Papal infallibilityPapal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ex cathedra is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apostolic Church and handed down in Scripture and tradition". It does not mean that the pope cannot sin or otherwise err in most situations. This doctrine, defined dogmatically at the First Vatican Council of 1869–1870 in the document Pastor aeternus, is claimed to have existed in medieval theology and to have been the majority opinion at the time of the Counter-Reformation.
Pope Benedict XVPope Benedict XV (Latin: Benedictus XV; Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa (ˈdʒaːkomo ˈpaːolo dʒoˈvanni batˈtista della ˈkjɛːza; 21 November 1854 - 22 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 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.
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the FaithThe Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Roman Catholic doctrine. Formerly known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition (1542–1908); the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office (1908–1965); and then until June 2022 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF; Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei).
Napoleon IIINapoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 1808 - 9 January 1873) was the first president of France from 1848 to 1852, and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 until he was deposed in absentia on 4 September 1870. Prior to his reign, Napoleon III was known as Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. A nephew of Napoleon I and cousin of the disputed Napoleon II, he was the first person elected to the presidency of the Second Republic in 1848, and he seized power by force in 1851 when he could not constitutionally be reelected.
Unification of ItalyThe unification of Italy (Unità d'Italia uniˈta ddiˈtaːlja), also known as the Risorgimento (rɪˌsɔːrdʒɪˈmɛntoʊ, risordʒiˈmento; Resurgence), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula and its outlying isles into a single state in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy. Inspired by the rebellions in the 1820s and 1830s against the outcome of the Congress of Vienna, the unification process was precipitated by the Revolutions of 1848, and reached completion in 1871 after the capture of Rome and its designation as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
Papal StatesThe Papal States (ˈpeɪpəl ; Stato Pontificio; Dicio Pontificia), officially the State of the Church (Stato della Chiesa ˈstaːto della ˈkjɛːza; Status Ecclesiasticus), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 until 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th century until the unification of Italy, between 1859 and 1870. The state had its origins in the rise of Christianity throughout Italy, and with it the rising influence of the Christian Church.