Pope Pius VI

Pope Pius VI (25 December[2] 1717 29 August 1799),

born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, reigned from 15
February 1775 to his death in 1799.[3]
Pius VI condemned the French Revolution and the suppression of the Gallican Church; he was later expelled
from the Papal States by French troops from 1798 until his death one year later in Valence. His reign is the
fourth-longest in papal history, being over two decades.

Introduction

The name of Pius VI is associated with the troubles of

the French Revolution and restoration of the splendor of
Rome under Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) in the promotion of art and public works; the words Municentia
Pii VI. P. M. graven in all parts of the city, giving rise
amongst his impoverished subjects to such satire as the
insertion of a minute loaf in the hands of Pasquin with
that inscription beneath it.
He is best remembered in connection with the establishment of the Museum of the Vatican which begun at his
suggestion of his predecessor Clement XIV and with an
impractical and expensive attempt to drain the Pontine
Marshes, something later successfully achieved in the Cardinal Braschi c. 1773.
1930s by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The portrait
in the box is one of numerous studio copies of the ocial
portrait by Pompeo Batoni.
manities, for he completed the Pio-Clementine Museum
Pius VIs ponticate was a tumultuous and rough one with and added a new sacristy to St. Peters Basilica. Pius VI
the onset of the French Revolution, but much was accom- also restored the famous Roman Appian Way.[4]
plished through his work. In the beginning of his Ponticate, Pius was successful with silencing a group of follows
of Jansenism with his bull Auctorem Fidei, which reafrmed the Churchs stance at the topics at hand. Pius VI
also saw the growth of Catholicism in the United States
of America, therefore erecting the rst American archep- 2 Biography
iscopal see, the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

2.1 Early years

The pope also set the Pontical States nances on much

steadier ground after Benedict XIV did so earlier in the
18th century after constructing extravagant edices and
holding public ceremonies full of splendor and pomp.
Pius VI also attempted the daring job of draining the
Pontine Marshes, which he did with little success, but did
successfully drain the marshes near Citta della Pieve, Perugia, and Spoleto.

Giovanni Angelo Braschi was born in Cesena on

Christmas in 1717 as the eldest of eight children to Count
Marco Aurelio Tommaso Braschi and Ana Teresa. His
siblings were Felice Silvestro, Giulia Francesca, Cornelio Francesco, Maria Olimpia, Anna Maria Costanza,
Giuseppe Luigi and Maria Lucia Margherita. He was
Pius VI also deepened and expanded the harbors of Ter- baptized in Cesena on the following 27 December and
racina and Porto d'Anizo, a major center of Pontical was given the baptismal name of Angelo Onofrio Meltrade. Pius was a great patron of the all the arts and hu- chiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio.[5]
1

2.2

3 PAPACY

Education and church career

reign. As a result Braschi - as pope - was led into situations where he gave little satisfaction to either side: it is
After he completed his studies in the Jesuit college of perhaps due to him the Jesuit managed to escape dissoluCesena and receiving his doctorate of both canon and tion in White Russia and Silesia.
civil law in 1734, Braschi continued his studies at the
Cardinal Braschi was elected to the ponticate on 15
University of Ferrara. It was there that he became the priFebruary 1775 and took the pontical name of Pius
vate secretary of Cardinal Tommaso Ruo, papal legate,
VI. He was consecrated into the episcopate on 22
in whose bishopric of Ostia and Velletri he held the post
February 1775 by Cardinal Gian Francesco Albani and
of auditor until 1753.
was crowned that same day by the Cardinal Protodeacon
Cardinal Ruo took him as his conclavist at the 1740 Alessandro Albani.
papal conclave and when the latter became the Dean of
the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1740, Braschi was ap3.2 Jubilee
pointed as his auditor.
His skill in the conduct of a mission to the court of
Pius VI rst opened a jubilee his predecessor convoked
Naples won him the esteem of Pope Benedict XIV who
and it initiated the 1775 Jubilee Year.[9]
[6]
appointed him as one of his secretaries in 1753 following the death of Cardinal Ruo. The pope also appointed
him as a canon of St Peters Basilica in 1755.
3.3 First actions
In 1758, putting an end to an engagement to be married
he was ordained to the priesthood. Braschi was also appointed as the Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura in
1758 and held that position until 1759. He also became
the auditor and secretary of Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico,
the nephew of Pope Clement XIII. In 1766 he was appointed as the treasurer of the camera apostolica by Pope
Clement XIII.[7]

