[August 20] Pius VII, pope of Rome

Birth Name: Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti
Parents: Scipione Chiaramonti and Giovanna
Date of Birth: 14 August 1742
Predecessor: Pius VI
Reign: 1800 – 1823
Summary: Born to a noble Italian family, Barnaba joined the Benedictine Order in 1756 in Cesena, where he served the Abbey of St. Maria del Monte under the name Gregory. He was promoted to a teacher and travelled between Parma and Rome until he eventually was ordained a priest in 1765. When his relative, Giovanni Angelo Braschi, became Pope Pius VI in 1775, life became much better for Gregory. The very next year, he became an honorary abbot at the school he was teaching at, Sant'Anselmo in Rome. Gregory was chastised by his Benedictine brothers for nepotism but he kept the titles and in 1782 became bishop of Tivoli. Three years later, he was made a cardinal of the Basilica of St. Callistus, and was also made the bishop of Imola. When the French Revolutionary Army invaded northern Italy in 1797, Gregory suggested acceptance and caution toward the French, arguing that democracy and Catholicism did not have to be enemies. Pius VI died in August 1799 and the papal conclave was split for months deciding between three candidates: a French candidate, an Austrian candidate, and a neutral candidate—Gregory. In March, Gregory finally was elected to the papal seat and took the name Pius VII, in honor of his relative and predecessor, Pius VI.

Pius VII immediately elevated the cleric Ercole Consalvi to the post of Cardinal Secretary of State and sent him to France to negotiate terms between the Papal States and the French Republic. This established a long policy of cooperation with the French, including support of the French blockade against Britain. During the United States' war with the Barbary Pirates from 1801 to 1805, Pius wholeheartedly supported the U.S. and stated that it "had done more for the cause of Christianity than the most powerful nations of Christendom have done for ages." Although Pius was responsible for crowning Napeolon emperor of the French in 1804, by 1809, tensions between France and the Papacy had once again reached a critical state. In that year, France annexed central Italy, forcing Pius into exile to Savona when he complained but accomplished little for four years. In 1813, he signed the Concordate of Fontainebleau, which allowed the release of many of his cardinals, including Consalvi, who immediately conspired with the pope to renounce the treaty that had just freed him. The French began arresting recently-released cardinals in early 1814 but Napoleon's abdication in April of that year ended any attack on the Papacy by the French. Little of importance occurred in his finals years, but in 1816, Pius VII was responsible for establishing the primacy of Ecumenical Councils over Papal decrees. Pius died in 1823 and was succeeded by Leo XII after a short interregnum.
Date of Death: 20 August 1823
Successor: Leo XII

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• John XIV, pope of Rome (984)
• Pius X, pope of Rome (1914)