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 Pope Pius VI Scott 1142 (2000) On Saturday, Pope Leo XIV will take a quick one-day trip by helicopter to the Principality of Monaco, the last remaining Catholic constitutional monarchy in Europe and one of the last countries in the world where Roman Catholicism is the official state religion. His itinerary for the day can be viewed by clicking on the link in the References. This week, the Aleteia.org website published an interesting article on the two previous papal "visits" to Monaco.  Pope Paul III Scott 121 (1946) The first visit by a pope to Monaco took place in 1538 by Pope Paul III. The pope served as a mediator for the “Peace of Nice”, which brought together the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the French King Francis I to broker a truce to end the Italian war of 1536–1538. The Aleteia article states that: ”to avoid placing himself under the authority of either of the two sovereigns, Paul III chose to sleep in the Principality [of Monaco], and thus on neutral ground." 
 Pope Pius VI and Pope Pius VII Scott 245 and 246 (1958) The next pope to visit Monaco…was dead. In 1798, the French invaded Italy, captured Rome and subsequently captured Pope Pius VI. He was taken from Italy and imprisoned in France, where he died on August 19, 1799, in Valence. He was buried there in a civil ceremony. Despite French reporting that “the last pope is dead” (as they believed his death and the fall of Rome had brought an end to the papacy), in March of 1800 the College of Cardinals managed to convene a conclave and elected a new pope, Pope Pius VII. And in an unexpected twist, the new ruler of France following the Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, reached out to the Church and ordered the return of Pope Pius VI's body to Rome. Here is where Monaco comes into the story. During the transport of the pope’s body by ship from France to Italy, the ship encountered a fierce storm, which forced it to take refuge in the port of Monaco. The National Committee of Monegasque Traditions reports that: ”the inhabitants of the Rock welcomed [the pope] with great fervor”...and his body was taken to the Church of Saint Nicholas...“where it was displayed for the devotion of the faithful while awaiting the continuation of its journey.” The pope’s remains eventually reached Rome where, on February 19, 1802, Pope Pius VII celebrated his funeral Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica, where he is now buried.  Saint Devota (Medieval Panel) From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain The events surrounding Pope Pius VI’s “visit” to Monaco bear an eerie similarity to the story of the patron saint of Monaco, Saint Devota. According to tradition, Saint Devota was a young Christian woman who was martyred on the island Corsica in the early third century. Following her death, her body was being transported by ship to Africa for a proper Christian burial. However, the ship encountered a storm, and was guided by a dove, eventually coming to rest on a beach at the end of the port of Monaco. To this day, Monaco retains strong ties to Corsica. So, the visit by Pope Leo XIV will be the first in 488 years by a living pope to Monaco. But the Principality did welcome, with great devotion, one other pope, on his way to his final resting place over 200 years ago. REFERENCES |
