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This contribution explores Henri de Lubac's changing relationship with the papacy and its magisterial role. The mutation of his relationship with the different popes with whom he interacted illustrates the tense, problematic, and necessary link between Jesuit theologians and the hierarchy of the Church. Lubac's contrasting relationship with the papacy can be explained, on the one hand, by his quest, and that of other theologians of his generation, for an aggiornamento of the Church in a context marked by the aftermath of the modernist crisis and, on the other hand, by the theological and ecclesiological debates that arose from the reception of the Second Vatican Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out historiographical engagement with the papal tiara since the late sixteenth century, examining the range of questions asked about the object and the motivations behind them. Early modern Catholic writers developed a consistent line of inquiry into the tiara based on an evolving agenda to affirm the pope's majesty. More recent scholars, though motivated by very different concerns, have nevertheless retained many of their lines of questioning. Indifference to practical questions about exactly how the tiara was used as a ceremonial object has sometimes been a feature of this discourse. However, contemporary discussion of the tiara's medieval origins now integrates it. The oddity that tiaras have still been produced for late twentieth- and twenty-first century popes needs to be included in the story told. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The text titled "The Renunciation of the Petrine Office. Doctrinal Itineraries ten years after Benedict XVI's declaratio" is a volume that is part of a research project on the renunciation of the Petrine office in the Church. The text collects the presentations given at an interdisciplinary seminar and offers reflections on the concept of officium in relation to the concepts of munus and ministerium. It also analyzes significant aspects of the conception of government and constitutional organization of power in the Church, as well as the history of papal resignations in extreme circumstances. The final chapter addresses the legal and theological profiles of the resignation of the papacy, highlighting the importance of maintaining a balance between the rights and freedoms of the former Pope and the good of the unity of the Church. [Extracted from the article]

The main documents and legal texts issued by the Pope in 2023 and the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as international agreements signed by the Holy See, are outlined. Canon law actions within the purview of the Spanish Episcopal Conference are also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1622, a counter-reformist concept of the mission led to the foundation of Propaganda Fide, a congregation to which the Supreme Pontiffs entrusted various tasks at the global level, including the reassertion of the pope's authority over missionary activities, which had previously been dominated by European secular powers using the patronage system. In carrying out its mandate, the new Congregation also charged apostolic nuncios, almost entirely Italian, with collecting information from and establishing direct contacts with the states of Catholic Christianity and of missionary territories beyond. These nuncios not only performed activities of a religious nature but also served as diplomats and representatives of the pope, endowed with particular powers and faculties. This article introduces the role of apostolic nuncios and analyzes the results of the first of these sent by the Propaganda Fide to China, Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon. It will show that, as the first papal legate to China, he was not entirely successful in his objectives, but his mission can be seen as a turning point in the history of relations between the Holy See and China and as an important episode which helps us to understand not only early Sino–papal relations but also the development of the new global vision of the Catholic Church as it was formulated by the Propaganda Fide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Jorge Bergoglio became the first Jesuit to be elected as a successor to St. Peter, it created a novel problem in papal and Jesuit history: how would a Jesuit interpret the long-standing but ever-evolving traditions of pontifical dress? This article sets out how Francis's public sartorial choices have developed as he has negotiated his twin roles within the church. It further considers the influence of both Jesuit and Franciscan visual and material culture on the image he cultivates and the intersections between them and the imperatives of papal fashion. Finally, it considers the contribution of clothing to Francis's image and reputation within the church and in popular media in Italy and in the wider world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ethos (0860-8024) is the property of John Paul II Institute, Faculty of Philosophy, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present article deals with the role of the papacy during the first years of the Anglo-Saxon mission in Germania. The topic has usually been approached in the past with respect to the following development in Europe, namely the Carolingian Renaissance. The goal of the contribution is to emphasise the autonomous character of the eithth century, when the creation of a new empire in the West was not yet considered. During this time, the papacy was facing a crisis within the empire coming from the Lombards and Byzantines. The