2.3

Cardinalate

Those who suered under his conscientious economics

had managed to convince Pope Clement XIV to elevate him into the cardinalate. Braschi was elevated
on 26 April 1773 in Rome as the Cardinal-Priest of
Sant'Onofrio.[8] This was a promotion which rendered
him innocuous for a brief period of time.

3
3.1

Papacy
Papal election

Main article: Papal conclave, 1774-1775

Pope Clement XIV died in 1774 and this triggered a conclave to choose a successor. Spain, France and Portugal
dropped all objections to the election of Braschi who was
one of the more moderate opponents of the anti-Jesuit
stance of the late pope.

Pius VI elevated Romualdo Braschi-Onesti as the penultimate

cardinal-nephew.

The earlier acts of Pius VI gave fair promise of liberal

rule and reform in the corrupt administration of the Papal
States. Though he was usually benevolent, Pius VI sometimes showed discrimination. He appointed his uncle
Giovanni Carlo Bandi as Bishop of Imola in 1752, and
then as a member of the Roman Curia, cardinal in the
consistory on 29 May 1775, but did not proer any other
members of his family.

Braschi received support from those who disliked the Jesuits and were of the belief he would continue the actions
of Clement XIV and hold true to his brief "Dominus ac
Redemptor" (1773) which saw the dissolution of the order. But the zelanti faction - pro-Jesuit - believed that
he was in secret sympathetic towards the Jesuits and ex- He reprimanded prince Potenziani, the governor of
pected reparation for the wrongs suered in the previous Rome, for failing to adequately deal with corruption in

3.5

Kingdom of Naples

the city, appointed a council of cardinals to remedy the

state of the nances and relieve the pressure of imposts,
called to account Nicol Bischi for the spending of funds
intended for the purchase of grain, reduced the annual
disbursements by denying pensions to many prominent
people, and adopted a reward system to encourage agriculture.

3.4

Gallican and Febronian protests

3.5 Kingdom of Naples

In the Kingdom of Naples diculties necessitating certain concessions in respect of feudal homage were raised
by the liberal minister Tanucci, and more serious disagreements arose with Leopold II, later emperor, and
Scipione de' Ricci, bishop of Pistoia and Prato, upon the
questions of reform in Tuscany.
Pius VI did not think t to condemn the decrees of
the synod of Pistoia (1786) until nearly eight years had
elapsed.

3.6 Society of Jesus

At one stage did the pope consider the universal reestablishment of the Society of Jesus in 1792 as a bulwark against the ideas of the French Revolution, but this
did not happen.[10]

3.7 Other activities

Pius VI elevated 73 cardinals in 23 consistories. He canonized no saints but he beatied a total of 39 individuals
that included Lawrence of Brindisi and Amato Ronconi.

3.8 French Revolution

Main article: French Revolution
At the outbreak of the French Revolution Pius VI wit-

Pius VI

Besides facing dissatisfaction with this temporising policy, Pius VI met with practical protests tending to the
limitation of papal authority. Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, writing under the pseudonym of Febronius, the
chief German literary exponent of Gallican ideas of national Catholic Churches, was himself induced (not without scandal) publicly to retract his positions; but they were
adopted in Austria nevertheless. There the social and
ecclesiastical reforms in the spirit of the Enlightenment
which had been undertaken by Emperor Joseph II and
his minister Kaunitz touched the supremacy of Rome so
nearly that in the hope of staying them Pius VI adopted
the exceptional course of visiting Vienna in person.
He left Rome on 27 February 1782 and, though magnicently received by the Emperor, his mission proved
a asco; he was, however, able a few years later to curb
those German archbishops who, in 1786 at the Congress
of Ems, had shown a tendency towards independence.

