Pope Pius VIII
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Pope Pius VIII, born Francesco Saverio Castiglioni (November 20, 1761 – December 1, 1830), was Pope from 1829 to 1830.
He was born in Cingoli, Italy. He studied canon law and, in 1800 became bishop of Montalto. After he refused to swear allegiance to Napoleon he was taken to France, but following the defeat of France, he was, in 1816, made a cardinal.
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Elected pope
He held various high offices thereafter, including that of Grand Penitentionary, and, after the death of Leo XII, was elected pope in the papal conclave.
Policies
As Pius VIII, he initiated some reforms in the States of the Church. On 24 May 1829 he issued an encyclical, Traditi humilitati nostrae. On 25 March 1830, in the brief Litteris altero, he condemned Bible societies and secret associations.
During his pontificate, the Catholic Emancipation occurred in the United Kingdom, and the July Revolution in France — after which he recognised Louis Philippe as King of the French (while maintaining the independence of the Church from any regime).
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Pius accepted the situation on mixed marriages in Germany, but opposed liberalising tendencies in Ireland and Poland.
Health, death and conspiration theory
Pius VIII was in very bad health since is election. Nevertheless there were rumours that he had been poisoned. Prince Don Agostino Chigi, a contemporary of the Pope's and one of the papal nobility associated with the papal court, recorded in his diary (2 December, 1830):
"Nella sezione del cadavere del Pontefice che seguì ieri sera per quanto si dice, furono trovate le viscere sanissime e solo si è rinvenuta qualche debolezza nel polmone, altri dicono qualche sfiancamento nel cuore; resterebbe perciò a sapersi di qual male sia morto."
(Translation: "During the dissection of the Pope's body, which occurred yesterday evening, as far as they say, only very healthy internal organs (viscera) were found, except some weakness of the lungs, or, according to others, a tired heart; it is therefore impossible to know the death's cause".)
These few words have been interpreted by some partisans of a conspiracy theory as evidence that the pope had indeed been poisoned.
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| Preceded by: Leo XII | Pope 1829–1830 | Succeeded by: Gregory XVI |