Pope found support in Franks, but mostly in Anglo-Saxon missionaries. The dynamics of the process comes mostly from the apostolic character of the Church, which was emphasised by the Pope and missionaries and which is illustrated with three selected epistles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a review of the book "Benedict XVI: A Life. Volume 2, Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus 1966-The Present" by Peter Seewald. The reviewer praises the book for its thorough research, engaging writing style, and revealing new information about Pope Benedict XVI's life. It also discusses the media's portrayal of Benedict XVI, acknowledging both positive and negative perspectives. The review concludes by highlighting the strong friendship between Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis and discouraging criticism of the latter. Additionally, Stephen L. Brock's book, "The Light that Binds: A Study in Thomas Aquinas's Metaphysics of Natural Law," is recommended for those interested in exploring the topic of natural law and its philosophical foundations from a Thomistic perspective. [Extracted from the article]

The world currently appears to be closed, marked by indifference and a lack of care for Life. This text reflects on the need to promote a new look, a new way of relating to the richness and plurality of life. The path chosen in this reflection had listening as its starting point. We tried to listen carefully to the song “Saga da Amazônia”, in a welcoming attitude, with the intention of capturing its meaning and its matrix of thought, since through it is possible to get closer to a popular way of understanding reality and worldview. In a second moment, a relationship was established between the subjects gathered from the song anr the themes of the Common Home and Integral Ecology proposed by Pope Francis. From this meeting it can be seen, as a point of convergence, that both the author and the Pope have the hope that one can rescue what makes human beings more human – the dimension of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Congress "The Papacy and the Hispanic Kingdoms in the Middle Ages" took place in Madrid in March 2024. The congress focused on the relationships between the popes and the Hispanic kingdoms during the Middle Ages, especially in the high and late medieval period. Presentations were given on topics such as the Hispanic-Visigothic Church and the papacy, papal legations, the papacy's relations with Portugal, and papal intervention in the Hispanic kingdoms. The edition of sources and papal diplomacy were also discussed. The congress analyzed the relationships between the papacy and the different powers in the Iberian Peninsula throughout history. [Extracted from the article]

József Mindszenty regularly wrote letters to Pope Pius XII, to British diplomats between 1945 and 1948, as well as to cardinals in the US, Britain and New Zealand. His letters and telegrams protesting the plight of the Hungarians in Czechoslovakia after 1945, their forced Slovakisation and deportation to the Czech Republic, are prominent among these letters. This was prompted by his duties as county archpastor, as the ecclesiastical superior of the Esztergom archdiocese north of the Danube, and by his status as archbishop-metropolitan and prince primate. In our paper we attempt to summarise the relevant material from the period between 1945 and 1948: 33 of the 118 Mindszenty letters we have found deal with his efforts on behalf of the Hungarian community in Czechoslovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HROMJÁK, Ľuboslav. The Contribution of Pope John Paul II for the Slavs in the Modern History of the Cyrilo-Methodian Cult. In this study, the author, based on the historical context of Cyrilo-Methodism in the 19th and 20th centuries, highlights the importance of Pope John Paul II for the Slavs and its importance in consolidating Cyrilo-Methodism in modern history through the publication of the papal letter Egregiae virtutis and the encyclical Slavorum apostoli. Great emphasis is placed on the contribution of John Paul II for the Slavic world by the declaration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius as patrons of Europe. Pope John Paul II contextualizes the Catholic Slavism of Leo XIII as its successor in the 20th century. By the declaration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius as patrons of Europe, according to the author, the Pope pursued two intentions: ecumenical and civilizing. He presented Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the context of Catholic Slavism as a civilizational and ecumenical bridge between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. John Paul II as the only Slavic pope on Peter's throne, he was the only one who could highlight the example of Sts. Cyril and Methodius for Western Europe, in search of Europe's spiritual roots. In this study, the author also points out the importance of the apostolic letter in the Slovak Catholic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Scripta Mediaevalia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Cuyo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since the acension of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio to the office of the papacy as Pope Francis, unease to unrest and now to open conflict has suffused the Catholic Church, from lay to clerics to even the Vatican. Various Catholics wonder, suggest and even argue that a paradigm shift (cf. Thomas Kuhn) in Catholic theology has taken place. Wherever a paradigm shift occurs, the relation between the pre-sifters and the post-shifters becomes one