The death of Pope Pius VI.

nessed the suppression of the old Gallican Church as well

as the conscation of pontical and ecclesiastical possessions in France. It also saw an egy of himself burnt by
the Parisians at the Palais Royal.
The French Revolution broke out in 1789 and he saw the
events as a sign of opposition against the social order ordained by God and also viewed it as a conspiracy against
the church. The pope condemned both the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and the Civil Constitution of the
Clergy and supported a league against the revolution. He

MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS

issued two briefs - Quod aliquantum (1791) and Car- conict was settled by the Concordat of 1801.
itas (1791) - to condemn the ecclesiastical reforms that Pius VIs body was removed from Valence on 24 Decemwere proposed.
ber 1801 and buried at Rome 19 February 1802, when
1791 marked the end of diplomatic relations with France Pius VI was given a Catholic funeral, attended by Pope
and the papal nuncio, Antonio Dugnani, was recalled to Pius VII, his successor.
Rome as a result.[11]
King Louis XVI was executed via guillotine on 21 January 1793, and his daughter Marie-Thrse-Charlotte petitioned Rome for the canonization of her father. Pius
VI hailed the late king as a martyr on 17 June 1793 in
a meeting with cardinals, giving hope to a potential possibility of sainthood. In 1820 after the death of Pius VI,
the Congregation of Rites put an end to the possible sainthood since it was impossible to prove the king died for
religious reasons rather than political ones. Pius VI argued that the main thrust of the revolution was against
the Catholic religion and Louis XVI himself.[12]

3.9

Deposition and death under Napoleon

Main article: Napoleon and the Catholic Church

In 1796 French Republican troops under the command
of Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Italy and defeated the
papal troops. The French occupied Ancona and Loreto.
Pius VI sued for peace which was granted at Tolentino
on 19 February 1797; but on 28 December 1797, in a
riot blamed by papal forces on some Italian and French
revolutionists, the popular brigadier-general Mathurin- Tomb of Pope Pius VI.
Lonard Duphot, who had gone to Rome with Joseph
Bonaparte as part of the French embassy, was killed and
a new pretext was furnished for invasion.
3.10 Reburial
General Berthier marched to Rome, entered it unopposed
on 10 February 1798, and, proclaiming a Roman Repub- By decree of Pope Pius XII in 1949, the remains of Pius
lic, demanded of the pope the renunciation of his tempo- VI were moved to the Chapel of the Madonna below St.
Peters in the Vatican grottos. His remains were placed
ral authority.
in an ancient marble sarcophagus. The inscription on the
Upon his refusal he was taken prisoner, and on 20 Februwall above the container reads:
ary was escorted from the Vatican to Siena, and thence to
the Certosa near Florence. The French declaration of war The mortal remains of Pius VI, consumed in unjust
against Tuscany led to his removal (he was escorted by the exile, by order of Pius XII are placed in this dignied
Spaniard Pedro Gmez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador) and decorous location, illustrious for art and history, in
[13]
by way of Parma, Piacenza, Turin and Grenoble to the 1949.
citadel of Valence, the chief town of Drme where he
died six weeks after his arrival, on 29 August 1799, having then reigned longer than any pope.
4 Media representations
Pius VIs body was embalmed, but was not buried until 30
January 1800 after Napoleon saw political advantage to
burying the deceased Pope in eorts to bring the Catholic
Church back into France. His entourage insisted for some
time that his last wishes were to be buried in Rome, then
behind the Austrian lines.

A long audience with Pius VI is one of the most extensive

scenes in the Marquis de Sade's narrative Juliette, published in 1798. Juliette shows o her learning to the Pope
(whom she most often addresses as Braschi) with a verbal catalogue of alleged immoralities committed by his
They also prevented a Constitutional bishop from presid- predecessors.
ing at the burial, as the laws of France then required, so As a means of humiliation, Sylvain Marchal's play Le
no burial service was held. This return of the investiture Jugement dernier des rois forces the character of the pope

5
to marry after a global revolution has dethroned him and
other monarchs.

