Papal Retrospective : Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846)

Figure 1. The triple tiara of Pope Gregory XVI.

On 2nd February, 1831 BARTOLOMEO CAPPELLARI O.S.B., Cardinal-Priest of the basilica of San Callisto was elected Pope by the College of Cardinals and indicated that he would be known as GREGORY, the sixteenth of that name.  

45 Cardinals participated in the 1831 Conclave, whilst 9 were unable to do so.  

The Conclave lasted an astonishing 50 days - by no means the longest in the history of the Conclaves.  Cardinal Cappellari was not expected to be elected Pope and was a candidate of compromise.

Figure 2.  Pope Gregory XVI
A modern portrait by Giovanni Gasparri.
The Pope is dressed in the choirdress
of the Paschal Octave.

Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari was born in a town some distance from Venice named Belluno in September 1765.  Aged 18, he joined the Monastery of Saint Michael, on the outskirts of Venice, a Benedictine House of Camaldolese monks.  He took the name of Mauro.  His monastic life was spent in houses in Venice and Rome, before becoming Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery on the Caelian Hill in Rome in 1805.  Twenty years later he was named a Cardinal and Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (as it is now known).

Figure 3. A silver Vatican coin minted
in the reign Pope Gregory XVI.

When elected Pope at the age of 65, Cardinal Cappellari was not a bishop and received episcopal consecration on the same day that he was crowned as Pope.  It is said that he chose the name Gregory because of his many years association with the Monastery on the Caelian Hill : Saint Gregory's.

Figure 4.  A pen sketch depicting Gregory XVI
blessing British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel.
National Portrait Gallery UK

Gregory XVI was a scholarly and pious man, but also of warm disposition.  He was by no means progressive, because he had lived through the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.  As a monk, he once fled Rome when his predecessor, Pope Pius VII, was captured by Bonaparte. In his estimation, revolutionary thought, which emerged from the Enlightenment, was a menace to Godly order.

Among his notable publications, however, was an Apostolic Letter denouncing the institution and practice of human slavery.  After considerable consultation with the College of Cardinals, he issued this letter in 1839.

Figure 5.  Pope Gregory XVI visiting

the Church of S' Benedict Subiaco.

Jean-François Montessuy 1843.

During his reign, many missionary dioceses in the "New World" were established, including Australia in 1834.

There are a number of internet resources which give a greater treatment of the life of Pope Gregory.  Wikipaedia is a starting point.

Figure 6.  The Corpus Christi procession 

moving through S' Peter's

depicting Gregory XVI and the Papal Court.

Pope Gregory had a long reign of fifteen years and died in Rome at the age of 80.  He is buried in Saint Peter's Basilica, where there is a prominent shrine to his memory, including a life-size statue.  

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

AMDG

Figure 7.  Coat of Arms of 

Pope Gregory XVI.

Next Post: Blessed Pius IX

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