A History of the Popes, 1830-1914

A History of the Popes, 1830-1914
Author: Owen Chadwick
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 628
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780199262861

Owen Chadwick analyzes the causes and consequences of the end of the historic Papal State, exploring pressures on old Rome from Italy and across Europe, which caused popes to resist the world rather than to try to influence it.

To Kidnap a Pope

To Kidnap a Pope
Author: Ambrogio A. Caiani
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2021-05-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300258771

A groundbreaking account of Napoleon Bonaparte, Pope Pius VII, and the kidnapping that would forever divide church and state In the wake of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, and Pope Pius VII shared a common goal: to reconcile the church with the state. But while they were able to work together initially, formalizing an agreement in 1801, relations between them rapidly deteriorated. In 1809, Napoleon ordered the Pope’s arrest. Ambrogio Caiani provides a pioneering account of the tempestuous relationship between the emperor and his most unyielding opponent. Drawing on original findings in the Vatican and other European archives, Caiani uncovers the nature of Catholic resistance against Napoleon’s empire; charts Napoleon’s approach to Papal power; and reveals how the Emperor attempted to subjugate the church to his vision of modernity. Gripping and vivid, this book shows the struggle for supremacy between two great individuals—and sheds new light on the conflict that would shape relations between the Catholic church and the modern state for centuries to come.

The Popes

The Popes
Author: John Julius Norwich
Publisher: Arrow
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Papacy
ISBN: 9780099565871

John Julius Norwich examines the oldest continuing institution in the world, tracing the papal line down the centuries from St Peter (traditionally - but by no means historically - the first Pope) to the present. Of the 280-odd holders of the supreme office, some have unquestionably been saints; others have wallowed in unspeakable iniquity. One was said to have been a woman, her sex being revealed only when she improvidently gave birth to a baby during a papal procession. Almost as shocking was Formosus whose murdered corpse was exhumed, clothed in pontifical vestments, propped up on a throne and subjected to trial; or John XII, of whom Gibbon wrote 'his rapes of virgins and widows had deterred the female pilgrims from visiting the shrine of St Peter'. John Julius Norwich brings the story up to date with lively investigations into the anti-semitism of the contemptible Pius XII, the possible murder of John Paul I and the phenomenon of the Polish John Paul II. From the glories of Byzantium to the decay of Rome, from the Albigensian Heresy to controversy within the Church today, "The Popes" is superbly written, witty and revealing.

The Pope who Would be King

The Pope who Would be King
Author: David I. Kertzer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2018
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0198827490

Days after the assassination of his prime minister in the middle of Rome in November 1848, Pope Pius IX found himself a virtual prisoner in his own palace. The wave of revolution that had swept through Europe now seemed poised to put an end to the popes' thousand-year reign over the Papal States, if not indeed to the papacy itself. Disguising himself as a simple parish priest, Pius escaped through a back door. Climbing inside the Bavarian ambassador's carriage, he embarked on a journey into a fateful exile.Only two years earlier Pius's election had triggered a wave of optimism across Italy. After the repressive reign of the dour Pope Gregory XVI, Italians saw the youthful, benevolent new pope as the man who would at last bring the Papal States into modern times and help create a new, unified Italian nation. But Pius found himself caught between a desire to please his subjects and a fear--stoked by the cardinals--that heeding the people's pleas would destroy the church. The resulting drama--with a colorful cast of characters, from Louis Napoleon and his rabble-rousing cousin Charles Bonaparte to Garibaldi, Tocqueville, and Metternich--was rife with treachery, tragedy, and international power politics.David Kertzer is one of the world's foremost experts on the history of Italy and the Vatican, and has a rare ability to bring history vividly to life. With a combination of gripping, cinematic storytelling, and keen historical analysis rooted in an unprecedented richness of archival sources, The Pope Who Would Be King sheds fascinating new light on the end of rule by divine right in the west and the emergence of modern Europe.

Prisoner of the Vatican

Prisoner of the Vatican
Author: David I. Kertzer
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2006-02-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 0547347162

A Pulitzer Prize winner’s “fascinating” account of the political battles that led to the end of the Papal States (Entertainment Weekly). From a National Book Award–nominated author, this absorbing history chronicles the birth of modern Italy and the clandestine politics behind the Vatican’s last stand in the battle between the church and the newly created Italian state. When Italy’s armies seized the Holy City and claimed it for the Italian capital, Pope Pius IX, outraged, retreated to the Vatican and declared himself a prisoner, calling on foreign powers to force the Italians out of Rome. The action set in motion decades of political intrigue that hinged on such fascinating characters as Garibaldi, King Viktor Emmanuel, Napoleon III, and Chancellor Bismarck. Drawing on a wealth of secret documents long buried in the Vatican archives, David I. Kertzer reveals a fascinating story of outrageous accusations, mutual denunciations, and secret dealings that will leave readers hard-pressed to ever think of Italy, or the Vatican, in the same way again. “A rousing tale of clerical skullduggery and topsy-turvy politics, laced with plenty of cross-border intrigue.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Absolute Power

Absolute Power
Author: Paul Collins
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2018-03-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1541762002

The sensational story of the last two centuries of the papacy, its most influential pontiffs, troubling doctrines, and rise in global authority In 1799, the papacy was at rock bottom: The Papal States had been swept away and Rome seized by the revolutionary French armies. With cardinals scattered across Europe and the next papal election uncertain, even if Catholicism survived, it seemed the papacy was finished. In this gripping narrative of religious and political history, Paul Collins tells the improbable success story of the last 220 years of the papacy, from the unexalted death of Pope Pius VI in 1799 to the celebrity of Pope Francis today. In a strange contradiction, as the papacy has lost its physical power -- its armies and states -- and remained stubbornly opposed to the currents of social and scientific consensus, it has only increased its influence and political authority in the world.

Papal Diplomacy from 1914 to 1989

Papal Diplomacy from 1914 to 1989
Author: Dennis Castillo
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2019-10-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1498546498

The First World War, the Second World War, and the Cold War are episodes of a wider conflict, called here “The Seventy-Five Years War,” dominated the twentieth century. Both unresolved issues and new issues from the First World War carry over into the next conflict, which in turn led immediately to the Cold War. While this great conflict can be viewed from different perspectives, this book focuses on the role of the Papacy. From the stateless Benedict XV’s attempts to call a peace conference, to the establishment of Vatican City and the restoration of sovereignty, to the struggles of Pius XI and Pius XII with both Fascism and Communism, and the contributions of John Paul II to the collapse of Communism, the Catholic Church was a part of this struggle. In addition to its humanitarian and pacifistic efforts from 1914 to 1989, the Catholic Church was also engaged in an intense ideological struggle with atheistic communism. This conflict will often take priority over other ideological conflicts, such as that with Fascism, as well as complicate the Church’s mission in other parts of the world, such as Latin America and Asia.