of incompatibility, of being incommensurate, such that a mutually excluding fissure takes places., the divided house will fall. Has that been happening to Catholicism? It has been suggested that the thinking of Bernard Lonergan SJ exhibits the same cognitive dynamics as that of Pope Francis. In order to attempt a judgment as to whether continuity or rupture structure the Catholic Church of today, focus is directed to Lonergan and his own view of what is transpiring in current Catholicism. One discovers quickly that Lonergan sees traditional Catholicism as classicist, conservative, normative and Aristotelian in orientation whereas the renewal theologians are modern, liberal, and distinctly historicist, a theme amply developed by Lonergan himself. The conclusion of this study is the traditionalists and modernizers do indeed constitute the incommensurable prongs of a paradigm shift such that currently Catholicism is a 2-in-one church, i.e., two validly baptized groups of believers between whom a irreconcilable conflict rages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the newly available Vatican archival sources from the pontificate of Pius XII as well as other archival sources, the article examines how Pope Pius XII and his Curia faced the challenge of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia and the attitudes of the particular Church in the crucial period between the definitive Communist takeover and the expulsion of the last papal representative from Prague and what strategies they developed in order to protect the Church from persecution and ideological seduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francesco Barberini, the cardinal nephew of Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644), is known to researchers primarily as a patron of the arts. However, he was a member of numerous dicasteries in the Roman Curia and held the office of head of the papal secretariat of state throughout the pontificate. In the early years he hardly appeared in this function. From 1631 onwards, testimonies of his involvement in the correspondence of the office become more frequent in the archives and provide information about his desire to play an active role in papal politics. Detailed autograph minutes to letters sent in cipher to the nuncios in Vienna deal with topics such as the mostly futile request of the imperials for subsidies, the rejection of criticism of the papal policy of neutrality and the improvement of relations between the Holy See and the imperial court. In addition, the attempt to influence the political convictions of members of religious orders working in Vienna and, in particular, the need to win the emperor's approval for the precedence of the prefect of Rome before the imperial envoy play a noticeable role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Peace of Venice (1177), which ended the nearly twenty-year-long schism between Pope Alexander III and his opponents supported by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, has long been the subject of controversy among scholars, who focused initially on the concrete provisions of the treaty and more recently on the symbolic acts that affirmed it. This paper uses Alexandrian sources to concentrate on peace itself as the pope's most important political goal: the biography of Alexander written by his cardinal Boso, the frescoes in the Lateran Palace painted after the victory, and other statements made by the pope himself and his supporters reveal his primary goal to be the restoration of unity and peace. This thinking may have been rooted in the Christian ethic of peace as well as in the enduring ideal of cooperation between pope and emperor. It offers an explanation for the pope's willingness to compromise in Venice, often viewed with astonishment today, expressed through the choice of location, the staging, as well as personnel and material decisions. Alexander did not aim to supercede the emperor, nor to achieve victory on specific issues in detail; instead, his goal throughout the schism seems to have been a return to peace and cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The involvement of Albert VI of Habsburg in the Diocese of Zagreb has so far not been the subject of exclusive research. It is intrinsically connected with two great conflicts that took place in the 1440s: the Hungarian succession war, and the schism between the Council of Basle and the Roman papacy. Albert VI was heavily involved in the succession war on the side of Queen Elizabeth, which enabled him to nominate a candidate for the then-vacant Bishopric of Zagreb. This candidate was his chancellor Peter Kottrer. He was confirmed as bishop of Zagreb by the Basle pope Felix V whom Albert supported. Albert's involvement in the diocese ended when he cast down and imprisoned Peter due to some unknown treason, but this episode demonstrates that the Habsburg engagement in medieval Slavonia and the Diocese of Zagreb was deep and complex as early as the mid-15 th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During his visit to Slovakia in 2021, Pope Francis delivered a speech in the Cathedral in Bratislava to bishops, priests, religious and all the believers. In it, he outlined what kind of Christian community we need today. Church should not be a fortress, power structure or a castle that looks down on the world from a distance and stands alone for itself. It should be the leaven that shapes the kingdom of love and peace from the dough of our world. According to the Pope, three realities play an important role in fulfilling this mission: freedom, creativity and dialogue. The Pope calls the Slovak Church to persevere in the journey of the freedom of the Gospel, the creativity of faith and dialogue arising from mercy of God who has made us brothers and sisters and calls us to be creators of peace and harmony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the role of Pope Benedict XVI in the Second Vatican Council, highlighting his participation as a personal consultant to Cardinal Frings and later as a council expert. The author affirms that Ratzinger was one of the hidden protagonists of the Council and experienced this as an impressive event of the Spirit. The book also addresses topics such as religious freedom, the collegiality of bishops, and conciliar hermeneutics. Benedict XVI's vision of renewal in continuity is highlighted, and anecdotes about his life during the Council and his participation in the magazine Concilium are included. