Born
18 September 1765
Birthplace
Belluno, Italy
Pope from
2 February 1831
Pope until
1 June 1846
Died
1 June 1846
Who he was
He joined the Camaldolese monks at Murano at eighteen, taking the name Mauro, and became a teacher of theology and abbot of San Gregorio in Rome. Leo XII made him a cardinal and Prefect of Propaganda Fide. He was elected after a seven-week conclave, and revolution broke out in the Papal States within days.
What he is remembered for
He sent missionaries across the world, to Abyssinia, India, China, Polynesia and the native peoples of North America. In Mirari vos (1832) he answered the teaching of Lamennais. He founded the Etruscan and Egyptian museums at the Vatican and the Christian museum at the Lateran, and supported scholars such as Cardinals Mai and Mezzofanti.
Sources
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