Pope Leo XIII (Italian:Leone XIII; bornGioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci;[a] 2March 1810 – 20July 1903) was head of theCatholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those ofPeter the Apostle,Pius IX (his predecessor), andJohn Paul II.
Leo XIII is remembered for his belief that pastoral activity inpolitical sociology is also a vital mission of the church as a vehicle ofsocial justice and maintaining the rights and dignities of the human person. He issued a record eleven papal encyclicals on the rosary, earning him the title "Rosary Pope". He also approved two new Marian scapulars. He was the first pope never to have held any control over thePapal States, which had been dissolved by 1870, sinceStephen II in the 8th century. Similarly, many of his policies were oriented toward mitigating the loss of the Papal States in an attempt to overcome the loss of temporal power, but nonetheless continuing theRoman Question. After his death in 1903, he was buried in theVatican Grottoes. In 1924, his remains were transferred to theArchbasilica of Saint John Lateran.
The house inCarpineto Romano in which the Pecci brothers grew up
Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci was born inCarpineto Romano, near Rome, the sixth of the seven children ofCount Domenico Ludovico Pecci (2 June 1767 – 8 March 1833),Patrician ofSiena,Colonel of theFrench Army underNapoleon, and his wife Anna Francesca Prosperi-Buzzi (1773 – 9 August 1824).[1] His uncle Giuseppe Pecci was aprotonotary apostolic andreferendary of the Signature of Justice and died in 1806. His brothers includedGiuseppe and Giovanni Battista or Giambattista Pecci (26 October 1802 – 28 March 1882), 1st Count Pecci (Comes Romanus byPapal brief in 1880), who married on 8 August 1851 Angela Salina (7 February 1830 – 9 October 1899) and had issue, and sister Anna Maria Pecci, wife of Michelangelo 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".[2] Together with Giuseppe, he studied in theJesuit College inViterbo until 1824.[3] He enjoyedLatin and was known to have written his own Latin poems at the age of eleven.[b] Leo was a descendant of the Italian leaderCola di Rienzo on his mother's side.[5]
In 1824, he and 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 and attended the JesuitCollegium Romanum.
In 1828, the 18-year-old Vincenzo decided in favour ofsecular clergy, and Giuseppe entered the Jesuit order.[7] Vincenzo studied at theAcademia dei Nobili, mainly diplomacy and law. In 1834, he gave a student presentation, attended by severalcardinals, on papal judgments. For his presentation, he received awards for academic excellence and gained the attention of Vatican officials.[8]Cardinal Secretary of StateLuigi Lambruschini introduced him to Vatican congregations. During a cholera epidemic in Rome, he assisted CardinalGiuseppe Antonio Sala in his duties as overseer of all the city hospitals.[9] In 1836, he received his doctorate in theology and doctorates of civil andCanon Law in Rome.
On 14 February 1837,Pope Gregory XVI appointed the 27-year-old Pecci as personalprelate even before he was ordained a priest on 31 December 1837 by theCardinal VicarCarlo Odescalchi. He celebrated his first Mass with his priest brother Giuseppe.[10] Shortly thereafter, Gregory XVI appointed Pecci asPapal legate (provincial administrator) toBenevento, the smallest Papal province, with a population of about 20,000.[9]
The main problems facing Pecci were a decaying local economy, insecurity from widespread bandits, and pervasive Mafia orCamorra structures, which were often 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 public order restored, he turned to the economy and a reform of the tax system to stimulate trade with the neighboring provinces.[11]
Pecci was first destined forSpoleto, a province of 100,000. On 17 July 1841, he was sent toPerugia with 200,000 inhabitants.[9] 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 fight against corruption continued inPerugia, where Pecci 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 confiscated it if below legal weight. The confiscated bread was distributed to the poor.[12]
On 27 April 1843, Pope Gregory XVI appointed PecciArchbishop and asked his Cardinal Secretary of State Lambruschini to consecrate him.[13] Pecci developed excellent relations with the royal family and used the location to visit neighboring Germany, where he was particularly interested in the architectural completion of theCologne Cathedral.