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the little studied role of the Rus princes and the Rus prelates of the Byzantine Church in the establishment of immediate contacts between the papal court and the rulers of the Nicene Empire in the mid thirteenth century. These resulted in a new round of negotiations for the union of the Roman Church and the Byzantine Church. At the heart of these contacts was not only the mutual desire of the Latins and Greeks to restore church unity, but also the action of a third force, namely the political ambitions of the Mongol khan toward Christian rulers of the West and, above all, the pope. These rulers took the initiative to turn to him with a proposal for peace in the aftermath of the devastating Mongol invasion that reached Central Europe in 1241–2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a case study of the papal communication accompanying crusader violence against Jews in France in the mid 1230s. The pogroms perpetrated during the preparatory phase of the so-called Crusade of the Barons, during which 1000s of Jews were killed, are the best-documented anti-Jewish attacks of the thirteenth century. They coincide with a period of unprecedented crusade propaganda in Europe when crusades to the Holy Land, the Latin Empire and the Baltic were preached. The article argues that the pogroms were at least in part provoked by Pope Gregory IX's crusade message, which formed the basis of propaganda, even though the pope never called for violence against Jews and on the contrary condemned the attacks sharply. The fact that so many Jews were killed by crusaders in France in the mid 1230s can, therefore, be described as the result of a partial breakdown of papal communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is an analysis of a dispute between the canons of Augsburg cathedral chapter and their bishop, Hermann II (1096–1133). It concentrates on a series of short texts collected in the margins of an older patristic manuscript and argues that most of these texts can be said to form a kind of dossier, likely assembled by the canons in the aftermath of a cancelled personal visit by Pope Paschal II (1099–1118) to Augsburg in 1107. In the conclusion, the case is situated in the broader context of papal communication at the time of the Investiture Contest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how gifts, and stories about gifts, to and from the popes were treated and discussed in twelfth- and thirteenth-century England. The first part explores the intellectual context in which these stories were written, namely scriptural and classical ideas about the gift that circulated in the period, and the practical challenges faced by the papacy. The second part explores how English clerks and aristocrats utilised these gifts and stories about them. The exchange of gifts, the article argues, presented the papacy and its partners with mutually incompatible practical and ideological pressures. Despite the efforts of skilled actors such as Pope Innocent III, these challenges could only be navigated, never resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the visual responses (with political, spiritual and social connotations) to the visual statements about the role of Rome and the pope in Western Christendom made by Pope Urban V (1362–1370) at the time of his return to the Urbe from Avignon in 1367–9. It investigates the plurality of responses to these papal statements, the chain of further visual communications that these statements set in motion as well as their longue durée by engaging with the reception of the pontiff's powerful messages by different audiences, both secular and ecclesiastic, from Rome to the Italian peninsula more broadly, and southern France, in the following 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minor references to St Clement of Rome (the 1st century AD), the third successor of St Peter, in popular, educational, and scholarly writings (not only in Slovakia) are mostly related to the theme of the mission and legacy of Sts Constantine-Cyril and Methodius, who brought his relics to Papal Rome in the year 867/868. Thereafter, his figure and legacy have been treated in various writings on the basis of the so-called First and Second Letters of Clement to the Corinthians, other Pseudo-Clementine writings, or various hagiographical texts about the given saint. However, the topic discussed has not yet been debated in the light of the documents of the 20th-century Popes, and has also been insufficiently examined and compared in the context of the (Catholic) Church of the periods of Antiquity and the 20th century. Various aspects of the personality and work of the aforementioned first-century Apostolic Father, as well as other related and intertwined particular themes or aspects, can be found in 22 Papal documents. They are the apostolic constitutions, encyclicals, apostolic exhortations and letters, as well as the speeches of the following four Popes of the 20th century: Pius XI (1922 - 1939), John XXIII (1958 - 1963), Paul VI (1963 - 1978) and John Paul II (1978 - 2005). