The Golden Age of the Papacy

Pope Pius VIII
One of the great Popes of the 19th           Century.

The 19^th Century produced some of the greatest Popes in the history of the Church. If one had to pick a century for the best Popes, the 19^th Century would be my pick. At the end of the 18^th Century, the diabolical abomination known as the French Revolution spread through Europe and completely overwhelmed Pope Pius VI and the Catholic Church.

Pius VI died in 1799 and in 1800, Pius VII was elected to combat these demonic ideas. The ideas of the French Revolution would be the target of many encyclicals throughout the 19^th Century and even until the mid-20^th Century. The ideas of Freemasonry were condemned.

Many good encyclicals were written in the 19^th Century but here are my top 5 picks. They can all be found online.

5) Traditi Humilitati by Pope Pius VIII (May 5, 1829)

Although his pontificate was only 20 months, Pope Pius VIII published an amazing encyclical. It was short, sweet, and to the point. Indifferentism is viciously attacked as completely contrary to the faith. Pius VIII also condemns the publishing of Bibles without Church approval and patristic commentaries. A most excellent encyclical by an almost forgotten Pope.

4) Mirari Vos by Pope Gregory XVI (August 15, 1832)

In this document, Gregory XVI mercilessly goes after liberalism and indifferentism. Two of the many evils that came out of the Revolution. He taps into tradition by quoting the Councils of Florence and Trent. Two of the most important Councils of the Church. He also tells his fellow bishops to defend clerical celibacy and refers to the movement against it as an “abominable conspiracy”. In paragraph 13 he unambiguously comes out against indifferentism. In the next paragraph he clearly states: “This shameful font of indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims that liberty of conscience must be maintained for everyone.” Pope Gregory XVI is without a doubt, one of the strongest Popes since the Council of Trent. He didn’t compromise one bit to the heresy that confronted the Church in his day.

3) Providentissimus Deus by Pope Leo XIII (November 18, 1893)

Scripture is tremendously important to the Catholic Church and individual Catholics. In the 16^th Century the Church condemned the modern innovation of Sola Scriptura while maintaining an extremely high view of scripture. Leo XIII who many regard as a very scholarly Pope, writes this encyclical for the purpose of laying out scriptural study tools when modernism is knocking at the door. He completely demolishes those who claim that inspiration is only given to certain parts of scripture, stating: “But it is absolutely wrong and forbidden, either to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or to admit that the sacred writer has erred.”

2) Quanta Cura by Pope Pius IX (December 8, 1864)

The longest papacy in history was held by Pope Pius IX. He certainly made the most of the position that God gave him. As western society continued to secularize because of the Revolution, Pius IX informed us about the true intention of these evil men controlling the west. His holiness says: “Moreover, not content with removing religion from public society, they wish to banish it also from private families.” This becomes more apparent every day as we look at the western world.

1) The Syllabus of Errors by Pope Pius IX (December 8, 1864)

As one can observe, this document was released on the same day as Quanta Cura. It is a sister document. Whereas Quanta Cura talks about the errors of modern secular society, the Syllabus lists them. The document has eighty condemnations in total. My three favorite condemnations are the following:

15. Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.

55. The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church.

80. The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.

The last one is my absolute favorite. The Popes of the Catholic Church have no right to make changes to the Church as concessions to modern conditions. No one understood that better than Pope Pius IX.

These are my five favorite documents from the 19^th Century. Many more could have been named. No documents from Pius VII or Leo XII appear on the list simply because the list only has five picks and there is so much to choose from in this century.

If you haven’t read these, give them a shot. They are just as relevant today as they were when they were written.  They can be found online. If you have any recommendations for 19th Century documents, feel free to add them in the comments below.