In Belgium, the school question was sharply debated between the Catholic majority and the liberal minority. Pecci encouraged the struggle for Catholic schools, but he was able to win the good will of the Court not only of the piousQueen Louise but also of KingLeopold I, who was strongly liberal in his views. The new nuncio succeeded in uniting Catholics. At the end of his mission, the King granted him the Grand Cordon in theOrder of Leopold.[15]
In 1843, Pecci had been namedpapal assistant. From 1846 to 1877, he was considered a popular and successfulArchbishop of Perugia. In 1847, afterPope Pius IX granted unlimited freedom for the press in the Papal States,[16] Pecci, who had been highly popular in the first years of his episcopate, became the object of attacks in the media and at his residence.[17] In 1848,revolutionary movements developed throughout Western Europe, including France, Germany and Italy.Austrian,French andSpanish troops reversed the revolutionary gains but at a price for Pecci and the Catholic Church, who could not regain their former popularity.
Pecci called a provincial council in 1849 to reform the religious life in his dioceses inSpoleto and it was in this council that the need for aSyllabus of Errors was discussed.[18][19] He invested in enlarging the seminary for future priests and in hiring new and prominent professors, preferablyThomists. He called on his brotherGiuseppe Pecci, a noted Thomist scholar, to resign his professorship in Rome and to teach in Perugia instead.[20] His own residence was next to the seminary, which facilitated his daily contacts with the students.
While archbishop, Pecci developed several activities in support of variousCatholic charities. He foundedhomeless shelters for boys, girls and elderly women. Throughout his dioceses, he opened branches of aBank, Monte di Pietà, which focused on low-income people and providedlow-interest loans.[21] He createdsoup kitchens, which were run by the Capuchins. Upon his elevation to the cardinalate in late 1853, and in light of continuingearthquakes and floods, he donated all resources for the festivities of his elevation to the victims. Much of the public attention turned on the conflict between thePapal States andItalian nationalism, which aimed at the Papal States' annihilation to achieve theUnification of Italy.
In the consistory of 19 December 1853, he was elevated to theCollege of Cardinals, asCardinal-Priest ofSan Crisogono. Pope Gregory XVI originally intended to name him as a cardinal; however, his death in 1846 put pause to that idea while the events that characterized the beginning of the papacy of Pius IX further postponed the idea of Pecci's elevation. By the time that Gregory XVI died,Leopold II repeatedly asked that Pecci be named as a cardinal.[22] While Pius IX strongly desired having Pecci as close to Rome as possible, and repeatedly offered him asuburbicarian diocese, Pecci continually refused due to his preference for Perugia. It is possible that the archbishop did not share the views of theCardinal Secretary of State,Giacomo Antonelli. It is not true that Pius IX deliberately sent him to Perugia as a way of exiling him from Rome simply because Pecci's views were perceived to be liberalistic and conciliatory, as opposed to the conservatism of the papal court.[22]
Allegedly, Pecci had been a cardinal reserved "in pectore" by Gregory XVI in the consistory of 19 January 1846, with the pope's death just over four months later invalidating the appointment since his name was never actually revealed publicly.[6]
Pecci defended the papacy and its claims. WhenItalian authorities expropriated convents and monasteries of Catholic orders, turning them into administration or military buildings, 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.[23] The new government also levied taxes on the Catholic Church and issued legislation according to which all episcopal or papal utterances were to be approved by the government before their publication.[24]
On 8 December 1869, anecumenical council, which became known as theFirst Vatican Council, was to take place in the Vatican perPope Pius IX. Pecci was likely well informed since the pope named his brother Giuseppe to help prepare the event.
During the 1870s, in his last years in Perugia, Pecci addressed the role of the church in modern society several times, defining the church asthe mother of material civilization because it upheld human dignity of working people, opposed the excesses of industrialization, and developed large-scale charities for the needy.[25]
In August 1877, on the death of CardinalFilippo de Angelis, Pope Pius IX appointed himCamerlengo, which required him to reside in Rome.[26] Reportedly, Pius IX is alleged to have said to Pecci: "Monsignor, I have decided to summon you to the Senate of the Church. I feel sure this will be the first act of my pontificate that you will not feel called upon to criticize." These comments were reported to have been said due to the stories that Pecci and Pius IX had a mutual animosity for each other and disagreed with each other in terms of policy; however, this purported animosity has never been proven. It was further alleged that by this stage Pecci desired a change of scenery from Perugia and hoped for either thebishopric of Albano or the position of datary of theApostolic Dataria. It has also been said that Pecci was reportedly in line to succeed CardinalAlessandro Barnabò as the prefect forPropaganda Fide; however, it was stymied by his opponent, Cardinal Antonelli.[6]
Depiction of Leo XIII's papal coronation – image c. 1900Portrait depiction of Leo XIII's papal coronation. He is wearing apapal tiara.
