Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII Pope from 1878 to 1903.

Born March 2, 1810 as Gioacchino Pecci in Carpineto, Italy. First achieved note as the popular and succesful Archbishop of Perugia, which lead to his appointment as a Cardinal in 1853. In 1878 he was elected to succeed Pope Pius IX.

Leo's Papacy was one of the first to try to adapt the Church to the modern world. Leo firmly asserted that science and religion could co-exist. He also encouraged openess and discourse, opening the Vatican archives to historians and creating a number of institutions of higher learning. Leo was also the first Pope to come out strongly in favour of the French Republic, upsetting many French monarchists but also proving that the Church was not entirely reactionary. His relations with the Italian state was, however, less progressive. Leo continued the Papacy's self-imposed incarceration in the Vatican and continued to insist that Italian Catholics should not vote in Italian elections or hold elected office.

Leo was suceeded by Pope Pius X upon his death in 1903.

preceded by Pope Pius IX, (1846-1878)

succeeded by Pope Pius X, (1903-1914)