Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII (2 March 1810 20 July 1903), born

Vincenzo Gioacchino Raaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, reigned from 20 February 1878 to
his death in 1903. He was the oldest pope (reigning until the age of 93), and had the third longest ponticate,
behind that of Pius IX (his immediate predecessor) and
John Paul II. He is the most recent ponti to date to take
the pontical name of Leo upon being elected to the
ponticate.
He is well known for his intellectualism, the development of social teachings with his famous papal encyclical
Rerum novarum and his attempts to dene the position
of the Catholic Church with regard to modern thinking.
He inuenced Roman Catholic Mariology and promoted
both the rosary and the scapular. He issued a record
eleven encyclicals on the rosary earning the moniker the
Rosary Pope, approved two new Marian scapulars and
was the rst pope to fully embrace the concept of Mary
as mediatrix. He was the rst pope to never have held any
control over the Papal States, after they were dissolved by
1870.
Leo XIII died on July 20, 1903 at the age of 93 and was
briey buried in the grottos of Saint Peters Basilica before his remains were later transferred to the Basilica of
Saint John Lateran.
The house in Carpineto, in which the Pecci brothers grew up

Early life

presentation he received awards for academic excellence,

and gained the attention of Vatican ocials.[4] Cardinal
Secretary of State Luigi Lambruschini introduced him
to Vatican congregations. During a cholera epidemic in
Rome he ably assisted Cardinal Sala in his duties as overseer of all the city hospitals.[5] Pope Gregory XVI appointed Pecci on 14 February 1837, as personal prelate
even before he was ordained priest on 31 December 1837,
by the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Carlo Odescalchi. He
celebrated his rst mass together with his priest brother
Giuseppe.[6] He received his doctorate in theology in
1836 and doctorates of civil and Canon Law in Rome
also.

Born in Carpineto Romano, near Rome, he was the sixth

of the seven sons of Count Ludovico Pecci and his wife
Anna Prosperi Buzzi. His brothers included Giuseppe
and Giovanni Battista Pecci. Until 1818 he lived at home
with his family, in which religion counted as the highest
grace on earth, as through her, salvation can be earned
for all eternity.[1] Together with his brother Giuseppe, he
studied in the Jesuit College in Viterbo, where he stayed
until 1824.[2] He enjoyed the Latin language and was
known to write his own Latin poems at the age of eleven.

In 1824 he and his older brother Giuseppe were called to

Rome where their mother was dying. Count Pecci wanted
his children near him after the loss of his wife, and so they
stayed with him in Rome, attending the Jesuit Collegium 2 Provincial administrator
Romanum. In 1828, Giuseppe entered the Jesuit order,
while Vincenzo decided in favour of secular clergy.[3]
Shortly thereafter, Gregory XVI appointed Pecci as
He studied at the Academia dei Nobili, mainly diplomacy legate (provincial administrator) to Benevento. The
and law. In 1834 he gave a student presentation, at- smallest of papal provinces, Benevento included about
tended by several cardinals, on papal judgements. For his 20,000 people.[5]
1

ARCHBISHOP OF PERUGIA

Carpineto in 1860

The main problems facing Pecci were a decaying local

economy, insecurity because of widespread bandits, and
pervasive Maa structures, who often were allied with
aristocratic families. Pecci arrested the most powerful
aristocrat in Benevento, and his troops captured others,
who were either killed or imprisoned by him. With the
public order restored, he turned to the economy and a reform of the tax system to stimulate trade with neighboring
provinces.[7]
Monsignor Pecci was rst destined for Spoleto, a province
with 100,000, but on 17 July 1841, he was sent to Perugia
with 200,000 inhabitants.[5]
His immediate concern was to prepare the province for
a papal visitation in the same year. Pope Gregory XVI
visited hospitals and educational institutions for several
days, asking for advice and listing questions. The ght
against corruption continued in Perugia, where Pecci
himself investigated several incidents. When it was
claimed that a bakery was selling bread below the prescribed pound weight, he personally went there, had all
bread weighed, and conscated it if below legal weight.
The conscated bread was distributed to the poor.[8]

Nuncio to Belgium

Bishop Pecci as Nuncio in Brussels

carefully reviewing the condition of the Catholic Church

in that country.[10]
In Belgium, the school question was then sharply debated
between the Catholic majority and the Liberal minority.
Pecci encouraged the struggle for Catholic schools, yet
he was able to win the good will of the Court, not only
of the pious Queen Louise, but also of King Leopold I,
strongly Liberal in his views. The new nuncio succeeded
in uniting the Catholics.

