page_title: Pope Benedict XV
section_title: Cardinal
hierarchical_section_title: Pope Benedict XV / Bologna / Cardinal
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Papst Benedikt XV. als Kardinal
context_page_description: Pope Benedict XV, born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I and its political, social, and humanitarian consequences in Europe.
  Between 1846 and 1903, the Catholic Church had experienced two of its longest pontificates in history up to that point. Together Pius IX and Leo XIII ruled for a total of 57 years. In 1914, the College of Cardinals chose della Chiesa at the relatively young age of 59 at the outbreak of World War I, which he labeled "the suicide of civilized Europe". The war and its consequences were the main focus of Benedict XV. He immediately declared the neutrality of the Holy See and attempted from that perspective to mediate peace in 1916 and 1917. Both sides rejected his initiatives. German Protestants rejected any "Papal Peace" as insulting. The French politician Georges Clemenceau regarded the Vatican initiative as being anti-French.
context_section_description: It was a custom that the Archbishop of Bologna would be made a cardinal in one of the coming consistories. In Bologna this was surely expected of della Chiesa as well, since, in previous years, either cardinals were named as archbishops, or archbishops as cardinals soon thereafter. Pius X did not follow this tradition and left della Chiesa waiting for almost seven years. When a delegation from Bologna visited him to ask for della Chiesa's promotion to the College of Cardinals, he jokingly replied by making fun of his own family name, Sarto (meaning "tailor"), for he said, "Sorry, but a Sarto has not been found yet to make the cardinal's robe." Some suspected that Pius X or persons close to him did not want to have two Rampollas in the College of Cardinals.
  Cardinal Rampolla died 16 December 1913. On 25 May 1914, della Chiesa was created a cardinal, becoming Cardinal-Priest of the titulus Santi Quattro Coronati, which before him was occupied by Pietro Respighi. When the new cardinal tried to return to Bologna after the consistory in Rome, an unrelated socialist, anti-monarchic and anti-Catholic uprising began to take place in Central Italy. This was accompanied by a general strike, the looting and destruction of churches, telephone connections and railway buildings, and a proclamation of a secular republic. In Bologna itself, citizens and the Catholic Church opposed such developments successfully. The Socialists overwhelmingly won the following regional elections with great majorities.
  As World War I approached, the question was hotly discussed in Italy as to which side to be on. Officially, Italy was still in an alliance with Germany and Austria–Hungary. However, in the Tirol, an integral part of Austria which was mostly German-speaking, the southern part, the province of Trento, was exclusively Italian-speaking. The clergy of Bologna was not totally free from nationalistic fervor either. Therefore, in his capacity as Archbishop, on the outbreak of World War I, della Chiesa made a speech on the Church's position and duties, emphasizing the need for neutrality, promoting peace and the easing of suffering.
caption: Benedict XV as Cardinal Della Chiesa in 1914
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