CLEMENT XIV, pope. - Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio, son of Lorenzo Ganganelli, was born on 31 October 1705 in Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna, in the district of Rimini, where his father practiced medicine; however, the family was originally from Sant'Angelo in Vado (Urbania). He entered the Conventual Franciscans at Mondaino in May 1723, taking the name Fra Lorenzo, and made his profession on 18 May 1724. He completed his studies at the College of Saint Bonaventure in Rome and earned his doctorate in 1731. After teaching in various convents of the Order, he became rector of the College of Saint Bonaventure in May 1740; at Easter 1746, Benedict XIV appointed him consultant to the Holy Office. Called to the generalship of his Order in 1753 and 1759, Ganganelli avoided the appointment until 24 September 1759, when Clement XIII created him cardinal of Saint Lawrence in Panisperna, a title he later exchanged for that of the Holy Apostles. Of a cheerful and witty disposition, inclined to compromise and accommodation, he had not, before his pontificate, had occasion to display a courageous and combative spirit or to resolutely take sides in difficult situations.
The struggle that the European courts waged against the rights of the Church and the authority of the Pope on the one hand, and the need to stem the progressive spread of irreligion among the upper classes on the other, must have led him to the conviction that, to avert even greater evils, it was necessary to go to the extreme limit of condescension with the civil powers—particularly in the matter of the Jesuits, against whom Portugal and the Bourbon courts of Spain, France, Naples, and Parma were especially obstinate. By this time, the Jesuits had been expelled from all these countries. Now, however, it was demanded that the entire Society be suppressed by the supreme papal authority, on account of its alleged faults and because it was said to be a continual source of disturbance and suspicion within the Church.
Clement XIII, instead, had resolutely taken their defense, supported by cardinals, bishops, and even heterodox princes who admired the Jesuits for their integrity of life and skill in teaching, but at the same time provoking clamor and reprisals from the opposing camp. When Clement XIII died suddenly on 3 February 1769, the maneuvers in the Conclave by the Bourbon courts were directed toward securing a pope favorable to their pretensions of royal rights, which they claimed had been infringed during the previous pontificate, and particularly disposed to officially suppress the Society. To this end, Cardinal Domenico Orsini, as representative of the King of Naples, the Marquis of Aubeterre, ambassador of Louis XV (later supported by Cardinal François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis), Tomás Azpuru y Jiménez, auditor of the Rota and representative of Charles III of Spain (with Giuseppe Niccolò Azara, general agent and confidant of the former ambassador Manuel de Roda, a great enemy of the Jesuits, at his side), concerted their efforts. Toward the end of the Conclave, the Marquis de Almada, ambassador of Portugal, also reappeared in Rome.
Among the cardinals, some were favorable to the Jesuits, such as those who followed Cardinal Rezzonico, others were opposed, and others still were doubtful; accordingly, in the lists drawn up, they were classified as opponents, supporters, or indifferent—but these lists were not consistent in their judgments, for opinions differed on the tendencies of each. Certainly, there was no man of energy and ability among them; according to Joseph II, who was in Rome during the Conclave, the differences among them were so slight that the pope might have been chosen by lot.
Joseph II favored Ganganelli, who possessed uncommon learning that extended beyond sacred studies; as a friar, he had shown admiration for the Jesuits, but later, probably because of the contradictions they faced even within the Curia, he had somewhat distanced himself from them without, however, openly aligning himself among their adversaries. He wished to avoid any greater harm or danger to the Church on their account. The cardinals entered the Conclave on 15 February 1769, but they had to wait for the French and Spanish cardinals before taking definitive action, since the ambassadors threatened that otherwise their sovereigns would not recognize the election as valid—a threat they repeated when the danger arose of an unwelcome election. The maneuvers had a twofold aim: to exclude undesirable candidates and to promote one who appeared favorable to their designs, going so far as to seem to coerce the electors' freedom, though without resorting to an open veto.
Opinions on Ganganelli himself were not unanimous, and even attempts to elevate him encountered serious difficulties at first. Only after the Spanish cardinals succeeded in persuading Cardinal de Bernis in his favor was it possible to induce the pro-Jesuit cardinals to give him their votes.
Naturally, he had been sounded out regarding the Jesuit question, and it was hoped that he would commit himself in writing to their suppression; but the Spanish cardinals were unable to obtain from him more than a declaration in which, as a theologian, he stated that the Pope, with a tranquil conscience, could suppress the Society, provided that canonical prescriptions and the dictates of prudence and justice were observed. After this, Ganganelli was elected unanimously on 19 May and took the name Clement XIV; on the 28th he was consecrated bishop, and on 4 June he was solemnly crowned.
The representatives of the courts were most concerned that persons of their confidence surround the Pope; Clement XIV, for his part, always harbored great distrust toward the members of the Curia and even the cardinals, and resolved to conduct affairs with great secrecy—so much so that it could be said that only the Conventual friar Innocenzo Bontempi enjoyed his confidence. He knew only too well whose interests were at stake in the maneuvers surrounding his person. Immediately, pressure was brought to bear on him to secure the suppression of the Jesuits, and to bring matters to a head, Cardinal de Bernis, on 22 July, presented him with a memorandum drawn up in concert with Azpuru and Cardinal Orsini.