4 Archbishop of Perugia

In 1843, Pecci, only thirty-three years old, was appointed

4.1 Papal assistant
Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium,[9] a position which guaranteed the Cardinals hat after completion of the tour.
Pecci was named papal assistant in 1843. He rst
On 27 April 1843, Pope Gregory XVI appointed Pecci achieved note as a popular and successful Archbishop of
Archbishop of Damiette and asked his Cardinal Secre- Perugia from 1846 to 1877. After Pope Pius IX granted
tary of State Lambruschini to consecrate him.[9] Pecci unlimited freedom for the press in the Papal States in
developed excellent relations with the royal family and 1847,[11] Pecci, who had been highly popular in the rst
used the location to visit neighbouring Germany, where years of his episcopate, became the object of attacks in
he was particularly interested in the resumed construction the media and at his residence.[12] In 1848, revolutionary
of the Cologne Cathedral.
movements developed throughout Western Europe, inUpon his initiative, a Belgian College in Rome was cluding France, Germany and Italy. Austrian, French and
opened in 1844, where 102 years later, in 1946, Pope Spanish troops reversed the revolutionary gains, but at a
John Paul II would begin his Roman studies. He spent price for Pecci and the Catholic Church, who could not
several weeks in England with Bishop Nicholas Wiseman, regain their former popularity.

4.4

Defence of the papacy

3
Unication of Italy.

4.4 Defence of the papacy

Bishop Pecci enters Perugia in 1846

4.2

Provincial council

Pecci called a provincial council to reform the religious

life in his dioceses. He invested in enlarging the seminary for future priests and in hiring new and prominent
professors, preferably Thomists. He called on his brother
Giuseppe Pecci, a noted Thomist scholar, to resign his
professorship in Rome and teach in Perugia instead.[13]
His own residence was next to the seminary, which facilitated his daily contacts with the students.

4.3

Pecci defended the papacy and its claims. When Italian authorities expropriated convents and monasteries of
Catholic orders, turning them into administration or military buildings, Cardinal Pecci protested but acted moderately. When the Italian state took over Catholic schools,
Pecci, fearing for his theological seminary, simply added
all secular topics from other schools and opened the seminary to non-theologians.[15] The new government, in addition to the expropriations, levied taxes on the Church
and issued legislation according to which all Episcopal or
papal utterances were to be approved by the government
before their publication.[16]

Charitable activities

4.5 Organizing the First Vatican Council

Pope Pius IX announced an ecumenical council, which
became known as the First Vatican Council, to take place
in the Vatican on 8 December 1869. Pecci was likely to
be well informed, since his brother Giuseppe had been
named by the Pope to help prepare this event.
In his last years in Perugia, Pecci several times addressed
the role of the Church in modern society. Pecci dened
the Church as the mother of material civilization, because
the Church upholds human dignity of working people,
opposes the excesses of industrialization, and has developed large scale charities for the needy.[17]
In August 1877, on the death of Cardinal Filippo de Angelis, Pope Pius IX appointed him Camerlengo, so that
he was obliged to reside in Rome.[18]

4.6 Papal conclave

Main article: Papal conclave, 1878
Pope Pius IX died on 7 February 1878,[18] and during his
closing years the Liberal press had often insinuated that
Archbishop Pecci aids the poor in Perugia
the Italian Government should take a hand in the conclave
Pecci developed several activities in support of Catholic and occupy the Vatican. However the Russo-Turkish War
charities. He founded homes for homeless boys and and the sudden death of Victor Emmanuel II (9 January
girls and for elderly women. Throughout his dioceses he 1878) distracted the attention of the government.
opened branches of a Bank, Monte de Pieta, which fo- In the conclave, the questions that the cardinals faced varcused on low-income people and provided low interest ied and issues discussed included church-state relations
loans.[14] He created soup kitchens, which were run by in Europe specically with Italy, divisions in the church,
the Capuchins. In the consistory of 19 December 1853, and the status of the First Vatican Council. It was also
he was elevated to the College of Cardinals, as Cardinal- debated that the conclave be moved somewhere else but
Priest of S. Crisogono.[9] In light of continuing earth- it was Pecci that debated otherwise, and the conclave asquakes and oods, he donated all resources for festivities sembled in Rome on 18 February 1878. Cardinal Pecci
to the victims. Much of the public attention turned on the was elected on the third ballot of the conclave and he
conict between the Papal States and Italian nationalism, chose the name of Leo XIII.[18] He was announced to the
aiming at these states annihilation so as to achieve the people and later crowned on 3 March 1878.

