Pope Leo XIII
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Pope Leo XIII (March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903), born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci , was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having succeeded Pope Pius IX (1846–78) on February 20, 1878 and reigning until his death in 1903. Born in Carpineto Romano, Italy, he received his doctorate in theology in 1836 and doctorates of civil and Canon Law in Rome also. He was appointed domestic prelate to the pope in 1837. He was ordained on 31 December 1837. He became titular archbishop of Damietta in 1843 and apostolic nuncio to Belgium on 28 January 1843. He was named papal assistant in 1843. Pecci first achieved note as the popular and successful Archbishop of Perugia from 1846 till 1877, which led to his appointment as a Cardinal in 1853. Later, he was appointed as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, a position he held until his election as Pope.
Leo XIII worked to encourage understanding between the Church and the modern world. He firmly re-asserted the Scholastic doctrine that science and religion co-exist, and required the study of Thomas Aquinas. [link] Although he had stated that it "is quite unlawful to demand, defend, or to grant unconditional freedom of thought, or speech, of writing or worship, as if these were so many rights given by nature to man," he did open the Vatican Secret Archives to qualified researchers, among whom was the noted historian of the Papacy Ludwig von Pastor.Leo XIII was also the first Pope to come out strongly in favour of the French Republic, upsetting many French monarchists, but his support for democracy did not necessarily imply his acceptance of egalitarianism: "People differ in capacity, skill, health, strength; and unequal fortune is a necessary result of unequal condition. Such inequality is far from being disadvantageous either to individuals or to the community." (Rerum Novarum, 17 [link]) His relations with the Italian state were less progressive; Leo XIII continued the Papacy's self-imposed incarceration in the Vatican stance, and continued to insist that Italian Catholics should not vote in Italian elections or hold elected office.
| Styles of Pope Leo XIII | |
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| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | none |
Beatification and canonizations
He beatified Saint Gerard Majella in 1893 and Saint Edmund Campion in 1886.He canonized the following saints:
In 1881: Clare of Montefalco (d. 1308), John Baptist de Rossi (1696-1764),and Lawrence of Brindisi (d. 1619)
In 1883: Benedict Joseph Labre 1748-1783)
In 1888: Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, Peter Claver (1561-1654), John Berchmans (1599-1621), and Alphonsus Rodriguez (1531-1617)
In 1897: Anthony M. Zaccaria (1502-1539) and Peter Fourier of Our Lady (1565-1640)
In 1900: John Baptist de la Salle (1651-1719) and Rita of Cascia (1381-1457)
Papal teachings and publications
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Part of the Politics series on Christian Democracy
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Christian Democratic parties Christian Democrat International European People's Party European Democratic Party Euro Christian Political Movement Christian Dem Org of America |
| Ideas |
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Social conservatism Social market economy Catholic social teaching Human dignity · Personalism Communitarianism · Popularism Catholic worker movement |
| Important Documents |
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Rerum Novarum (1891) Stone Lectures (Princeton 1898) Graves de Communi Re (1901) Quadragesimo Anno (1931) Laborem Exercens (1981) Sollicitudi Rei Socialis (1987) Centesimus Annus (1991) |
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He is most famous for his social teaching, in which he argued the flaws of capitalism and communism. His encyclical Rerum Novarum focused on the rights and duties of capital and labor, and introduced the idea of subsidiarity into Catholic social thought.
In his 1893 encyclical Providentissimus Deus, Leo gave new encouragement to Bible study while warning against rationalist interpretations which deny the inspiration of Scripture:
"For all the books which the Church receives as sacred and canonical, are written wholly and entirely, with all their parts, at the dictation of the Holy Ghost: and so far is it from being possible that any error can co-exist with inspiration, that inspiration not only is essentially incompatible with error, but excludes and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily as it is impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true." (Providentissimus Deus)
The 1896 bull Apostolicae Curae declared the ordination of deacons, priests, and bishops in Anglican churches (including the Church of England) invalid, while granting recognition to ordinations in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches although they were considered illicit.
