The kidnapping of two popes by Napoleon Bonaparte in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was a dramatic episode in the history of the Catholic Church and Europe. It marked a clash between two powerful leaders with different visions for religion’s role and politics in the modern world. It also had lasting consequences for the relationship between the papacy and the French state and for the development of Catholicism in other countries.
Pope Pius VI was the first victim of Napoleon’s ambition. He was arrested by French troops in 1796, after he refused to accept the terms of the Treaty of Tolentino, which forced him to cede large parts of the Papal States to France. He was taken to France as a prisoner, where he died in 1799, after enduring harsh conditions and humiliation. His death left the papal throne vacant for six months, until Cardinal Chiaramonti was elected Pope Pius VII in 1800.
The Treaty of Tolentino was a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the Papal States, signed on February 19 1797. It was part of the French Revolutionary Wars, after Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians in northern Italy. The treaty imposed harsh terms on the Papal side, such as ceding territories, paying indemnities, and allowing the French to confiscate artistic works from the Vatican.
Pope Pius VII tried to reach an agreement with Napoleon, who had become the First Consul of France and later the Emperor. In 1801, they signed the Concordat of 1801, which recognized Catholicism as the religion of the majority of the French people, but also limited the pope’s authority and influence in France. The pope agreed to renounce his claim to the lands taken by France, and to accept Napoleon’s appointment of bishops without his approval.
The Concordat of 1801 was a treaty signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII in Paris on July 15, 1801. It established a new relationship between the French state and the Roman Catholic Church, after the conflicts and changes of the French Revolution. The Concordat recognized the Catholic Church as the majority religion of France, but also gave Napoleon the power to appoint bishops and control church finances. The Concordat remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it is still valid today.
However, this compromise did not last long, as Napoleon continued to interfere with the affairs of the Church and to demand more concessions from the pope. In 1804, he humiliated Pius VII by taking the crown from his hands and placing it on his own head during his coronation ceremony in Notre Dame Cathedral. In 1809, he annexed the remaining Papal States and declared Rome part of his empire. He also ordered the arrest of Pius VII, who had excommunicated him for his actions. The pope was taken from his palace in Rome to Savona, near Genoa, where he spent three years in isolation and under pressure to submit to Napoleon’s will.
In 1812, Pius VII was transferred to Fontainebleau, south of Paris, where he faced more coercion and threats from Napoleon. He was forced to sign a new concordat that gave Napoleon even more control over the Church in France and Italy. However, he later retracted his signature and denounced the concordat as invalid. He remained a prisoner until 1814, when Napoleon abdicated after his defeat at Waterloo. He then returned to Rome, where a jubilant crowd welcomed him. After years of turmoil, he restored his authority over the Papal States and reorganized the Church.
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI began the process towards canonizing Pope Pius VII a saint by granted the title Servant of God.
The kidnapping of Pope Pius VI and Pope Pius VII was a significant historical event because it showed how Napoleon tried to dominate Europe militarily and religiously. He wanted to use the Catholic Church as a tool for his political agenda, but he met with resistance from two popes who defended their spiritual independence and dignity. Their ordeal also inspired sympathy and solidarity among Catholics around the world, who saw them as martyrs for their faith. Their example also influenced other movements that sought to assert their religious freedom against oppressive regimes, such as in Ireland and Poland.
The kidnapping of two popes also had a lasting impact on the relationship between church and state in France and elsewhere. It exposed the limits and dangers of trying to impose a uniform religion on a diverse society. It also prompted a reconsideration of the role and rights of religious minorities and dissenters. It paved the way for a gradual separation of church and state that would pave the way for secularism and modernism.
In the 1800s, two popes continued the condemnation against Freemasonry, which began in 1738 with Pope Clement XII’s Papal Bull, ‘In Ementi’, saying that it was against the Church and the society. Leo XII, in his encylical ‘Humanum Genus’ in 1884, taught that the Freemasons wanted to end the Catholic religion and that they pushed for secularism and moral relativism. Pius IX, in his encyclical ‘Dall’alto Dell’Apostolico Seggio’ in 1890, taught that the Freemasonry was a secret society that plotted against the Church and the State, and that it tried to enter the public and private institutions to spread its errors.