5 PAPACY

Papacy

divine, but that they embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the fullest possible devotion.[20]
Leo XIII was the rst Pope of whom a sound recording
was made. The recording can be found on a compact
disc of Alessandro Moreschi's singing; a recording of his
praying of the Ave Maria is available on the Web.[21] He
was also the rst Pope to be lmed on the motion picture
camera. He was lmed by its inventor, W. K. Dickson,
and blessed the camera while being lmed.[22]

Photogram of the 1896 lm Sua Santit papa Leone XIII, the

rst time a Pope appeared on lm.

Leo XIII brought normality back to the Church after the

tumultuous years of Pius IX. Leos intellectual and diplomatic skills helped regain much of the prestige lost with
the fall of the Papal States. He tried to reconcile the
Church with the working class, particularly by dealing
with the social changes that were sweeping Europe. The
new economic order had resulted in the growth of an impoverished working class who had increasing anti-clerical
and socialist sympathies. Leo helped reverse this trend.
While Leo XIII was no radical in either theology or politics, his papacy did move the Catholic Church back to the
mainstream of European life. Considered a great diplomat, he managed to improve relations with Russia, Prussia, Germany, France, Britain and other countries. Pope
Leo XIII and Prince Nikola of Montenegro concluded a
Concordat in Rome on 18 August 1886. The signatories were Cardinal Ludovico Jacobini (183287) for the
Holy See, and Secretary Jovan Sundecic (18251900) for
Montenegro.
Pope Leo XIII was able to reach several agreements in
1896 that resulted in better conditions for the faithful
and additional appointments of bishops. During the Fifth
cholera pandemic in 1891 he ordered the construction of
a hospice inside the Vatican. That building would be torn
down in 1996 to make way for construction of the Domus
Sanctae Marthae.[23]
Leo was a Vin Mariani drinker. He awarded a Vatican
gold medal to the wine, and also appeared on a poster
endorsing it.[24]
His favorite poets were Virgil and Dante.[25]

5.1 Foreign relations

5.1.1 Russia
Photograph of Leo XIII in his later years.

As soon as he was elected to the papacy, Leo XIII worked

to encourage understanding between the Church and the
modern world. When he rmly re-asserted the scholastic
doctrine that science and religion co-exist, he required the
study of Thomas Aquinas[19] and opened the Vatican Secret Archives to qualied researchers, among whom was
the noted historian of the Papacy Ludwig von Pastor. He
also re-founded the Vatican Observatory so that everyone might see clearly that the Church and her Pastors are
not opposed to true and solid science, whether human or

Main articles: Pope Leo XIII and Russia and Pope Leo
XIII and Poland
Pope Leo XIII began his ponticate with a friendly letter
to Tzar Alexander II, in which he reminded the Russian
monarch of the millions of Catholics living in his empire
who would like to be good Russian subjects, provided
their dignity were respected.
After the assassination of Alexander II, the Pope sent a
high ranking representative to the coronation of his suc-

5.1

Foreign relations

cessor. Alexander III was grateful and asked for all religious forces to unify. He asked the Pope to ensure
that his bishops abstain from political agitation. Relations improved further, when Pope Leo XIII, due to
Italian considerations, distanced the Vatican from the
Rome-Vienna-Berlin alliance and helped to facilitate a
rapprochement between Paris and St. Petersburg.
5.1.2

Germany

Under Otto von Bismarck, the anti-Catholic Kulturkampf

in Prussia led to massive reprisals against the Church. Under Leo, compromises were informally reached and the
anti-Catholic attacks subsided.[26]
The Centre Party in Germany represented Catholic interests and was a positive force for social change. It was
encouraged by Leos support for social welfare legislation
and the rights of working people. Leos forward-looking
approach encouraged Catholic Action in other European
countries where the social teachings of the Church were
incorporated into the agenda of Catholic parties, particularly the Christian democratic parties, which became an
acceptable alternative to socialist parties. Leos social
teachings were reiterated throughout the 20th century by
his successors.