Clement XIV resolved to prolong the matter as much as possible; unfortunately, however, in a letter to Charles III dated 30 November 1769, he let slip a promise to satisfy him, adding that up to that point he had been distracted by the multiplicity of affairs and would communicate a plan in due course. He was not left in peace, though he sought to gain time by appearing to favor the resumption of the cause for the beatification of Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, bishop of Angelopolis in Mexico and later of Osma—a cause much desired by Charles III, since Palafox, who had died on 1 October 1659, had been in conflict with the Jesuits. This cause had been introduced in 1726 under Benedict XIII, and Ganganelli had been its promoter during his cardinalate; all the adversaries of the Jesuits were now busily engaged in it, hoping that the Society would be discredited if the cause succeeded. Since the matter of suppression seemed to be dragging on too long, and in place of the ailing and allegedly ineffective Azpuru, the Spanish ambassador Giuseppe Moñino, a layman, arrived in Rome on 4 July 1772 with the explicit task of bringing it to a conclusion.
The pressure on the Pope therefore grew ever stronger and more resolute; he was harshly required to keep his word, yet he did not yield so readily, citing the danger of scandal among the peoples and the respect owed to Empress Maria Theresa and the other powers that had made no move against the Jesuits. Only after the Empress herself had yielded to the suggestions of France did the Pontiff decide to proceed with a draft of a brief that he had already communicated to Mofino on 7 February 1773 “so that he might transmit it to Charles III.” The brief *Dominus ac Redemptor*, however, was signed by Clement XIV on 21 July only at the beginning of August; it was immediately published, and measures were taken for its execution. Moreover, in Rome and Bologna, steps had already been taken against the Jesuits by removing the institutions they directed and limiting their apostolic activity. It is certain that the Pope yielded only to the persistent pressure exerted upon him and remained embittered by this for the rest of his life; yet he left the individual Jesuits at the mercy of the cardinalatial commission charged with executing the brief.
Another act of deference to the princes, which caused painful surprise among the well-disposed, was the omission on Holy Thursday 1770 of the solemn reading of the bull *In Coena Domini*, which contained the list of ecclesiastical censures incurred *ipso facto* for certain grave offenses; this did not, however, mean its suppression. The bull was proscribed in almost all Catholic states because it included censures against violators of the rights of the Church.
Clement XIV’s diplomatic negotiations aimed at restoring relations with Portugal, which had been severed in the previous pontificate, and for which he was obliged to grant the cardinalate to Paulo Carvalho (brother of the marquis and minister of Pombal), who was unworthy of it; and to secure the return of the papal territories of Benevento with Pontecorvo and of Avignon with the Comtat Venaissin, occupied by Naples and France as a means of extortion to obtain the suppression of the Jesuits.
To the earnest efforts for the advancement of the missions in Asia, Africa, and America, Clement XIV added no small care for the fine arts and sciences. Suffice it to recall, among other things, the creation of the magnificent Museo Clementino in the Vatican, the acquisition of notable works, the enrichment of the Library and numismatic collections, the protection accorded to artists, scientists, and men of letters; he also spent much of his own money on improvements and public works in the territories subject to his civil governance.
He died on 22 September 1774, after refusing to accede to the insistent pleas for the publication of the eleven cardinals he had reserved in his breast since 16 April 1773; he left no will, and what was personally his was delivered to the son of his sister. None of his relatives had wished to benefit from him during his lifetime, thus avoiding any shadow of nepotism. The rumor that circulated shortly afterward—that he had died by poison—is unfounded; during the last year of his life, he had been tormented by illness. In 1802, his remains were transferred to the SS. Apostoli, where the splendid Canova monument had been installed since 1787.
**Works.**
Father Agostino Theiner published in Paris in 1853 *Epistolae et Brevia selectiora* of Clement XIV, a primary documentary source. Far more suspect, however, is the collection edited by Luigi Antonio Caracciolo: *Lettere interessanti del pontefice Clemente XIV Ganganelli* (1776) in 5 volumes, the last of which, printed in Venice in 1779, also contains the *Diatriba theologica* dedicated in honor of St. Ignatius in 1743. There is also a French edition: *Lettres intéressantes*, etc., printed in Paris in 2 volumes in 1776. Some of these letters may be entirely fabricated, others interpolated. An edition from Florence in 1829, in 2 volumes, bears the title: *Lettere ed altre opere di Clemente XIV Ganganelli*, to which are added *Le Notti in morte di Clemente XIV Ganganelli* by Aurelio de Giorgi Bertola, a poem in sestinas divided into four nights. Finally: *Lettere belle e discorsi di fra’ Lorenzo Ganganelli* (April 1740–September 1769), edited by Cosimo Frediani, first printed in 1845 and then in Florence in 1849 in one volume; later in Turin in 1852 in 2 volumes, with a laudatory life published separately in Rome in 1847 and in Florence in 1848.
BIBL.
It is not possible to list here all the bibliography concerning Clement XIV; it reflects, moreover, the passionate judgments on his person and particularly on the suppression of the Jesuits, not to mention the more or less benevolent gossip that circulated even during his lifetime and entered largely into the writings and reports of the time. To his adversaries, he is one of the most illustrious and meritorious popes in every field; to his defenders, one of the most unfortunate, to say the least disastrous. Among the former may be counted Cretineau-Joly, *Clement et les Jésuites*, Paris 1847 (see also his *Histoire de la Compagnie de Jésus*, 1851); among the latter, V. Gioberti in his *Gesuita moderno*, and with much greater moderation, A. Theiner, *Storia del pontificato di Clemente XIV*, published almost simultaneously in German, French, and Italian (1852–53). The Jesuit Father G. Boero replied to Theiner with his *Osservazioni sopra l’istoria* (Rome 1853 and 1854). The biography of the Pope included in vol. XVI, pt. 2, of Pastor’s work was long awaited by some and seemed too unfavorable to Clement XIV; this provoked a brief controversy in which the Conventual Minor Father Cicchitto and the Jesuit Fathers P. Leturia and G. Kratz took part. Much is expected from the publication of new documents, but perhaps the overall judgment will not differ greatly from what has hitherto been said on both sides, though with any excesses duly tempered.