Pope Pius IX died on 7 February 1878,[26] In the conclave, the cardinals faced varied questions and discussed issues likechurch–state relations in Europe, specifically Italy; divisions in the church; and the status of the First Vatican Council. It was also debated that the conclave be moved elsewhere, but Pecci decided otherwise in his capacity as the camerlengo. On 18 February 1878, the conclave assembled in Rome. Cardinal Pecci was elected on the third ballot and chose the name Leo XIII.[26] He was crowned on 3 March 1878.
During the conclave, he secured his election on the third scrutiny with 44 out of 61 votes, more than the requisite two-thirds majority. While the 1878 conclave was characterized by fewer political influences than in previous conclaves due to a variety of European political crises, it was generally believed that the long papacy of the conservative Pius IX led many of the cardinals to vote for Pecci because his age and health created the expectation that his papacy would be somewhat brief.[27] Following the conclave,John Henry Newman is reported to have said: "In the successor of Pius I recognize a depth of thought, a tenderness of heart, a winning simplicity, and a power answering to the name of Leo, which prevent me from lamenting that Pius is no longer here."[27] In the conclave, Pecci was perceived as the main "papabile" candidate; however, Cardinals Flavio Chigi andTommaso Martinelli were also considered as potential candidates. But some cardinals who opposed Pecci, and were alarmed at the rising votes he was securing, banded together to cast their ballots for CardinalAlessandro Franchi; however, Franchi secured no votes in the final ballot that saw Pecci duly elected. Allegedly, those who were dedicated to thwarting his election were CardinalsLuigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano,Pietro Giannelli, Chigi, Lorenzo Ilarione Randi,Carlo Sacconi,Raffaele Monaco La Valletta,Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, andJohann Baptist Franzelin. It was also suggested that, before his death, Pius IX heavily favored CardinalLuigi Bilio to succeed him, and while many of the cardinals created by the late pope intended to vote for Bilio to honor the man who elevated them in the first place, they feared that voting for an ultra-conservative could potentially evoke a veto from one of the European powers and stall the election more than was necessary. To that end, there had been early talks about Austria possiblyvetoing Bilio; however, this never occurred.[27] Before the conclave, Cardinals Domenico Bartolini, Monaco, Bilio,Henry Edward Manning,Lorenzo Nina, and Franchi (proposed by Pecci's opponents) all agreed on supporting Pecci's candidacy, also determining that the next pope needed to be an Italian. Both Manning andEdward Henry Howard agreed to persuade the foreign cardinals to back Pecci's candidacy.[28][27]
Upon his election, he announced that he would assume the name "Leo" in memory ofPope Leo XII due to his admiration for the late pope's interest in education and his conciliatory attitude toward foreign governments.[28] When asked what name he would take, the new pope responded: "As Leo XIII, in remembrance of Leo XII, whom I have always venerated". His election was formally announced to the people of Rome and the world at 1:15pm.[6]
He retained the administration of the Perugia see until 1880.
As soon as he was elected to the papacy, Leo XIII worked to encourage understanding between the church and the modern world. When he firmly reasserted thescholastic doctrine that science and religion coexist, he required the study ofThomas Aquinas[29] and opened theVatican Secret Archives to qualified researchers, among whom was the noted historian of the PapacyLudwig von Pastor. He also refounded theVatican Observatory"so that everyone might see clearly that the Church and her Pastors are not opposed to true and solid science, whether human or divine, but that they embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the fullest possible devotion."[30]
Pope Leo XIII and his inner court at the Vatican, photographed byJules David in June 1878
Leo XIII brought normality back to the Catholic Church after the tumultuous years of Pius IX. Leo's 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 anticlerical and socialist sympathies. Leo helped reverse that trend.
Although Leo XIII was no radical in either theology or politics, his papacy moved the Catholic Church back to the mainstream of European life. Considered a great diplomat, he managed to improve relations withRussia,Germany,France,Britain and other countries.
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 thefifth cholera pandemic in 1891, he ordered the construction of ahospice inside the Vatican. That building would be torn down in 1996 to make way for construction of theDomus Sanctae Marthae.[31]
Leo was a drinker of thecocaine-infused wine tonicVin Mariani, a precursor drink toCoca-Cola.[32] He awarded aVatican gold medal to the wine's creator,Angelo Mariani, and also appeared on a poster endorsing it.[33] Leo XIII was asemi-vegetarian. In 1903, he attributed his longevity to the sparing use of meat and the consumption of eggs, milk and vegetables.[34]
Pope Leo XIII began his pontificate with a friendly letter to TsarAlexander II in which he reminded theRussian monarch of the millions of Catholics living in his empire who would like to be good Russian subjects if their dignity were respected.