5
Pope Pius IX into the Tiber river on 13 July 1881.[29] The
Pope even considered moving his residence to Trieste or
Salzburg, two cities in Austria, an idea which the Austrian
monarch Franz Josef I gently rejected.[30]
5.1.5 United Kingdom
Among the activities of Leo XIII that were important
for the English-speaking world, he restored the Scottish
hierarchy in 1878. In the following year, on 12 May
1879, raised to the rank of cardinal the convert clergyman John Henry Newman, who was to be beatied by
Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. In British India, too, Leo
established a Catholic hierarchy in 1886, and regulated
some long-standing conicts with the Portuguese authorities. A Papal Rescript (20 April 1888) condemned the
Irish Plan of Campaign and all clerical involvement in it
as well as boycotting, followed in June by the Papal encyclical Saepe Nos[31] that was addressed to all the Irish
bishops. Of outstanding signicance, not least for the
English-speaking world, was Leos encyclical Apostolicae
Curae on the invalidity of the Anglican orders, published
in 1896.
5.1.6 United States

In his Memoirs[27] Kaiser Wilhelm II discussed the

friendly, trustful relationship that existed between me
and Pope Leo XIII. During Wilhelms third visit to Leo:
It was of interest to me that the Pope said on this occasion that Germany must be the sword of the Catholic
Church. I remarked that the old Roman Empire of the
German nation no longer existed, and that conditions had
changed. But he adhered to his words.
5.1.3

France

Leo XIII was the rst pope to come out strongly in

favour of the French Republic, upsetting many French
monarchists.
5.1.4

Italy

However, in light of a hostile anti-Catholic climate in

Italy, he continued the policies of Pius IX towards Italy,
without major modications.[28] In his relations with
the Italian state, Leo XIII continued the Papacys selfimposed incarceration in the Vatican stance, and continued to insist that Italian Catholics should not vote in Italian elections or hold elected oce. In his rst consistory
in 1879 he elevated his older brother Giuseppe to the cardinalate. He had to defend the freedom of the Church
against what Catholics considered Italian persecutions
and attacks in the area of education, expropriation and
violation of Catholic Churches, legal measures against
the Church and brutal attacks, culminating in anticlerical groups attempting to throw the body of the deceased

In 1889, Pope Leo XIII authorized the founding of The Catholic

University of America in Washington, D.C., and granted her Papal degrees in theology

The United States at many moments in time attracted the

5 PAPACY

attention and admiration of Pope Leo. He conrmed

the decrees of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore
(1884), and raised James Gibbons, archbishop of that
city, to the cardinalate in 1886.
American newspapers criticized Pope Leo because they
claimed that he was attempting to gain control of American public schools. One cartoonist drew Leo as a fox
unable to reach grapes that were labeled for American
schools; the caption read Sour grapes!"[32]
5.1.7

Brazil

Pope Leo XIII is also remembered for the First Plenary

Council of Latin America held at Rome in 1899, and
his encyclical of 1888 to the bishops of Brazil on the
abolition of slavery. In 1897, he published the Apostolic
Letter Trans Oceanum, which dealt with the privileges
and ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church in Giuseppe Pecci in 1872. At the urgent requests of the College of
Latin America.[33]
Cardinals, Leo XIII in 1879 elevated his brother, Giuseppe Pecci,
a Jesuit and prominent Thomist theologian, into their ranks.[35]

5.1.8

Chile

His role in South America will also be remembered, especially the pontical benediction extended over Chilean
troops on the eve of the Battle of Chorrillos during the
War of the Pacic in January 1881. The Chilean soldiers thus blessed then looted the cities of Chorrillos
and Barranco, including the churches, and their Chaplains headed the robbery at the Biblioteca Nacional del
Per, where the soldiers ransacked various items along
with much capital, and Chilean Priests coveted rare and
ancient editions of the Bible that were stored there.[34]
Despite this, one year later Chilean President Domingo
Santa Mara issued the Laicist Laws, which separated the
Church from the State, considered a slap in the face for
the papacy.
5.1.9

Evangelization

Pope Leo XIII sanctioned the missions to eastern Africa.

