And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; Revelation 13:3
"In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte, on his way to overthrow the pope, incited his soldiers with one of his fiery speeches to the effect that they still had one offense to avenge. The hour of vengeance had struck. To restore the Capitol, to awaken the people of Rome,
blunted from centuries of slavery, were to be the fruits of their victories; they would mark an epoch in history.
Hearing of this, Pius VI (1775-1798)—born in 1717 as Giovanni Angelico Braschi, and died in 1799—attempted to fortify his position and neglected nothing that might prevent the great catastrophe. Meantime he sent an emissary to Napoleon at Milan and proposed an armistice, offering heavy reparations and the surrender of Ancona, Bologna, and Ferrara—the northern portion of the papal territory.
The French Directory demanded that the Papacy revoke, retract, and disannul all bulls, briefs, rescripts, and decrees affecting ecclesiastical affairs in France issued since the beginning of the Revolution in 1787. This Pius VI refused, declaring he would oppose it with force, and broke off the parley. Napoleon took Imola, the Romagna, the duchy of Urbino, routed the papal army, and made new overtures to the pope.
December 27, 1797, a riot threatened, and the papal government ordered the mutineers to disperse. Duppa records that some in the mob, "proceeded to make public harangues, and pretended to shew clearly, by several texts of scripture, that the time was at hand to overthrow the existing government."
The papal troops advanced, and the revolutionists sought refuge at the French embassy. The pontifical soldiers followed and opened fire. Then the French general Duphot sought to quiet the melee, but was shot, and dispatched with papal bayonets.
The killing of General Duphot brought on the crisis. The ambassador left Rome in indignation. Reparations were refused, and the Directory, on January 1, 1798, ordered General Berthier, then in Milan, to march upon Rome and conquer it, and to establish a Roman republic.
General Berthier advanced, but stopped outside of Rome, awaiting an invitation to enter. Patriots invited him to do so. Thus the French troops entered Rome on February 10, 1798. Berthier immediately pledged by proclamation that the Catholic "cult" should remain untouched.
As a last resort the church had had recourse to a vast religious processional through the streets of Rome, with venerated relics, in the hope of staving off the evil day. An elaborate proclamation was issued January 15, 1798, in the form of a printed poster signed by the papal secretary.
The three special relics paraded were
But the French Army came on. Priests went throughout the city preaching the end of the world and, as customary, calling on
miracles to sustain their prophecies. They little dreamed that they were so near the close of their power.
Berthier came to the capitol escorted by a military band, received the acclaim of the great concourse, and gave formal recognition to the Roman Republic and its provisional government.
He then ordered the papal arms and insignia everywhere removed. Vatican Palace was stripped of its valuables, and the sacerdotal vestments of the pontifical chapels were burned for the gold and silver of the embroidery.
Meantime, on this very same day — February 15 — on the anniversary of his elevation to the pontificate, Pius VI repaired to the Sistine Chapel, and was receiving the felicitations of the Sacred College of cardinals, when, in the midst of the ceremony, shouts penetrated the conclave, intermingled with the strokes of axes on the doors. Soon General Haller, a Swiss Calvinist, with a band of his soldiers, broke into the chapel, and declared that the pope's reign was at an end.
It was the end of an epoch in papal history long before predicted in the prophecies of Holy Writ. Trevor goes so far as to say:
"The territorial possessions of the clergy and monks were declared national property, and their former owners cast into prison. The papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defence. The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place."
DL
"In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte, on his way to overthrow the pope, incited his soldiers with one of his fiery speeches to the effect that they still had one offense to avenge. The hour of vengeance had struck. To restore the Capitol, to awaken the people of Rome,
Hearing of this, Pius VI (1775-1798)—born in 1717 as Giovanni Angelico Braschi, and died in 1799—attempted to fortify his position and neglected nothing that might prevent the great catastrophe. Meantime he sent an emissary to Napoleon at Milan and proposed an armistice, offering heavy reparations and the surrender of Ancona, Bologna, and Ferrara—the northern portion of the papal territory.
The French Directory demanded that the Papacy revoke, retract, and disannul all bulls, briefs, rescripts, and decrees affecting ecclesiastical affairs in France issued since the beginning of the Revolution in 1787. This Pius VI refused, declaring he would oppose it with force, and broke off the parley. Napoleon took Imola, the Romagna, the duchy of Urbino, routed the papal army, and made new overtures to the pope.
December 27, 1797, a riot threatened, and the papal government ordered the mutineers to disperse. Duppa records that some in the mob, "proceeded to make public harangues, and pretended to shew clearly, by several texts of scripture, that the time was at hand to overthrow the existing government."
The papal troops advanced, and the revolutionists sought refuge at the French embassy. The pontifical soldiers followed and opened fire. Then the French general Duphot sought to quiet the melee, but was shot, and dispatched with papal bayonets.
The killing of General Duphot brought on the crisis. The ambassador left Rome in indignation. Reparations were refused, and the Directory, on January 1, 1798, ordered General Berthier, then in Milan, to march upon Rome and conquer it, and to establish a Roman republic.
General Berthier advanced, but stopped outside of Rome, awaiting an invitation to enter. Patriots invited him to do so. Thus the French troops entered Rome on February 10, 1798. Berthier immediately pledged by proclamation that the Catholic "cult" should remain untouched.
As a last resort the church had had recourse to a vast religious processional through the streets of Rome, with venerated relics, in the hope of staving off the evil day. An elaborate proclamation was issued January 15, 1798, in the form of a printed poster signed by the papal secretary.
The three special relics paraded were
--a portrait of the Savior supposed to have been painted by supernatural agency,
--a miraculous picture of the Virgin Mary and the child,
--and the supposed chains by which St. Peter was fettered.
But the French Army came on. Priests went throughout the city preaching the end of the world and, as customary, calling on
Berthier came to the capitol escorted by a military band, received the acclaim of the great concourse, and gave formal recognition to the Roman Republic and its provisional government.
He then ordered the papal arms and insignia everywhere removed. Vatican Palace was stripped of its valuables, and the sacerdotal vestments of the pontifical chapels were burned for the gold and silver of the embroidery.
Meantime, on this very same day — February 15 — on the anniversary of his elevation to the pontificate, Pius VI repaired to the Sistine Chapel, and was receiving the felicitations of the Sacred College of cardinals, when, in the midst of the ceremony, shouts penetrated the conclave, intermingled with the strokes of axes on the doors. Soon General Haller, a Swiss Calvinist, with a band of his soldiers, broke into the chapel, and declared that the pope's reign was at an end.
It was the end of an epoch in papal history long before predicted in the prophecies of Holy Writ. Trevor goes so far as to say:
"The territorial possessions of the clergy and monks were declared national property, and their former owners cast into prison. The papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defence. The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place."
DL