After the assassination of Alexander II, the pope sent a high ranking representative to the coronation of his successor,Alexander III, who was grateful and asked for all religious forces to unify. He asked the pope to ensure that his bishops abstain from politicalagitation. Relations improved further when Pope Leo XIII, because of Italian considerations, distanced the Vatican from the Rome-Vienna-Berlin alliance, and helped to facilitate a rapprochement between Paris and St. Petersburg.
TheCentre Party in Germany represented Catholic interests and was a force for social change. It was encouraged by Leo's support for social welfare legislation and the rights of working people. Leo's forward-looking approach encouragedCatholic Action in other European countries, where the social teachings of the church were incorporated into the agenda of Catholic parties, particularly theChristian democratic parties, which became an acceptable alternative to socialist parties. Leo's social teachings were reiterated throughout the 20th century by his successors.
In hisMemoirs,[37] EmperorWilhelm II discussed the "friendly, trustful relationship that existed between me and Pope Leo XIII." During Wilhelm's 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 oldRoman Empire of the German nation no longer existed, and that conditions had changed. But he adhered to his words."
Leo XIII possessed a great affection for France, and feared that theThird Republic would take advantage of the fact that most French Catholics wereRoyalists to abolish theConcordat of 1801. At the advisement ofCardinal Rampolla, he urged French Catholics to "rally" to the republic.[38] Leo's decision upset many French monarchists, who felt they were being forced to betray their king for their faith. Ultimately, this move split the French Church politically and decreased its influence in France. Leo's move also failed to prevent the Concordat's eventual repealment, as it was later abrogated by the1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State.[39]
Silver medal celebrating Pope Leo XIII's 1891 inauguration of the new observatory
In the light of a climate hostile to the Catholic Church, Leo continued the policies of Pius IX towardsItaly without major modifications.[40] In his relations with the Italian state, Leo continued the Papacy's self-imposedincarceration-in-the-Vatican stance and continued to insist that Italian Catholics should not vote in Italian elections or hold any elected office. In his firstconsistory 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 persecution and discrimination in the area of education, expropriation and violation of Catholic Churches, legal measures against the church and acts of terrorism such as anticlerical groups attempting to throw the corpse of Pope Pius IX into theTiber on 13 July 1881.[41] The pope even considered moving his residence toTrieste orSalzburg, two cities inAustria, an idea that EmperorFranz Joseph I gently rejected.[42]
Among the activities of Leo XIII that were important for the English-speaking world, herestored the Scottish hierarchy in 1878. The following year, on 12 May 1879, he raised to the rank ofcardinal the convert theologianJohn Henry Newman,[43] who would eventually bebeatified byPope Benedict XVI in 2010 andcanonized byPope Francis in 2019. InBritish India, too, Leo established a Catholic hierarchy in 1886 and regulated some longstanding conflicts with thePortuguese authorities. A papalrescript (20 April 1888) condemned the IrishPlan of Campaign and all clerical involvement in it as well as boycotting, followed in June by the papal encyclical "Saepe Nos"[44] that was addressed to all the Irish bishops. Of outstanding significance, not least for the English-speaking world, was Leo's encyclicalApostolicae curae on the invalidity of the Anglican orders, published in 1896. In 1899, he declared the VenerableBede aDoctor of the Church.
In 1880, theSanta Maria de Montserrat Abbey in Catalonia celebrated 1000 years of existence. On 11 September 1881, to coincide with the Catalan national day, Leo XIII proclaimed theVirgin of Montserrat to be Patron of Catalonia. This had implications beyond the purely religious sphere, influencing the development ofCatalan nationalism.
Leo XIII welcomed the elevation of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg (the laterFerdinand I of Bulgaria) toPrince of Bulgaria in 1886. A fellow Catholic, whose wife was a member of the ItalianHouse of Bourbon-Parma, the two had a lot in common. However, relations between the two degenerated when Ferdinand expressed his intention to allow his eldest son Crown Prince Boris (laterTsar Boris III) to convert to Orthodoxy, the majority religion of Bulgaria. Leo strongly condemned the action, and when Ferdinand went through with the conversion anyway, Leoexcommunicated him.
