Born
2 March 1810
Birthplace
Carpineto, Italy
Pope from
20 February 1878
Pope until
20 July 1903
Died
20 July 1903
Who he was
The son of a count, educated by the Jesuits at Viterbo and at the Roman College, he served as papal governor of Benevento and Perugia and as nuncio in Brussels. He was then Bishop of Perugia for thirty-two years and was made a cardinal in 1853. Elected at almost sixty-eight, he reigned for twenty-five years and died at ninety-three.
What he is remembered for
His encyclical Rerum novarum (1891) set out Christian principles on capital and labour and gave a strong lift to Catholic social teaching, and Aeterni Patris renewed the study of St Thomas Aquinas. He opened the Vatican Archives to scholars, wrote many encyclicals on the Rosary, encouraged devotion to the Sacred Heart, and made John Henry Newman a cardinal.
Sources
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