In 1879 Catholic missionaries associated with the White
Father Congregation (Society of the Missionaries of
Africa) came to Uganda and others went to Tanganyika
(present day Tanzania) and Rwanda.

5.2

Theology

Main article: Theology of Pope Leo XIII

Further information: List of Encyclicals of Pope Leo
XIII
The ponticate of Leo XIII was theologically inuenced
by the First Vatican Council (18691870), which had
ended only eight years earlier. Leo XIII issued some 46

apostolic letters and encyclicals dealing with central issues in the areas of marriage and family and state and
society. He also wrote two prayers for the intercession of
Michael the Archangel after having a vision of Michael
and the end times.[36]

5.2.1 Thomism
As pope, he used all his authority for a revival of
Thomism, the theology of Thomas Aquinas. On 4 August
1879, Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical Aeterni Patris
(Eternal Father) which, more than any other single document, provided a charter for the revival of Thomism
the medieval theological system based on the thought
of Aquinasas the ocial philosophical and theological
system of the Catholic Church. It was to be normative
not only in the training of priests at church seminaries
but also in the education of the laity at universities.
Following this encyclical Pope Leo XIII created the
Pontical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas on October 15, 1879 and ordered the publication of the critical edition, the so-called leonine edition, of the complete works of the doctor angelicus. The superintendence of the leonine edition was entrusted to Tommaso
Maria Zigliara, professor and rector of the Collegium Divi
Thomae de Urbe the future Pontical University of Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum. Leo XIII also founded the
Angelicums Faculty of Philosophy in 1882 and its Faculty
of Canon Law in 1896.

5.2

Theology

7
5.2.3 Scriptures
In his 1893 encyclical Providentissimus Deus, he described the importance of scriptures for theological study.
It was an important encyclical for Catholic theology and
its relation to the Bible, as Pope Pius XII pointed out fty
years later in his encyclical Divino Aante Spiritu.[39]
5.2.4 Ecumenical eorts
Pope Leo XIII fostered ecumenical relations, particularly
with the East. He opposed eorts to Latinize the Eastern
Rite Churches, stating that they constitute a most valuable
ancient tradition and symbol of the divine unity of the
Catholic Church.
5.2.5 Theological research

The Blessed Sister Mary of the Divine Heart was a nun from
Sisters of the Good Shepherd Congregation who requested Pope
Leo XIII to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus.[37]

5.2.2

Consecrations

Pope Leo XIII performed a number of consecrations, at

times entering new theological territory. After he received many letters from Sister Mary of the Divine Heart,
the countess of Droste zu Vischering and Mother Superior in the Convent of the Congregation of the Good
Shepherd Sisters in Porto, Portugal, asking him to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he
commissioned a group of theologians to examine the petition on the basis of revelation and sacred tradition. The
outcome of this investigation was positive, and so in the
encyclical letter Annum sacrum (on May 25, 1899) he
decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on June 11,
1899.

John Henry Newman was raised into the College of Cardinals by

Pope Leo XIII

Leo XIII is credited with great eorts in the areas of

scientic and historical analysis. He opened the Vatican
Archives and personally fostered a twenty-volume comthe Papacy by Ludwig von
The encyclical letter also encouraged the entire Roman prehensive scientic study of[40]
Pastor,
an
Austrian
historian.
Catholic episcopate to promote the First Friday Devotions, established June as the Month of the Sacred Heart,
and included the Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred
5.2.6 Mariology
Heart.[38] His consecration of the entire world to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus presented theological challenges
in consecrating non-Christians. Since about 1850, vari- Main article: Mariology of Pope Leo XIII
ous congregations and States had consecrated themselves
to the Sacred Heart, and, in 1875, this consecration was His predecessor, Pope Pius IX, became known as the
Pope of the Immaculate Conception because of the
made throughout the Catholic world.