The United States frequently attracted his attention and admiration. He confirmed the decrees of theThird Plenary Council of Baltimore (1884) and raisedJames Gibbons, the archbishop of that city, to the cardinalate in 1886.
On 10 April 1887, a pontifical charter from Pope Leo XIII founded theCatholic University of America, establishing the national university of the Catholic Church in the United States.
American newspapers criticized Pope Leo because they claimed that he was attempting to gain control of American public schools.[45] One cartoonist drew Leo as a fox unable to reach grapes that were labeled for American schools; the caption read "Sour grapes!"[46]
Pope Leo XIII is remembered for theFirst Plenary Council of Latin America held at Rome in 1899, and for his encyclical of 1888 to the bishops ofBrazil,In plurimis, on theabolition of slavery. In 1897 he published theApostolic LetterTrans Oceanum, which dealt with the privileges and ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church in Latin America.[49]
He bestowed his pontifical benediction overChilean troops on the eve of theBattle of Chorrillos during theWar of the Pacific in January 1881. The Chilean soldiers looted the cities ofChorrillos andBarranco, including the churches, and their chaplains headed the robbery at theBiblioteca Nacional del Perú, 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.[50][better source needed]
Pope Leo XIII urged "Filii tui India, administri tibi salutis" (Your own sons, O India, will be the heralds of your salvation)[51] and founded the national seminary, called thePapal Seminary. He entrusted this task to the then Apostolic Delegate to IndiaLadislaus Michael Zaleski, who founded the Seminary in 1893.
Leo XIII was pope during theSpanish–American War in 1898, in which the United States, a then largely Protestant nation, took control of thePhilippines from Spain. In a 1902 meeting with the American Governor-GeneralWilliam Howard Taft, Leo XIII refused to allow the United States government to buy land from Catholic friars in the Philippines.[52]
As pope, he used all his authority for a revival of the theology ofThomas Aquinas. On 4 August 1879, Leo XIII promulgated the encyclicalAeterni 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 Aquinas – as the official philosophical and theological system of the Catholic Church. It was to be normative not only in the training of priests but also in the education of the laity at universities.
Leo entered new theological territory in consecrating the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After he had received many letters from SisterMary of the Divine Heart, the countess ofDroste zu Vischering andMother Superior in the Convent of theGood Shepherd Sisters inPorto, 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 letterAnnum sacrum (on 25 May 1899), he decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on 11 June 1899.[58]
Leo introduced the promotion of monthly prayer intentions in 1890, which he entrusted to the Apostleship of Prayer (now thePope's Worldwide Prayer Network).[60]
In his 1893 encyclicalProvidentissimus Deus, he described the importance of scriptures for theological study. It was an important encyclical for Catholic theology and its relation to the Bible, asPope Pius XII pointed out 50 years later in his encyclicalDivino afflante Spiritu.[61]
John Henry Newman was raised into the College of Cardinals by Pope Leo XIII.
Leo XIII is credited with great efforts in the areas of scientific and historical analysis. He opened theVatican Archives and personally fostered a 20-volume comprehensive scientific study of the Papacy byLudwig von Pastor, an Austrian historian.[63]
His predecessor,Pope Pius IX, became known as the Pope of theImmaculate Conception because of his dogmatization in 1854. Leo XIII, in light of his unprecedented promulgation of therosary in 11 encyclicals, was called theRosary Pope because he promulgated Marian devotion. In his encyclical on the 50th anniversary of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, he stresses Mary's role in the redemption of humanity and calls herMediatrix andCo-Redemptrix. While allowing the title "Mediatrix", recent popes, following on the Second Vatican Council, have warned away from the term "co-redemptrix" as derogating from the one mediator, Jesus Christ.[64][65][66]
His encyclicals changed the church's relations with temporal authorities; the 1891 encyclicalRerum novarum, for the first time, addressed social inequality and social justice issues with papal authority by focusing on the rights and duties of capital and labour. He was greatly influenced byWilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, a German bishop who propagated siding with the suffering working classes in his bookDie Arbeiterfrage und das Christentum. Since Leo XIII, many papal teachings have expanded on the rights and obligations of workers. Leo argued that both capitalism and communism are flawed.Rerum novarum introduced the idea ofsubsidiarity, 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.[citation needed]
Throughout his pontificate, Leo XIII elevated 147 cardinals in 27 consistories. While the limit of the College of Cardinals had been set at 70 since the papacy ofPope Sixtus V, Leo XIII never exceeded nor reached the limit, only ever coming close at 67 in 1901.[67] Amongst the noteworthy cardinals whom he elevated, he namedJohn Henry Newman as a cardinal while also elevating his own brotherGiuseppe Pecci, though not anepotistic act (it was based purely on recommendation and merit), in the same consistory. In 1893, he elevated Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto to the cardinalate, who would go on to be his immediate successor,Pope Pius X in 1903. The pope also nominated the brothers,Serafino andVincenzo Vannutelli and the cousinsLuigi andAngelo Jacobini to the Sacred College. Other noteworthy inclusions wereAndrea Carlo Ferrari (later beatified in 1987) andGirolamo Maria Gotti.[citation needed]
Of the 147 cardinals he elevated, 85 were Italian since Leo XIII nominated cardinals from beyond Europe, including the first cardinals from Australia,[68] Canada,[69] Slovenia,[70] and Armenia,[71] the latter of which would be the first Oriental selection since 1439.
