Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV reigned from 1740 to 1758 and was the most intellectually respected pope of the eighteenth century, admired even by the philosophes who attacked the Church. Born Prospero Lambertini in Bologna in 1675, he was a canon lawyer of exceptional ability, worked for years as promoter of the faith — the official who argues against proposed canonisations, the origin of the phrase devil's advocate — and wrote a five-volume treatise on beatification that remained the standard authority for two centuries. He was Archbishop of Bologna and was elected in 1740 after a conclave lasting six months, reportedly telling the deadlocked cardinals to choose a saint, a statesman or an honest man, and to take him if they wanted the last. He governed by conciliation. He settled long-running disputes with Naples, Sardinia, Spain, Venice and Portugal over ecclesiastical appointments and jurisdiction, conceding a great deal to keep the peace, and he reduced the number of holy days to relieve the burden on working people and on the papal states' economy. He reformed the finances of the papal states, encouraged agriculture and manufactures, and lowered taxes. He supported learning openly: he founded academies of Roman antiquities, church history and liturgy, endowed chairs including in surgery and mathematics, patronised excavations, and gave his library to Bologna. He corresponded with Voltaire, who dedicated a play to him. He condemned the Chinese and Malabar rites in 1742 and 1744, ending the Jesuit accommodation of local practice in Asian missions, and issued Vix pervenit in 1745 on usury and Immensa Pastorum in 1741 against the enslavement of indigenous Americans. He died in 1758.
- Lived: 1675 CE – 1758 CE
- Nationality: Italian
- Roles: pope, cleric