5 PAPACY

dogmatization in 1854. Leo XIII, in light of his unprecedented promulgation of the rosary in eleven encyclicals,
was called the Rosary Pope. In eleven encyclicals on the
rosary he promulgates Marian devotion. In his encyclical on the ftieth anniversary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, he stresses her role in the redemption of humanity, mentioning Mary as Mediatrix and CoRedemptrix.
5.2.7

Social teachings

Main article: List of Encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII

Church and state Leo XIII worked to encourage understanding between the Church and the modern world,
though he preferred a cautious view on freedom of
thought, stating 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. Leos social teachings
are based on the Catholic premise that God is the Creator of the world and its Ruler. Eternal law commands
the natural order to be maintained, and forbids that it be
disturbed; mens destiny is far above human things and
beyond the earth.
Rerum novarum His encyclicals changed the Churchs
relations with temporal authorities, and, in the 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum, for the rst time addressed social inequality and social justice issues with Papal authority, focusing on the rights and duties of capital and labour.
He was greatly inuenced by Wilhelm Emmanuel von
Ketteler, a German bishop who openly propagated siding with the suering working classes in his book Die
Arbeiterfrage und das Christentum. Since Leo XIII, Papal teachings have expanded on the rights and obligations of workers and the limitations of private property:
Pope Pius XI Quadragesimo anno, the Social teachings
of Pope Pius XII on a huge range of social issues, John
XXIII Mater et magistra in 1961, Pope Paul VI, the encyclical Populorum progressio on world development issues, and Pope John Paul II, Centesimus annus, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Rerum novarum.
Leo XIII had argued that both capitalism and communism are awed. Rerum novarum introduced the idea of
subsidiarity, the principle that political and social decisions should be taken at a local level, if possible, rather
than by a central authority, into Catholic social thought.
A list of all of Leos encyclicals can be found in the List
of Encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII.

8 December 1881: Clare of Montefalco (d. 1308),

John Baptist de Rossi (16961764), Lawrence of
Brindisi (d. 1619), and Benedict Joseph Labre
(1748-83)
15 January 1888: Seven Holy Founders of the
Servite Order, Peter Claver (15811654), John
Berchmans (15991621), and Alphonsus Rodriguez
(15311617)
27 May 1897: Anthony Zaccaria (150239) and
Peter Fourier (15651640)
24 May 1900: John Baptist de la Salle (16511719)
and Rita of Cascia (13811457)
Leo XIII also beatied several of his predecessors: Urban
II (1881), Victor III (1887) and Innocent V (9 March
1898). He also canonized Adrian III on 2 June 1891.
He also beatied Giancarlo Melchiori on 22 January
1882, Giovanni Giovenale Ancina on 9 February 1890,
Ins of Benignim on 26 February 1888, Pompilio Pirrotti on 26 January 1890, Leopoldo Croci on 12 May
1893, Antonio Baldinucci on 16 April 1893, Rodolfo
Acquaviva and 4 Companions on 30 April 1893, Diego
Jos Lpez-Caamao on 22 April 1894, Anthony Maria
Zaccaria (whom he later canonized) on 3 January 1890,
John Baptist de la Salle (whom he later canonized) on
19 February 1888, Maria Maddalena Martinengo on 3
June 1900, Dnis Berthelot of the Nativity and Redento Rodrguez of the Cross on 10 June 1900, Antonio
Grassi on 30 September 1900, Gerard Majella in 1893,
both Edmund Campion and Ralph Sherwin in 1886,
Bernardino Realino on 12 January 1896, and Jeanne de
Lestonnac on 23 September 1900. He also approved the
cult of Cosmas of Aphrodisia. He also beatied several
of the English martyrs in 1895.[41]

5.4 Audiences
One of the rst audiences Leo XIII granted was to the
professors and students of the Collegio Capranica, where
in the rst row knelt in front of him a young seminarian, Giacomo Della Chiesa, his eventual successor Pope
Benedict XV, who would reign from 1914 to 1922.