In 1880, the pope named three cardinals "in pectore", announcing them in 1882 and 1884. In 1882, he named another cardinalin pectore, announcing the name later that same year. On 30 December 1889, Leo XIII named only one cardinal whom he reservedin pectore, only announcing the name roughly six months later. In early 1893, he named another two cardinalsin pectore, announcing their names in 1894 and 1895, while in April 1901 announcing the names of another two cardinals whom he had reservedin pectore in June 1899. In June 1896, Leo XIII named two other cardinals in pectore, announcing in March 1898 that both had died, hence, vacating the red hats he would have bestowed upon them.[72]
With the elevation of Newman in 1879, it was widely praised throughout the English-speaking world, not simply on the account of Newman's virtues and reputation, but on the basis that Leo XIII had a broader episcopal vision in mind than Pius IX ever did. His similar appointments of two prominent participants of the First Vatican Council,Lajos Haynald andFriedrich Egon von Fürstenberg both in 1879 was also noteworthy due to their roles in the short-lived Council. It was even alleged that Félix Antoine Philibert Dupanloup, a vocal opponent of papal infallibility like Newman, would have been elevated to the cardinalate in 1879 had he not died in October 1878.[27] Additionally, in 1884, the Polish priest and former Curial officialStefan Pawlicki was offered but refused an offer of elevation. Leo XIII later intended to name theArchbishop of Santiago Mariano Santiago Casanova Casanova as a cardinal in 1895; however, the pope abandoned the idea after thePeruvian Church objected that theArchbishop of Lima was thePrimate of South America and hence the one that needed to be made a cardinal. In order to avoid a conflict between Chile and Peru, the pope abandoned the idea reluctantly.[72]
In 1897, the pope intended to name theArchbishop of TurinDavide Riccardi as a cardinal but the cardinal died before the promotion could take place. In 1891 and again in 1897, the pope offered the cardinalate toJohannes Montel Edler von Treuenfels, the dean of the Sacred Rota, though he refused the honor (he refused again in 1908 when invited by Pope Pius X). In 1899, Leo XIII hoped to nominate theDominican procurator generalHyacinthe-Marie Cormier (later beatified) to the cardinalate; however, he was unable to do so because the French government did not favor a cardinal from a religious order to seek its best interests as a Curial member.[72] In 1901, he planned to nameAgapito Panici as a cardinal at the next consistory, but Panici died before the nomination could take place in 1903. Allegedly, before deciding to name him, Leo XIII asked his brother Diomede to renounce his claim to the red hat, but when Agapito died in 1902, the pope informed Diomede that he would ignore his previous missive asking him to renounce his claim to the red hat, a position that Diomede was never then given. According to witnesses, Leo XIII failed three times to inviteVincenzo Tarozzi (whose cause for beatification has since been launched) to receive the red hat. According to a conversation in 1904 betweenPope Pius X andAntonio Mele-Virdis, the former is alleged to have said, "he should have been in my place".[72]
Leo XIII beatified several of his predecessors:Urban II (14 July 1881),Victor III (23 July 1887) andInnocent V (9 March 1898). He canonizedAdrian III on 2 June 1891.
In 1901, Pope Leo XIII welcomed Eugenio Pacelli, laterPope Pius XII, on his first day of 57 years of service in the Vatican (1901–1958).