See also
Cardinals created by Pius VI
Palazzo Ghini

Donat Sampson, Pius VI and the French Revolution, The American Catholic Quarterly Review 31,
January October, 1906; Part II, Ibid., p. 413; Part
III, p. 601; Part IV and Ibid., Vol. 32, N. 125, p.
94, January 1907; Part V, Ibid., p. 313.
Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope Pius VI
Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Giovanni
Angelo Cardinal Braschi
Pope Pius VI on Damian-hungs.de (German)

Notes

[1] The Wind was too Strong. Rome Art Lover. Retrieved
12 February 2014.
[2] Many sources indicate that he was born on 27 December
1717 but this is actually the date of his baptism, cf. Pastor,
XXXIX, p. 22
[3] Eamon Duy, Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes,
(Yale University Press, 2001), 254.
[4] CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Pius VI. New
Advent. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
[5] BRASCHI, Giovanni Angelo (1717-1799)". Cardinals
of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
[6] Eamon Duy, Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes,
251.
[7] Eamon Duy, Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes,
251.
[8] McBrien, Richard P. (1997). Lives of the Popes: The
Pontis from St. Peter to Benedict XVI. San Francisco:
HarperCollins. p. 328. ISBN 0060653035.
[9] BRASCHI, Giovanni Angelo (1717-1799)". Cardinals
of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
[10] BRASCHI, Giovanni Angelo (1717-1799)". Cardinals
of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
[11] BRASCHI, Giovanni Angelo (1717-1799)". Cardinals
of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
[12] Pius VI: Quare Lacrymae. 29 January 2015. Retrieved
20 April 2015.
[13] Tomb of Pope Pius VI.

References
This article incorporates text from a publication now
in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).
Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge
University Press.
Ludwig von Pastor, 1952. The History of the Popes
from the close of the Middle Ages, (St. Louis :
Herder) vols. XXXIX and XL.

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Pope Pius VI Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_VI?oldid=664192257 Contributors: Magnus Manske, Danny, JeLuF, Zoe,
Montrealais, Someone else, Jtdirl, Gabbe, Looxix~enwiki, Stan Shebs, Angela, JamesReyes, John K, Charles Matthews, Lord Emsworth,
Wetman, Steen Lwe Gera, Robbot, Jmabel, Flauto Dolce, DO'Neil, Raekwon, Sharavanabhava, Pmanderson, Trc, Gerald Farinas,
Lacrimosus, D6, Lulu of the Lotus-Eaters, Xezbeth, Bender235, Bill Thayer, DanielNuyu, Ardric47, Polylerus, ADM, JYolkowski,
Nasse~enwiki, Ksnow, Bbsrock, Pekinensis, FeanorStar7, RHaworth, Bratsche, Marudubshinki, Ketiltrout, Angusmclellan, NatusRoma,
Xos, BCV, Funnyhat, Tom Hope, FlaBot, Margosbot~enwiki, Chobot, Jaraalbe, Bgwhite, Kummi, YurikBot, RobotE, Odejea, Howcheng,
Kkkc, Mddake, Hosterweis, Antipope, Scientz, Philip Stevens, Elliskev, Attilios, SmackBot, Brimmstone, Unyoyega, Gilliam, Bluebot,
MalafayaBot, Roscelese, GoodDay, Tsca.bot, Chlewbot, EOZyo, Konczewski, Dashbarron, Savidan, Ohconfucius, John, Edwy, RandomCritic, STL Dilettante, Optakeover, 2T, Neddyseagoon, Richard75, Adam sk, Lbr123, Drinibot, Krobison13, MWaller, MayaSimFan,
Jmg38, Jed, CaesarElias, Escarbot, Manushand, Andronikos Komnenos, JAnDbot, Magioladitis, Kask, CommonsDelinker, DrKiernan,
LordAnubisBOT, Mangwanani, Kansas Bear, Student7, Olegwiki, Jamesontai, Squids and Chips, Idioma-bot, Funandtrvl, Ro84, The Duke
of Waltham, Poldebol, WOSlinker, TXiKiBoT, John Carter, Zerged, SieBot, StAnselm, ToePeu.bot, Alex Middleton, Francish7, CarlosPn,
Bede735, ClueBot, Joao Xavier, Ficbot, Auntof6, DragonBot, Alexbot, TFBCT1, Surtsicna, Bazj, Addbot, Mukmak, The Quill, Lightbot,
Kiril Simeonovski, Legobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, AnomieBOT, DemocraticLuntz, Jim1138, Jcrct, ArthurBot, Xqbot, GrouchoBot, RibotBOT, Vlastimil Svoboda, FrescoBot, Adlerbot, Jauhienij, TjBot, Esoglou, J36miles, EmausBot, Swayback Maru, The Mysterious El
Willstro, Sundostund, SporkBot, Mentibot, ChuispastonBot, ClueBot NG, Joefromrandb, Tokvo, Mr. D. E. Mophon, Sverceluz, BG19bot,
Ebineibgheniobg, LoneWolf1992, Rococo1700, ScitDei, VIAFbot, BruKerst, Julian Felsenburgh, Unixbytes90, Evensteven, OccultZone,
Parmo22, Alexpinder, Sruva123, KasparBot and Anonymous: 61

