Pope Leo XII

Leo XII. ( Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola della Genga Sermattei ) (* August 22, 1760 at Castle La Genga at Spoleto, the Papal States, † February 10, 1829 in Rome) was Pope from 1823 to 1829.

Origin and clerical career

Annibale della Genga Sermattei belonged to an Italian noble family. Since 1793, the church lawyer was titular archbishop of Tyre. In 1794 he was appointed nuncio to the papal curia in Cologne. He could but because of the occupation of the Rhineland by French troops his duties there not absorb and therefore resided in Munich, where he was formally from 1795-1796 Internuncio. In 1814 he was nuncio in Paris, in 1816 Bishop of Senigallia and Cardinal ( titular church of Santa Maria in Trastevere ). In 1820 he became vicar general of the diocese of Rome. The Conclave elected him on 28 September 1823 Pope.

Pontificate

In the 19th century there were in the College of Cardinals two wings: the Zelanti ( zealot ), which recorded the confrontation with the modern currents of thought offensively while also risked conflict with the States, and the politicanti ( politicians ) who were intent to diplomacy and compensation.

Leo XII. became the Zelanti counted and broke with the policy of reform, of which the Secretary of State Cardinal Ercole Consalvi († 1824) had under his predecessor Pius VII guided.

At the very beginning of his pontificate, he condemned the Tolerantismus, the indifference and the membership of Bible societies, which had formed everywhere. Leo XII. seems the flourishing in the 19th century and sapping the spirit of the Enlightenment science to have followed with great suspicion, especially when they due to religious attitudes threatened to falter.

Considering that Leo XII. the smallpox vaccination would have banned, but there is no evidence. The Pope is often attributed to the quote:

" Chiunque procede alla vaccinazione Cessa di essere figlio di Dio: il vaiolo è un castigo voluto since Dio è una sfida contro la vaccinazione il Cielo. " "Whoever is undergoing vaccination, ceases to be a child of God. Smallpox is a judgment of God, vaccination is a blasphemy against the sky. "

Donald J. Keefe sought for this supposed quote and could find no historical evidence for it.

Leo XII. celebrated in 1825 the only Holy Year in the 19th century ( the 1875 is only formally counted), which became a success within Italy.

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