Pope Benedict XV and World War One

Friday, September 5th, 2014

A century ago, on 3 September 1914, a month after the outbreak of World War One, Giacomo Della Chiesa was elected Pope.

He tried to stop the war but in vain.

The first public speech Pope Benedict XV gave after the Conclave which elected him as Pius X’s successor on 3 September, marked the start of his mission to end hostilities, convincing the great powers to resolve pending questions through dialogue and negotiation.

This was the spirit of his first four public wartime speeches.

On 8 September 1914 Benedict XV “repeated his predecessor’s call to people to pray for an end to the war,” urging powers to put down their weapons.

But his calls fell on deaf ears.

He made another attempt at moral persuasion on 1 November 1914 with the “Ad Beatissimi” encyclical.

In it, Benedict XV denounced the general cultural barbarisation of the time: “the lack of reciprocal love between men,” material wellbeing “becoming the only aim of human action” and the nationalistic hatred which led to paroxysm.

According to the Pope this was all rooted in a culture of positivism which exalted hatred, instinct and the fight for survival.

In the face of all this it was necessary to return to the “principles of Christianity” so that the exaltation of hatred can be replaced by “fraternal love”.

Hence his appeal to Catholics to take humanitarian action. Another appeal was then made to the warring sides to put an end to the violence and find “other ways to ensure violated rights were respected.”

This second appeal also fell on deaf ears.

A third attempt to persuade sides to put down their weapons was made at Christmas: “Benedict XV asked for a twenty-four hour ceasefire to remember the “Prince of Peace”.

But the Russians and French said no.

On 10 January 1915 Della Chiesa published his Prayer for peace but Belgian and French clergy twisted its meaning to fit their own political and patriotic interests. Continue reading

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