Book contents
- The cambridge history of the Papacy
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- General Introduction
- Part I Christendom and Empire
- Part II Crises, Schisms, and Dissent
- Part III Reformations and Revolutions
- 12 The Papacy and the Protestants, 1517–1563
- 13 The Reformation Popes
- 14 The Popes and the Enlightenment
- 15 The Papacy in Revolution, 1775–1823: The Cesena Popes, Pius VI and Pius VII
- 16 Enlightenment and Its Aftermath: Liberalism, Socialism, and Nationalism
- 17 Pope Leo XIII and the Catholic Response to Modernity
- Part IV Theopolitics and Religious Diplomacy
- Part V Inter-Faith Relations: Confrontation and Dialogue
- Select Bibliography
- Index
15 - The Papacy in Revolution, 1775–1823: The Cesena Popes, Pius VI and Pius VII
from Part III - Reformations and Revolutions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2025
- The cambridge history of the Papacy
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- General Introduction
- Part I Christendom and Empire
- Part II Crises, Schisms, and Dissent
- Part III Reformations and Revolutions
- 12 The Papacy and the Protestants, 1517–1563
- 13 The Reformation Popes
- 14 The Popes and the Enlightenment
- 15 The Papacy in Revolution, 1775–1823: The Cesena Popes, Pius VI and Pius VII
- 16 Enlightenment and Its Aftermath: Liberalism, Socialism, and Nationalism
- 17 Pope Leo XIII and the Catholic Response to Modernity
- Part IV Theopolitics and Religious Diplomacy
- Part V Inter-Faith Relations: Confrontation and Dialogue
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Age of Revolutions marked the nadir in the fortunes of the papacy. Pius VI, despite his attempts to reform the Curia and embellish Rome, died a prisoner of the French in Valence in 1799. His successor, Pius VII, despite negotiating a groundbreaking concordat with Consular France in 1801, spent five years as the prisoner of Napoleon. This chapter examine the attempts at reform and survival of the Cesena popes in the face of the growing challenge of enlightened absolutism and revolutionary strife. The temporary loss of the Papal States from 1809 to 1814 was a grim harbinger of things to come in 1870. Although the papacy lost ground in temporal terms, ironically it gained a growing spiritual mastery over Catholicism globally.
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- Information
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy , pp. 402 - 426Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025