While on a pilgrimage with her father and sister in 1887,

the future Saint Thrse of Lisieux attended a general audience with Pope Leo XIII and asked him to allow her to
enter the Carmelite order. Even though she was strictly
forbidden to speak to him because she was told it would
prolong the audience too much, in her autobiography,
Story of a Soul, she wrote that after she kissed his slipper
and he presented his hand, instead of kissing it, she took
it in her own hand and said through tears, Most Holy
Father, I have a great favor to ask you. In honor of your
5.3 Canonizations and beatications
Jubilee, permit me to enter Carmel at the age of 15!" Leo
Leo XIII canonized the following saints during his pon- XIII answered, Well, my child, do what the superiors deticate:
cide. Thrse replied, Oh! Holy Father, if you say yes,

In 1901, Pope Leo XIII welcomed Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope

Pius XII, on his rst day of fty-seven years of service in the
Vatican (19011958)

The monument and tomb to Leo XIII in the basilica of St. John
Lateran.

church as the Bishop of Rome, and a church in which he

everybody will agree!" Finally, the Pope said, Go... go... took a particular interest. He was moved there in 1924.
You will enter if God wills it" [italics hers] after which
time two guards lifted Thrse (still on her knees in front
of the Pope) by her arms and carried her to the door where 7 See also
a third gave her a medal of the Pope. Shortly thereafter,
the Bishop of Bayeux authorized the prioress to receive
Cardinals created by Leo XIII
Thrse, and in April 1888, she entered Carmel at the age
of 15.
Distributism
While known for his cheerful personality, Leo XIII also
had a gentle sense of humor as well. During one of his
audiences, a man claimed to have had the opportunity to
see Pius IX at one of his last audiences before his death
in 1878. Upon hearing the remarkable story, Leo XIII
smiled and replied to him, If I had known that you were
so dangerous to popes, I would have postponed this audience further.

Prayer to Saint Michael

Taxil hoax
Restoration of the Scottish hierarchy

8 Notes
[1] Khne 1880, p. 7.

Death

Leo XIII was the rst pope to be born in the 19th century
and was also the rst to die in the 20th century: he lived
to the age of 93, the longest-lived pope. At the time of
his death, Leo XIII was the second-longest reigning pope,
exceeded only by his immediate predecessor, Pius IX.
Leo XIII was entombed in St. Peters Basilica only very
briey after his funeral, but was later moved instead to the
very ancient basilica of St. John Lateran, his cathedral

[2] Khne 1880, p. 12.

[3] Khne 1880, p. 20.
[4] Khne 1880, p. 23.
[5] Benigni, Umberto. Pope Leo XIII. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company,
1910. 28 Aug. 2014
[6] Khne 1880, p. 24.
[7] Khne 1880, p. 31.

10

[8] Khne 1880, p. 37.

[9] Miranda, Salvador. Pecci, Gioacchino, ''The Cardinals
of the Holy Roman Church
[10] Khne 1880, p. 52.
[11] Khne 62

REFERENCES

[34] Caivano, Tomas (1907), Historia de la guerra de Amrica

entre Chile, Per y Bolivia [History of the American war
between Chile, Peru and Bolivia] (in Spanish).
[35] Khne, Benno (1880), Unser Heiliger Vater Papst Leo XIII
in seinem Leben und wirken, Benzinger: Einsiedeln, p.
247.
[36] Archangel Michael, Queen of Angels Foundation

[12] Khne 1880, p. 66.

[13] Khne 1880, p. 76.

[37] Chasle, Louis (1906), Sister Mary of the Divine Heart,

Droste zu Vischering, religious of the Good Shepherd,
18631899, London: Burns & Oates.

[14] Khne 1880, p. 78.

[15] Khne 1880, p. 102.

[38] Ball, Ann (2003), Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and

Practices, p. 166, ISBN 0-87973-910-X.

[16] Khne 1880, p. 105.

[39] Divino Aante Spiritu, 112.

[17] Khne 1880, p. 129.

[40] von Pastor, Ludwig (1950), Errinnerungen (in German).

[18] O'Reilly, Bernard. Life of Leo XIII, Charles L. Webster

& Company, New York, 1887
[19] Aeterni Patris On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy
(encyclical), Catholic forum.

[41] St. Cosmas Saints & Angels. Catholic Online. Retrieved 15 February 2010.

9 References

[20] Pecci, Vincenzo Gioacchino Raaele Luigi (March 14,

1891), Ut Mysticam (in Latin).

Duy, Eamon (1997), Saints and Sinners, A History

of the Popes, Yale University Press.

[21] Pope Leo XIII, 18101910, Archive.

