Ministro degli Esteri, Melegari, 4 ottobre 1876.
17. MAES, CP, vol. 1061, if. 239râ242v, Baude à M. le Duc Decazes, Ministère des Affaires Ãtrangères, 3 avril 1877. These two quotes are paraphrases.
18. Aubert 1990a, pp. 61â62.
19. Ballerini, Raffaele, "Una nuova confessione del liberalismo,"
Civiltà Cattolica
1878,1, pp. 149â60.
20. Reproduced in
Civiltà Cattolica
1878,1, p. 611, Cronaca contemporanea.
21. MAES, CP, tome 1063, ff. 115râ120v, 9 février 1878.
22. Gregorovius 1907, p. 354, entry for February 6,1870.
23. MAES, CP, tome 1063, ff. 18râ2or, 8 janvier 1878; Conclave: Opinion du Cardinal Manning.
24. The following day, February 8, France's ambassador to the Holy See offered this description of the debate and vote of the previous day, based on his own informants. Early in the evening he wrote: "The faction that wants to move the conclave out of Rome is stronger than one would have thought. One can only hope that wisdom will prevail and that this new cause for incalculable difficulties for the Church in Europe and in our country will be avoided." A few hours later that same evening, he reported worrisome new developments. "Although Cardinal Simeoni has practically refused to speak, invoking the rigor of the oath he has taken, I was able to learn that the 38 cardinals who met today in a consistory that lasted six hours were unable to reach agreement on the place where the conclave should be held. The majority, contrary to the impression that I was able to get yesterday from my conversation with the Cardinal Chamberlain, seem to prefer to leave Rome. The question will be taken up again tomorrow." The ambassador added that he hoped that the French cardinals would arrive in time to act as a moderating influence on their Italian colleagues (MAEI, CP, v. 51, f. 149r, 7 février 1878; MAES, tome 1063, f. 109râ109v, 8 février 1878; MAES, tome 1063, 11orâ11ov, 8 février 1878).
25. MAES, CP, tome 1063, ff. mrâ112r, 9 février 1878.
26. Soderini 1934, pp. 10â17.
27. MAES, CP, tome 1063, f. 108r, 8 février 1878; ff. 137râ143r, Annexe à la minute du D. P. no. 8 du 10 février 1878.
28. Soderini 1934, pp. 92â93; Lecanuet 1910, p. 2. It does not appear that the French government had ever in fact supported Cardinal Riario-Sforza, but in any case the archbishop of Naples was no longer in the running, having died five months earlier.
29. O'Reilly 1887, pp. 299â308.
30. "If the heads of the French clergy take no account of all that the government has done and push things to an extreme, our situation in the future will become extremely delicate with respect to the Italian government and public opinion in Italy" (MAES, CP, tome 1063, ff. 152^153% Noailles à Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, 16 février 1878).
31. MAEI, CP, v. 51, ff. 178râ178v, Noailles à Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, 17 février 1878; MAES, CP, vol. 1063, ff. 156râ156v, Waddington à Baude, 17 février 1878 ; ff. 154r- 154V, Baude à Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, 17 février 1878 ; ff. 155râ155v, Baude à Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, 17 février 1878, ff. 155râ155V.
32. Soderini 1934, pp. 82, 88.
33. Aubert 1990a, pp. 63â64, intro. As the conclave began, Europe's leaders rummaged through their records to learn what they could about the cardinals. The Italian government had compiled a complete file on each of them a few years earlier which they now dusted off. In addition to giving basic background information, it offered brief evaluations of each one. They were on the whole less than kind. Among some of the more prominent cardinals we find such characterizations as these: Costantino Patrizi, dean of the Sacred College: "Most humble servant of Pius IX, his confessor and the recipient of the Pope's last wishes. As pompous as the Pope, but short on intelligence and subject to the Jesuitical influence of his relatives." Carlo Sacconi, protégé of Antonelli and former papal nuncio to Paris: "Old diplomat. A man who is closed, ignorant, and miserly." Of the intransigent faction's leading candidate for the papacy, Luigi Bilio: "He has an extremely high opinion of himself and has opinions of the greatest violence and ferocity against liberal ideas." Of Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte, a cousin of Emperor Napoleon III, still in his forties, the comment consisted of three words only: "ascetic and lunatic." As for Rome's current cardinal vicar, Raffaele Monaco la Valletta, the report described him as "one of Pius IX's favorites, who distracts him by regaling him with humorous stories sprinkled with jokes. Sworn enemy of national unity. Man of superficial erudition, of which he makes ostentatious display." Nor was the portrait of the man who would soon become pope especially flattering. Cardinal Gioacchino Pecci, born on March 2, 1810, and currently the archbishop of Perugia: "Bends to every wind. He was liberal, then reactionary, and now seeks to muddle through while doing himself the least harm possible" (ASR, Questura di Roma, b. 15, n. 13, 1878, I Cardinali italiani relativamente al Conclave).