8.2

Images

File:046CupolaSPietro.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/046CupolaSPietro.jpg License: CC BY-SA

3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: MarkusMark
File:Branschi-onesti.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Branschi-onesti.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: http://www.csun.edu/~{}hcfll004/SV1800.html . Original uploader at Wikipedia in english: w:en:User:Savidan Original
artist: Unknown
File:C_o_a_Pio_VI.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/C_o_a_Pio_VI.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Odejea
File:Coat_of_arms_Holy_See.svg Source:
cense: Public domain Contributors:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Coat_of_arms_Holy_See.svg Li-

Bruno Bernhard Heim, Heraldry in the Catholic Church: Its Origin, Customs and Laws (Van Duren 1978 ISBN 9780391008731), p. 54;
Original artist: F l a n k e r
File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_Holy_See.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Coat_of_arms_Holy_See.
svg License: Public domain Contributors:
Bruno Bernhard Heim, Heraldry in the Catholic Church: Its Origin, Customs and Laws (Van Duren 1978 ISBN 9780391008731), p. 54;
Original artist: F l a n k e r
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Emblem_of_the_Papacy_SE.svg Source:
svg License: Public domain Contributors:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Emblem_of_the_Papacy_SE.

File:Coat of arms Holy See.svg Original artist: Cronholm144 created this image using a le by User:Hautala - File:Emblem of Vatican City
State.svg, who had created his le using PD art from Open Clip Art Library and uploaded on 13 July 2006. User talk:F l a n k e r uploaded
this version on 19 January 2007.
File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:IOANNES_ANGELUS_BRASCHIUS.jpg
Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/IOANNES_
ANGELUS_BRASCHIUS.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.araldicavaticana.com/b093.htm Original artist:
Unknown contemporary author
File:Morte_di_S._S._Pio_VI.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Morte_di_S._S._Pio_VI.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal: http://purl.pt/11566
Original artist: G. Beys (morto c. 1800)
File:Pius_VI,_Pont.Max._engraving_BNF_Gallica.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Pius_VI%
2C_Pont.Max._engraving_BNF_Gallica.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: <a data-x-rel='nofollow' class='external text' href='http:
//gallica.bnf.fr//'>Bibliothque nationale de France</a> Original artist: Unknown. Upload, stitch and restoration by Jebulon
File:Symbol_book_class2.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Symbol_book_class2.svg License: CC
BY-SA 2.5 Contributors: Mad by Lokal_Prol by combining: Original artist: Lokal_Prol
File:Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Text_document_
with_red_question_mark.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Created by bdesham with Inkscape; based upon Text-x-generic.svg
from the Tango project. Original artist: Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)
File:Tomb_of_Pius_VI.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Tomb_of_Pius_VI.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: my photo Original artist: it:Utente:Riccardov

8.3

8.3

Content license

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0