His 1899 apostolic letter Testem Benevolentiae condemned the heresy called Americanism.
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List of Encyclicals
(Please note: Pope Leo XIII wrote several encyclicals on some of the same or similar subjects; it is not a confusion of information)
- ''[Ad Extremas] (On Seminaries for Native Clergy)
- ''[Adiutricem] (On the Rosary--especially Marian Devotion)
- ''[Aeterni Patris] (On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy)
- ''[Affari Vos] (On the Manitoba School Question)
- ''[Annum Sacrum] (On the Consecration to the Sacred Heart)
- ''[Arcanum Divinae] (On Christian Marriage)
- ''[Augustissimae Virginis Mariae] (On the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary)
- ''[Au Milieu Des Sollicitudes] (On the Church and State in France)
- ''[Auspicato Concessum] (On Saint Francis of Assisi)
- ''[Caritatis] (On the Church in Poland)
- ''[Caritatis Studium] (On the Church in Scotland)
- ''[Catholicae Ecclesiae] (On Slavery in the Missions)
- ''[Christi Nomen] (On the Propagation of the Faith and Eastern Churches)
- ''[Constanti Hungarorum] (On the Church in Hungary)
- ''[Cum Multa] (On Conditions in Spain)
- ''[Custodi di quella Fede] (On Freemasonry--for the Italian people)
- ''[Dall'alto dell'Apostolico Seggio] (On Freemasonry in Italy)
- ''[Depuis le Jour] (On the Education of the Clergy)
- ''[Diuturni Temporis] (On the Rosary--especially papal approval)
- ''[Diuturnum] (On the Origin of Civil Power)
- ''[Divinum Illud Munus] (On the Holy Spirit)
- ''[Dum Multa] (On Marriage Legislation)
- ''[Etsi Cunctas] (On the Church in Ireland)
- ''[Etsi Nos] (On Conditions in Italy)
- ''[Exeunte Iam Anno] (On the Right Ordering of Christian Life)
- ''[Fidentem Piumque Animum] (On the Rosary--especially the necessity of prayer)
- ''[Fin dal Principio] (On the Education of the Clergy)
- ''[Grande Munus] (On Saints Cyril and Methodius)
- ''[Graves de Communi Re] (On Christian Democracy)
- ''[Gravissimas] (On Religious Orders in Portugal)
- ''[Humanum Genus] (On Freemasonry--written for the entire Church)
- ''[Iampridem] (On Catholicism in Germany)
- ''[Immortale Dei] (On the Christian Constitution of States)
- ''[In Amplissimo] (On the Church in the United States)
- ''[Inimica Vis] (On Freemasonry--for the Italian bishops)
- ''[In Ipso] (On Episcopal Reunions in Austria)
- ''[In Plurimis] (On the Abolition of Slavery)
- ''[Inscrutabili Dei Consilio] (On the Evils of Society)
- ''[Insignes] (On the Hungarian Millennium)
- ''[Inter Graves] (On the Church in Peru)
- ''[Iucunda Semper Expectatione] (On the Rosary--especially Mary as Mediatrix)
- ''[Laetitiae Sanctae] (Commending Devotion to the Rosary)
- ''[Libertas] (On the Nature of Human Liberty)
- ''[Licet Multa] (On Catholics in Belgium)
- ''[Litteras a Vobis] (On Clergy in Brazil)
- ''[Longinqua] (On Catholicism in the United States--especially universities and morals)
- ''[Magnae Dei Matris] (On the Rosary--especially filial devotion to Mary)
- ''[Magni Nobis] (On the Catholic University of America)
- ''[Militantis Ecclesiae] (On Saint Peter Canisius)
- ''[Mirae Caritatis] (On the Holy Eucharist)
- ''[Nobilissima Gallorum Gens] (On the Religious Question in France)
- ''[Non Mediocri] (On the Spanish College in Rome)
- ''[Octobri Mense] (On the Rosary--especially Mary and the Church)
- ''[Officio Sanctissimo] (On the Church in Bavaria)
- ''[Omnibus Compertum] (On Unity among the Greek Melchites)
- ''[Pastoralis] (On Religious Union)