34. Halperin 1961, p. 106.
35. Soderini 1934, pp. 33â66.
36. I follow Aubert's (1990a, p. 64) account. Soderini 1934, p. 19, gives a slightly different count for the first vote. On the vestments, see Soderini 1934, p. 102.
37. O'Reilly 1887, pp. 312â13.
38. Waddington 1905, p. 146. Perodi 1980, pp. 327â28.
39. Aubert 1990a, pp. 68â73; Schmandt 1961, p. 19.
40. Mellano 1982, pp. 72, 87; Schmandt 1961, p. 33; Launay 1997, pp. 20â21.
41. Manfroni 1920, p. 350.
42. MAEI, CP, vol. 51, ff. 202râ204r, Noailles à Waddington, 23 février 1878; Lecanuet 1910, p. 6. â¹Cet italien encore plus diplomate que prêtre ... me semble du meilleur augure;... s'il ne meurt pas trop tôt, nous pourrons espérer un mariage de raison avec l'église ... C'est un opportuniste sacré⺠(Trincia 2001, p. 12).
43. Copious evidence can be found in ASR, Questura di Roma, b. 15.
44. Spadolini 1991, p. 152; Manfroni 1920, p. 358; ASR, Questura di Roma, b. 16, fasc. febbraio 1878, Dimostrazioni contra la legge delle Guarentigie.
45. Based on the account published in
L'Italie
(28 février 1878), found as annexe à la Dépêche de Rome D. P. n. 18, MAES, tome 1063, ff. 195râ197r, 28 février 1878.
46. Manfroni 1920, pp. 360â65.
47. ASR, Questura di Roma, b. 15, n. 1355, Dimostrazione sul Corso, 4 marzo 1878; MAEI, CP, v. 51, ff. 230râ232r, Noailles à Waddington, 5 mars 1878, Démonstrations à l'occasion du couronnement de Léon XIII;
Civiltà Cattolica
1878, I, pp. 747â48, Cronaca Contemporanea;
Civiltà Cattolica
1878, II, pp. 95-97, Cronaca Contemporanea.
12. Keeping the Bishops in Line
1. MAES, v. 1063, ff. 187râ19or, Baude à Waddington, 25 février 1878.
2. Manfroni 1920, p. 375.
3. MAES, v. 1063, ff. 259râ2ó2v, 9 avril 1878, Croy à Waddington, Lettre pastorale sur le Pouvoir temporel.
4.Â
Civiltà Cattolica,
1878, II, pp. 465â66, Rivista della stampa italiana;
Civiltà Cattolica,
1878, III, p. 220, Cronaca Contemporanea; emphasis in originai.
5. This is certainly the sense in MAES, v. 1063, ff. 272râ275v, 19 avril 1878, Croy à Waddington, "Pèlerinages. Mode de réception adopté par Léon XIII."
6. In late April 1878, the French ambassador to the Holy See informed Paris that the secretary of state had denied these stories of plans to summer at Castel Gandolfo. Leo XIII, the French envoy added, was reported to have said, "I was placed here as a sentry and I do not have the right to abandon my post." MAES, CP, v. 1063, ff. 299râ301r, 28 avril 1878, Croy à Waddington, Villégiature du Pape.
7. Mazzonis 2003, pp. 148â51.
8. Drake 1980, p. xviii; Casalegno 2001, p. 12.
9. Carocci 1956, p. 193; Duggan 2000, pp. 450â51; Mack Smith 1994a, p. 71; Pelczar 1911, P- 389â10.
10. His aide, Paolo Paulucci (1986, p. 32), reports this in his memoirs. See also Mack Smith 1994a, p. 72.
11. Guiccioli 1936, pp. 182,190; Casalegno 2001, p. 75; Pinto 2002, p. 12.
12. MAES, CP, v. 1065, ff. 235râ237r, n. 35 à M. Waddington, Nouvelles diverses, 29 avril 1879; Farini 1961, p. 676. Paolucci 1986, p. 27. Paolucci, though, notes that Umberto was close to Monsignor Anzino and turned to him not only for his blessings but also for political advice.