Barnaba Chiaramonte was born into nobility
on April 14, 1742, in Cesena, Italy.
Pope Pius VII
studied with the Jesuits at Ravena and became a Benedictine. He was
abbot at Saint Callisto and bishop of both Tivoli and Imola before
becoming cardinal in 1797 and pope on March 21, 1800.
During Pope Pius VII's early pontificate,
Napoleon continued to consolidate power, annexing Church holdings, including
The Holy See, causing Pope Pius VII to excommunicate Napoleon who retaliated
in July of 1809 by imprisoning Pope Pius VII
in Savona, Italy, and then in Fontainebleau, France.
Napoleon pressured Pope Pius VII
to relocate The Holy See to Paris, but Pope Pius VII refused.
In May of 1814, after Napoleon's defeat and banishment to the Island of Elba,
Pope Pius VII returned to Rome, revived the Society of Jesus (Jesuits),
and unsuccessfully negotiated with King Louis XVIII of France for the
return to the Vatican of holy relics and prized artwork which had been
confiscated by Napoleon.
On July 7, 1823 Pope
Pius VII broke his leg and died on August 20, 1823 from the
unhealed wound.