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main documents and legal texts issued by the Pope in 2022 and the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as international agreements signed by the Holy See, are outlined. Canon law actions within the purview of the Spanish Episcopal Conference are also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Journal of Ilahiyat Researches / Ilahiyat Tetkikleri Dergisi is the property of Ataturk University Coordinatorship of Scientific Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article aims at analysing and commenting the approach and position of Pope Francis and the Holy See in the issue of Russia's war against Ukraine (2014--) since the full-scale invasion of 2022. Statements and gestures of the Pope that joined Russia and Ukraine together, were often received negatively in Ukraine. The encyclical Fratelli tutti, Vatican neutrality and Ostpolitik raised questions concerning peace ethics and reconciliation. The article presents guiding principles and ideas of the Catholic Church leadership on these issues and shows that there is a demand for active involvement of the Ukrainian side in the discussion process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how Pope Innocent III (1198–1216) and his curia used emotions to communicate the supreme authority of the pope through a gendered order of knowledge and feeling in letters. Innocent and his curia worked codes of masculinity into an emotional regime of excellence and spiritual possibility, one that excluded women and femininity and enabled the derogation of feminised forms of spiritual authority. Focusing on Innocent and his curia's use of sorrowful emotions, it traces how Innocent interpreted emotions evoked by earthly frustrations as feminine, and a threat to papal primacy and the authority of the exclusively male, clerical hierarchy on which it stood. Understanding how the pope did so helps us to make sense of how he guarded the papal office as the exclusive preserve of men, as well as how the practice of emotion shaped the communication of hegemonic masculine power in the Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What can the fall of the Knights Templars teach us about medieval institutions? We highlight that the Templar's annihilation results from the institutional shock of Pope Clement V's decision to relocate the papacy from Italy to France. Prior to the relocation, an equilibrium persisted for more than a century where the Templars made loans to more powerful kings, with the reassurance that they were protected by the Church. The decision of Pope Clement V to relocate the papacy to France altered the Church's relationship with the French Crown and imposed substantial constraints on the Church's ability to safeguard one of its most important monastic orders, the Knights Templar. In a dynamic game scenario, we model Clement V and Philip IV's decision making, emphasizing important choices that led to the Knights Templar's demise. This historical episode illustrates the relationship between credible commitments and religious legitimacy, and the precarious and personal nature of pre-modern political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the concept of synodality in the Catholic Church and its relationship to Pope Francis's theology of mission. It discusses the theological basis of synodality in Pope Francis's papal exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and argues against interpretations that prioritize historicism and democratization of Church structures. The article also discusses Pope Francis's emphasis on popular piety, the importance of inculturation in mission, and the need for dialogue and collaboration to overcome polarizations in the Church. It references Pope Francis's writings and the International Theological Commission's document on synodality to support its arguments. Overall, the article presents a nuanced understanding of synodality and its role in the Church's mission of evangelization. [Extracted from the article]

Luther's treatise is presented as an answer to attacks from the Italian Dominican Ambrosius Catharinus. The language is highly invective, and Luther's argument culminates in a comprehensive biblical verification of a terrifying truth: that the pope is the Antichrist foreseen in several biblical texts. The papal Curia is part of the Antichrist's realm. Relating to Heiko Oberman's thoughts on the theological roots of Luther's "invectivity," the article offers a closer look into Luther's radically offensive language in his early years, arguing that it was closely linked to his central theological convictions at least since 1520/21. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the attitude of Fyodor Dostoevsky toward the Roman Catholic Church. The author shows how Dostoevsky comes to the Slavophile idea of unity and the impossibility of salvation outside church communion, while speaking of the Church as an ecclesia, that is, an assembly of believers. At the same time, the reception of Dostoevsky from the side of the Vatican is presented. In the article, special attention is paid to the perception of Dostoevsky's ideas by Pope Francis. The author notes that the point of attraction and repulsion between Dostoevsky and Catholic culture lies in the plane of his understanding of the concepts of nationality and universality. Dostoevsky's Russian idea and his view on the essence of Christianity grows from the synthesis of these concepts. The author emphasizes that only in this perspective it is necessary to interpret Dostoevsky's ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Relações Internacionais is the property of Relacoes Internacionais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Pope Francis made an apostolic trip to Mongolia, where he met with the Catholic community and other religious leaders of the country. During his visit, the Pope highlighted the role of Mongolian Catholics in spreading solidarity, universal respect, and interreligious dialogue, as well as working for justice, peace, and social harmony. Additionally, the Pope visited Marseille, where he participated in the "Encounters of the Mediterranean" and advocated for a unified policy of equitable reception of immigrants. 21 new cardinals were also created, and new apostolic exhortations on the climate crisis and on Therese of Lisieux were published. Finally, Pope Francis was unable to attend COP28 due to medical recommendations, but he sent a speech urging world leaders to accelerate the ecological transition. [Extracted from the article]

The ten-year Francis pontificate represents a fresh reception of the Second Vatican Council. The full dimensions of this reception can be apprehended through the lens of synodality, the leitmotif of the Francis papacy. This article will consider four features of synodality exhibited in the papal magisterium of Pope Francis that help us appreciate the ways in which Francis has creatively received conciliar teaching and advanced the conciliar agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter by Don Celso Morassi, pastor of Cleulis of Paluzza (Udine), to Barbieri from 22 November 1941 confirms the growth: "you talked to me about the need to increase your factory of pipe organs and automatic organs, to increase staff and machines, given the increase in orders in recent times."[62] Assuming average sales of fifteen automatic organs per year, as stated earlier, an estimated 150 Barbieri machines were sold between 1931 and 1941. Reprinted in Barbieri, I Auto-organo Barbieri 1931-1933 i , 12, 29-34 and 38; and I Auto-organo Barbieri 1933-1934 i , 2. 50 Nidasio, "L'autoorgano nella liturgia e una prova sorprendente", 14. 51 I La Diocesi di San Bassiano - Bollettino Diocesano i 7, 1940, 114-15. Information on the characteristics and merits of the automatic organ Barbieri created for the Pope can be gleaned from a signed letter by Armando Antonelli to Barbieri of 8 November 1947, the day after the inauguration of the I auto-organo i at Saint Anne. This part of the automatic organ is identical for all types of organs and can be accommodated in a small mobile case or in the console.... The organ interface consists of devices which are different for each type of organ played.[19] Barbieri had chosen a difficult market for his machines. [Extracted from the article]

The papacy's authority and standing in the sixteenth century were harmed by the Martin Luther Reformation and the sacking of Rome. In order to uphold the legitimacy of the papal theocracy and to restore the papacy's cultural and intellectual authority, Pope Paul III brought back carnival celebrations in Rome. Paul III, a reformer, maintained an image of the pope as a spiritual leader who was "merciful" and "peaceful" using clever imagery; for instance, staging a "mask" procession which unites people while minimising ethnic and national disparities, thereby fostering a sense of community within the Catholic community. Reinforcing himself as a religious leader, Paul III was careful with the image of the papal monarchy in order to preserve the unity and independence of the Papal States. In the carnival floats, the pope introduced elements of pagan mythology, comparing himself to the consuls of ancient Rome to strengthen the pope's ties with society. He adopted Janus (the double-faced god) and Apollo (the sun god) to create a secular image of the pope as the patron saint of Rome. On the one hand, the spiritual image of Pope Paul III as a religious leader was prominent in the carnival celebrations, and on the other hand, the secular image of the pope helped to consolidate the authority of the pope and external defendant of the Papal States. The dual spiritual and secular image of the pope underwent constant changes during the celebrations, a process of tension that helped him to overcome, in part, the political and religious challenges of the early modern period and reflected the transitional and dual nature of the Catholic Church at the time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1082, at the council of Charroux convened by the papal legate Amatus of Oloron, astonished witnesses observed the Holy Prepuce, a rare body relic of Christ himself, to be miraculously spotted with fresh blood. This spectacular miracle holds implications for our understanding of charismatic strategies of religious reform in France in the era of Pope Gregory VII. Gregory's use of standing legates with regional mandates, such as Amatus, was a novelty in papal administration, but the legates, though empowered as proxies of the pope, were often weak lieutenants. When they could not induce or coerce cooperation, they frequently confronted the impotence of their legal–canonical mandates. The miracle at Charroux, I will show, exemplifies an alternative charismatic strategy, harnessing liturgical art and spectacle to magnify the legate's stature as an authority in the context of the Eucharistic controversy and religious reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]