One of the first audiences that Leo XIII granted was to the professors and students of theCollegio Capranica, where in the first row knelt in front of him the young seminarian Giacomo Della Chiesa, the futurePope Benedict XV, who would be pope from 1914 to 1922.
On a pilgrimage with her father and sister in 1887,Thérèse of Lisieux attended a general audience with Pope Leo XIII and asked him to allow her to enter theCarmelite order. Even though she was strictly forbidden to speak to him because she was told that it would prolong the audience too much, she addressed him with the Pope telling her: "If it is God's will that you should enter the Convent, then it shall be".[a story of a soul]
In July 1884 Pope Leo received the French authorJules Verne and his family in a private audience; he was aware of Verne's scientific style of writing.[75]
There are several versions of a story of how Leo came to compose thePrayer to Saint Michael. Various dates are given. A common account says that on the morning of 13 October 1884, Leo XIII celebrated Mass but as he finished, he turned to step down the stairs and allegedly collapsed, falling into what was originally thought to be a coma, but was rather a mystical ecstasy. As the priests and cardinals rushed to his side, Leo XIII rose and visibly shaken, brushed off his aides and rushed back towards his apartment where he immediately wrote the Prayer to SaintMichael the Archangel. Leo XIII reportedly saw a vision of demons being released from Hell, and as the vision ended, he saw Saint Michael charge in and drive them all back into Hell. Leo XIII mandated that the prayer be said after everyLow Mass from that point forth.[76][77]
In 1934, a German writer, Fr. Bers, tried to trace the origin of the story and declared that, though the story was widespread, nowhere could he find a trace of proof. Sources close to the institution of the prayer in 1886, including an account of a conversation with Leo XIII about his decision, say nothing of the alleged vision. Bers concluded that the story was a later invention that spread like a virus.[78]
At the time of his election in 1878, the pope had started to experience a slighttremor in his hand due to a poorly undertakenbloodletting procedure for a previous malady.[79]
In March 1899, it had been believed that the pope was gravely ill and that he was nearing death. Originally, it was presumed that the pope was suffering from a violent case ofpneumonia and that the alarm was raised regarding his health. However, it was soon discovered that the reason for the pope's illness was the suddeninflammation of acyst which had been troubling him for almost thirty years and which had never been previously removed. The only reason it had never been of any particular concern was due to incisions designed for pain relief. While Leo XIII strongly rejected the notion of surgery at first, he was persuaded by CardinalMariano Rampolla del Tindaro that it was necessary to ensure his good health. Before the pope was taken for surgery, he asked that his chaplain celebrate Mass in his private chapel while the operation was taking place. Reportedly, the cyst removed "was the size of an ordinary-sized orange".[79][80]
Towards the end of his life, Leo XIII resorted to using a gold-headed cane when going on walks, as he often found it difficult to do so. While Leo XIII was certainly able to walk without it, he only walked without a cane if he truly felt comfortable doing so. When there were ever rumors about his health, Leo XIII was known to mischievously walk about briskly to dispel the rumors.[6]
The monument and tomb to Leo XIII in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran
On 30 June 1903, Leo XIII reported slight feelings ofdyspepsia and said that he would take a dose ofcastor oil to help himself recuperate, shrugging off concerns about his health. While it seemed to work, and the pope resumed his duties with a renewed vigor, it was not to last.[80]
Leo XIII originally contracted a cold while taking an outing in theVatican Gardens on 3 July 1903; however, his condition rapidly deteriorated to the point that he had contracted pneumonia. That night, he immediately went to bed and lost consciousness.[80][81] Originally, the pope refused his doctor's desire to secure a second opinion from a colleague, insisting on a doctor who had previously tended to him in 1899 when he suffered a previous serious illness.[82] When the doctor was immediately summoned to the pope's bedside, he determined that the castor oil had disturbed his stomach and exacerbated his condition.[80] The pope's nephews were immediately notified of their uncle's illness, as were CardinalsMariano Rampolla del Tindaro andLuigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano in their capacities as theSecretary of State andCamerlengo respectively. On 4 July, the pope made his last confession to CardinalSerafino Vannutelli and later was barely able to recite the profession of faith.[82] That same day, he experienced a loss of appetite and suffered from shortness of breath.[79] On 5 July, the doctor reported that thehepatisation affected the upper and middle lobes of the right lung, while Leo XIII suffered from considerable cardiac weakness and difficulties in breathing, while reporting the absence of any fever or coughing fits.[80] That same day, after having received the sacraments, the pope said, "I am now near my end. I do not know if all I have done has been good, but I certainly obeyed my conscience and our faith".[6]