[22] Abel, Richard, Encyclopedia of early cinema, p. 266,
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of Lisieux, Thrse (1996), Story of a Soul The

Autobiography of St. Thrse of Lisieux, Clarke,
John Clarke trans (3rd ed.), Washington, DC: ICS.

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Election of the Pope. EWTN. 22 February 1996. Retrieved 15 February 2010.

Quardt, Robert (1964), Der Meisterdiplomat [The

Master Diplomat] (in German), Kevelaer, DE: Butzon & Bercker

[24] Inciardi, James A. (1992). The War on Drugs II. Mayeld

Publishing Company. p. 6. ISBN 1-55934-016-9.

Quardt, Robert, The Master Diplomat; From

the Life of Leo XIII, Wolson, Ilya trans, New
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[25] Pope Leo XIII and his Household in The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, p. 596
[26] Ross, Ronald J. (1998). The failure of Bismarcks Kulturkampf: Catholicism and state power in imperial Germany, 18711887. Washington: Catholic University of
America Press. ISBN 0-81320894-7.

O'Reilly, Bernard (1887), Life of Leo XIII From

An Authentic Memoir Furnished By His Order,
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9.1 In German

[27] Memoirs. pp. 2047. Retrieved 2013-06-23.

Bumer, Remigius (1992), Marienlexikon [Dictionary of Mary] (in German), et al, St Ottilien

[28] Schmidlin 1934, p. 409.

[29] Schmidlin 1934, p. 413.

[30] Schmidlin 1934, p. 414.

[31] Pecci, Vincenzo Gioacchino Raaele Luigi, Spe nos (in
Latin), New Advent.
[32] http://www.criaimages.com/detail.aspx?img=
0000037708c
[33] Pecci, Vincenzo Gioacchino Raaele Luigi (1897-0418). Trans Oceanum, Litterae apostolicae, De privilegiis
Americae Latinae [Over the Ocean, Apostolic letter on
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Franzen, August; Bumer, Remigius (1988), Papstgeschichte (in German), Freiburg: Herder.
Khne, Benno (1880), Papst Leo XIII [Pope Leo
XIII] (in German), New York & St. Louis: C&N
Benzinger, Einsideln.
Schmidlin, Josef (1934), Papstgeschichte der
neueren Zeit (in German), Mnchen.

11

10

Further reading

Richard H. Clarke (1903), The Life of His Holiness

Leo XIII, Philadelphia: P. W. Ziegler & Co.

11

External links

Pecci, Vincenzo Gioacchino Raaele Luigi,

Encyclicals and other documents (Etexts).
Pope Leo XIII (texts & biography), Vatican City:
The Vatican.
Pope Leo XIII, overview of ponticate, Catholic forum.
Pope Leo XIII (text with concordances and frequency list), Intra text.
Works by or about Pope Leo XIII at Internet Archive
Works by Pope Leo XIII at LibriVox (public domain
audiobooks)
Life and Acts of Pope Leo XII (1883), Archive.
Pope Leo XIII at Find a Grave
Keller, Joseph Edward. The Life and Acts of Pope
Leo XIII, Benziger, 1882

12

12

12
12.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

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JamesReyes, John K, JASpencer, Charles Matthews, Adam Bishop, Giddytrace, RickK, Tpbradbury, Pietro, Lord Emsworth, Carax, Wetman, Robbot, Romanm, Mirv, Modeha, JackofOz, SoLando, Lzur, Karn, Everyking, Finn-Zoltan, Jurema Oliveira, Gugganij, R. end,
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Xanderliptak, The Catholic Knight, GETJacob, Diannaa, TjBot, Blueko, Esoglou, EmausBot, John of Reading, ScottyBerg, Stebunik,
Dewritech, RA0808, Slightsmile, Gio123456789987654321, ZroBot, PBS-AWB, SporkBot, RaptureBot, DASHBotAV, ClueBot NG,
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JYBot, Dexbot, Nixus Minimax, Geeroskam, LeoXXVI, Joker Rex, Faizan, King of apes, Sonanto, DindeDor, ZipsFliesandTrousers,
Unixbytes90, Anjo-sozinho, Ugog Nizdast, Evensteven, Lord Sidious 82, MagicatthemovieS, OccultZone, Parmo22, Bynum98, Vieque,
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