- ''[Pastoralis Officii] (On the Morality of Dueling)
- ''[Paternae] (On the Education of Clergy)
- ''[Paterna Caritas] (On Reunion with Rome)
- ''[Pergrata] (On the Church in Portugal)
- ''[Permoti Nos] (On Social Conditions in Belgium)
- ''[Providentissimus Deus] (On the Study of Holy Scripture)
- ''[Quae Ad Nos] (On the Church in Bohemia and Moravia)
- ''[Quam Aerumnosa] (On Italian Immigrants)
- ''[Quamquam Pluries] (On Devotion to Saint Joseph)
- ''[Quam Religiosa] (On Civil Marriage Law)
- ''[Quarto Abeunte Saeculo] (On the Columbus Quadricentennial)
- ''[Quod Anniversarius] (On His Sacerdotal Jubilee)
- ''[Quod Apostolici Muneris] (On Socialism)
- ''[Quod Auctoritate] (Proclaiming an Extraordinary Jubilee))
- ''[Quod Multum] (On the Liberty of the Church)
- ''[Quod Votis] (On the Proposed Catholic University)
- ''[Quum Diuturnum] (On the Latin American Bishops' Plenary Council)
- ''[Reputantibus] (On the Language Question in Bohemia)
- ''[Rerum Novarum] (On Capital and Labor)
- ''[Saepe Nos] (On Boycotting in Ireland)
- ''[Sancta Dei Civitas] (On Mission Societies)
- ''[Sapientiae Christianae] (On Christians as Citizens)
- ''[Satis Cognitum] (On the Unity of the Church)
- ''[Spectata Fides] (On Christian Education)
- ''[Spesse Volte] (On the Suppression of Catholic Institutions)
- ''[Superiore Anno] (On the Recitation of the Rosary)
- ''[Supremi Apostolatus Officio] (On Devotion of the Rosary)
- ''[Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus] (On Jesus Christ the Redeemer)
- ''[Urbanitatis Veteris] (On the Foundation of a Seminary in Athens)
- ''[Vi è Ben Noto] (On the Rosary and Public Life)
Trivia
- Leo XIII was the first Pope to be born in the 19th century. He was also the first to die in the 20th century.
- Leo XIII was the oldest Pope at the time of his passing. He was 93 years old.
- Leo XIII awarded a gold medal [link] to a fashionable 19th century cocaine-laced wine called Vin Mariani, the drink that inspired Coca-Cola.[[Citing sources citation needed]] The dangers of cocaine being unknown,[[Citing sources citation needed]] Vin Mariani was also praised and used by many doctors and scientists as well as Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1837–1901) and Pope Pius X (1903-14).
- Leo XIII was the first Pope of whom a sound recording was made. The recording can be found on a compact disc of Alessandro Moreschi's singing. He was also the first Pope to be filmed on the motion picture camera. He was filmed by its inventor, W. K. Dickson, and blessed the camera afterward.
- Leo XIII approved the foundation of a Catholic university in the United States in 1887, which became The Catholic University of America.
- At the time of his death, Leo XIII was the second-longest reigning Pope, exceeded only by his immediate predecessor, Pius IX (unless one counts St. Peter as having reigned from the time that Jesus is said to have given him "the keys to the kingdom" until his death, rather than from his arrival in Rome). Leo XIII's regnal length was subsequently exceeded by that of Pope John Paul II on March 14, 2004. (1978–2005).
See also
External links
- [Pope Leo XIII texts and biography] from the Vatican
- [Pope Leo XIII] in the [Catholic Encyclopedia]
- [Pope Leo XIII, overview of pontificate]
- [Etexts of his encyclicals and other documents]
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Popes of the Roman Catholic Church
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