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Pope Benedict XIV (31 March, 1675 – 3 May, 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope
Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
 from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.

Biography
He was born into a noble family of Bologna
Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
, which was at that time the second largest city in the Papal States
Papal States

The Papal States, State of the Church or Pontifical States were one of the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia ....
. He was elected Pope in 1740. The conclave
Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect the pope, or Bishop of Rome, who is considered by Catholics to be the Apostolic Succession of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Catholic Church....
 which elected him had lasted six months; he is alleged to have said to the cardinals
Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
: "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti
Vincent Louis Gotti

Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti was a Cardinal and theology of the Roman Catholic Church.Gotti was born in Bologna. Educated by Jesuits, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of sixteen....
; a statesman, Aldrovandi
Pompeo Aldrovandi

Not to be confused with the Baroque painter Pompeo AldrovandiniPompeo Aldrovandi was an italy Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church....
; a donkey, elect me" (in Italy the donkey symbolizes ignorance; it can also represent stubborn faithfulness).






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Pope Benedict XIV (31 March, 1675 – 3 May, 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope
Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
 from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.

Biography


He was born into a noble family of Bologna
Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
, which was at that time the second largest city in the Papal States
Papal States

The Papal States, State of the Church or Pontifical States were one of the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia ....
. He was elected Pope in 1740. The conclave
Papal conclave

A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals to elect the pope, or Bishop of Rome, who is considered by Catholics to be the Apostolic Succession of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Catholic Church....
 which elected him had lasted six months; he is alleged to have said to the cardinals
Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
: "If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti
Vincent Louis Gotti

Vincenzo Ludovico Gotti was a Cardinal and theology of the Roman Catholic Church.Gotti was born in Bologna. Educated by Jesuits, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of sixteen....
; a statesman, Aldrovandi
Pompeo Aldrovandi

Not to be confused with the Baroque painter Pompeo AldrovandiniPompeo Aldrovandi was an italy Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church....
; a donkey, elect me" (in Italy the donkey symbolizes ignorance; it can also represent stubborn faithfulness). His Papacy began in a time of great difficulties, chiefly caused by the disputes between Catholic rulers and the Papacy about governmental demands to nominate bishop
Bishop

A bishop is an ordination or consecration member of the Clergy#Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight....
s rather than leaving the appointment to the Church. He managed to overcome most of these problems — the Holy See
Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church....
's disputes with the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples is the modern day name for a polity which existed on the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Also known contemporaneously, and somewhat confusingly, as the Kingdom of Sicily, this kingdom was founded after the secession of the island of Sicily from the old Kingdom of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers...
, Sardinia
Sardinia

Sardinia is the Mediterranean islands#By area island in the Mediterranean Sea . The area of Sardinia is . The island is surrounded by the France island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia and the Balearic Islands....
, Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
, and Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
 were settled.

He had a very active papacy, reforming the education of priests, the calendar of feasts
Calendar of saints

The calendar of saints is a traditional Christianity method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as that saint's feast day....
 of the Church, and many papal institutions. Perhaps the most important act of Benedict XIV's pontificate was the promulgation of his famous laws about mission
Mission (Christian)

A Christianity mission has been widely defined, since the Lausanne Congress of 1974, as that which is designed "to form a viable indigenous Christian Church-planting and world changing movement." This definition is motivated by a Christian theology imperative theme of the Bible to make God known, as outlined in the Great Commission....
s in the two bulls
Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
, Ex quo singulari and Omnium solicitudinum. In these bulls he ruled on the custom of accommodating Christian words and usages to express non-Christian ideas and practices of the native cultures, which had been extensively done by the Jesuits in their India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n and Chinese
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 missions. An example of this is the statues of ancestors - there had long been uncertainty whether honor paid to one's ancestors was unacceptable 'ancestor worship
Ancestor worship

Ancestor worship or ancestor veneration is a practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and/or possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living....
,' or if it was something more like the Catholic veneration of the saints. This question was especially pressing in the case of an ancestor known not to have been a Christian. The choice of a Chinese translation for the name of God
Names of God

The Name of God, or Holy Name is the name in Eastern traditions or Western spiritual traditions or religions that is used in practice or prayer....
 had also been debated since the early 17th century. Benedict XIV denounced these practices in these two bulls. The consequence of this was that many of these converts left the Church.

On 22 December, 1741, Benedict XIV promulgated the papal bull "Immensa Pastorum principis" against the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other countries.

Benedict XIV was also responsible, along with Cardinal Passionei
Domenico Silvio Passionei

Domenico Silvio Passionei was an italy Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.Born in Fossombrone near Urbino, Marche, he went to Rome in 1695, where he studied philosophy at the Collegio Clementino and law at the university La Sapienza....
, for beginning the catalogue of the Vatican Library
Vatican Library

The Vatican Library , is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts....
.

Footnotes


See also

  • Chinese Rites controversy
    Chinese Rites controversy

    The Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute within the Catholic Church from the 1630s to the early 18th century about whether Chinese folk religion rites and offerings to the Emperor of China constituted idolatry....
  • Suppression of the Jesuits
    Suppression of the Jesuits

    The Suppression of the Jesuits in Portugal, France, the Two Sicilies, Parma and the Spain by 1767 was a result of a series of political moves rather than a theological controversy....
  • Castrato
    Castrato

    A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
     - Benedict XIV was one of the first Popes to voice displeasure regarding the use of castrated males in Church choir services.
  • Vix Pervenit
    Vix Pervenit

    Vix Pervenit: On Usury and Other Dishonest Profit was an encyclical, promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV on November 1, 1745, which condemned the practice of charging interest on loans as usury....


External links

  • at the Vatican Museum.


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