BENEDICT XIV (POPE) (1675–1758; reigned 1740–1758)

BENEDICT XIV (POPE) (1675–1758; reigned 1740–1758), Italian pope. Born in Bologna as Prospero Lambertini into a patrician family of modest means on 31 March 1675, he earned a doctorate in theology and a double doctorate in canon and civil law in 1694. Lambertini then became a curial official, rising to important positions in the Congregation of the Council and Congregation of Rites. He was appointed archbishop of Ancona in 1727, made cardinal in 1728, and archbishop of Bologna in 1731. Lambertini was probably the most prolific papal scholar since the Middle Ages. His most enduring work was a four-volume study of the history of canonization (1734–1738), which proposed new procedures followed until the late twentieth century. He also wrote a history of episcopal synods, supporting their use (1748), and works in liturgy and canon law. The complete edition of his works appeared in twelve folio volumes between 1747 and 1751.

When Clement XII died on 6 February 1740, Lambertini was not considered a candidate for pope. But after six months of stalemate and negotiations, he was elected on the 255th ballot on 17 August 1740. Benedict XIV pursued policies of conciliation, moderation, and openness to contemporary intellectual trends. But he had to contend with war and Catholic monarchs determined to rule the church in their lands. Benedict XIV inherited state-church disputes with most of the Catholic monarchies of Europe; they demanded control over church appointments, that church properties be taxed, and that clergymen be subject to civil jurisdiction. Benedict concluded new concordats with Piedmont-Savoy (1741), the Kingdom of Naples (1741), Portugal (1745), Spain (1753), and Austria (1757). Because he was negotiating from weakness, he had to make substantial concessions. In the most extreme case, he gave the Spanish crown the right of appointment to twelve thousand church positions in Spain, leaving the papacy with the right to appoint only fifty-two minor offices. Benedict was forced to concede much in order to retain Spain's support at a time when Austrian armies were ravaging Italy and the papal state during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). While he conceded rights of patronage, he probably increased the moral authority of papacy and earned goodwill.

Benedict also had to deal with Frederick II, king of Prussia and a nominal Protestant. Frederick annexed Catholic Silesia in 1741 and began to impose civil legislation on Silesia's Catholics in marriage laws, benefices, and jurisdiction. After lengthy negotiations, the pope and Frederick reached an uneasy accommodation in 1748, even though Frederick did not completely keep his word. Still, European public opinion praised Benedict for his willingness to seek accommodation with a Protestant and absolutist ruler. In internal church matters and administration of the papal state, Benedict had greater success. He emphasized the formation of the clergy and the obligation of residence and of regular pastoral visits to his bishops. He prohibited religious excesses by banning trumpets in church services and eliminating public flagellations and some feast days on which work was suspended. In 1742 he resolved a bitter dispute concerning the extent to which missionaries might include other traditions in church rites. Benedict curbed the Jesuit use of Chinese rites but permitted some accommodation to Indian culture ("Malabar rites").

Benedict XIV was open and sympathetic to the activities of some of the leading scholars of the century and enjoyed their company. He supported Ludovico Muratori (1672–1750), Italy's leading historian, some of whose positions on church-state matters displeased the papacy. He added new professorships to the universities of Rome and Bologna, enlarged the Vatican Library collections, and restored some of the monuments of Rome. He provided the money for the completion of the Trevi Fountain in 1742.

In 1745 Voltaire (1694–1778) wrote to Benedict to ask if he would accept the dedication of his play, Mahomet. Benedict agreed, and sent Voltaire some gold medals in return, as was the custom. After Voltaire made the correspondence known, Benedict received criticism for his friendly relations with the notorious anticlerical. He responded that it was important to have some links with a person of such importance in the world of letters. The gesture earned praise from partisans of the Enlightenment across Europe, including Protestant England.

However, the differences between the papacy and the Enlightenment remained strong. Benedict placed Montesquieu's Esprit des lois (Spirit of the laws) on the Index of Prohibited Books in 1752, and he renewed the church's condemnation of Freemasonry in 1751. Benedict XIV died on 3 May 1758.

Benedict XIV displayed an openness to Enlightenment thinkers and willingness to embrace change. Perhaps his greatest success was communication with writers and scholars, especially Italians. He negotiated concordats with Catholic rulers but was unable to improve substantially the position of the church. Probably no papal action would have staved off the assaults that began in the 1760s with the suppression of the Jesuits and continued with the seizure of church properties and the suppression of Catholicism during the French Revolution. Benedict XIV stands as a pope who practiced openness and moderation in troubled times with mixed results.

BENEDICT XIV (POPE) (1675–1758; reigned 1740–1758)

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