On 6 July 1903, he was administered an injection to ease the pain that he was experiencing, while it was reported that the pneumonia he had contracted was starting to spread to the left lung. The pope, who had an imperceptible pulse, had a restless night and was given oxygen by his doctors. When given the oxygen, Leo XIII replied, "That is much better. Before I felt as though I had lost my liberty".[6] That morning, he intimated to those with him that he would prefer it if CardinalGirolamo Maria Gotti succeeded him in the next conclave.[83] When doctors ordered him to rest, so as not to further aggravate his declining health, Leo XIII said: "If it were only of any use, but I do not believe it would be. The brief remainder of my life must be given to God's Church, not to my own poor comfort". The pope lost consciousness but was awake to receive the sacraments at 9:00pm before experiencing yet another restless night, marveling, "God's will be done. Who would have believed it when only ten days ago I was presiding over a public consistory?"[83] Leo XIII only slept three hours but severe pain saw him immediately awaken, complaining of pain on both sides of the thorax that forced doctors to move his frail form for better comfort. His situation had previously been critical that afternoon when he was given the Last Rites, while his doctors apprised him of his sudden deterioration. On 7 July, the feeble pope asked that the shutters of his window be opened, saying "I wish to see once more, perhaps for the last time, the rays of the sun".[82] In the nights following, the pope suffered from several coughing fits, perspiring heavily due to his rising fever. The pope felt slightly better enough on 10 July to receive a group of Hungarian pilgrims; however, the pope was exhausted and collapsed after the meeting.[81]
Leo XIII deteriorated further until he died at 3:55pm on 20 July 1903, whispering a final blessing before he died. However, Vatican officials gave the time of his death as 4:04pm when officials officially confirmed that the pope had died. Officially, Leo XIII had died of pneumonia, followed byhemorrhagicpleurisy.[84]
Leo XIII was the first pope to be born in the 19th century and was also the first to die in the 20th century, living to the age of 93.[85] He is the oldest verified pope to have served in the office.[86][c] There are three other popes that are claimed to have lived longer than Pope Leo XIII:Pope St Agatho (574–681), who died at the age of 107;[88]Pope Gregory IX (1145–1241), who died at the age of 96;[89] andPope Adrian I (700–795), who died at the age of 95.[90] However, although there is some contemporary documentation attesting to their ages, there is not sufficient evidence for them to be verified with complete certainty; this is due to the poor record keeping typical of the era in which they lived.
At the time of his death, Leo XIII was the third-longest-reigning pope (25 years), exceeded only by his immediate predecessor,Pius IX (31 years), andSaint Peter (38 years).
Pope Paul VI described Leo XIII as "great and wise", his "first teacher", from whom he had inherited "a pastoral outlook and a pastoral approach".[94]
Upon his election in2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost assumed the nameLeo XIV in honor of Leo XIII. Leo XIV stated that one of the main reasons he chose his papal name was because of the social justice encyclicalRerum novarum that was written by Pope Leo XIII.[95]
Leo XIII was the first pope whose voice was recorded. The recording can be found on a compact disc ofAlessandro Moreschi's singing; a recording of his praying of theAve Maria is available on the web.[97] He was also the first pope to be filmed by a motion picture camera. He wasfilmed in 1898 by inventorW. K. Dickson,[98][99] and blessed the camera while being filmed.[100][101] The video contains three segments: the pope on a throne, the pope arriving in a horse-drawn carriage, and the pope taking a seat on a bench.[102] Born in 1810, he might also be the earliest-born known person to appear in a film.[103]
In the 2024 filmCabrini, Pope Leo XIII is depicted byGiancarlo Giannini in several scenes offering his support toMother Cabrini for her mission in the United States in 1889 and thereafter.
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^Wilcox, Marrion (26 November 1898)."Daily life of Pope Leo XIII".Harper's Weekly. Vol. 42, no. 2188. New York: Harper's Magazine Company. pp. 1150–1151.ISSN0360-2397. Retrieved9 May 2025.
^Della Maggiore, Gianluca (2023).Le vedute delle origini su Leone XIII: Vaticano, Biograph e Lumière tra mito e storia. Analisi del film e ricerca storica. Torino: UTET Università.ISBN978-88-6008-945-8.
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