GREGORY XVI (BAirrotoldsrzo ALBERTO CAPPELLARI), Pope (1831-1846) : b. Belluno, in Venetian territory, 18 Sept. 1765; d. Rome, 1 June 1846. At the age of 18 he entered the Camaldolese order, taking the name Mauro, and in 1787 he was ordained priest. In 1799 he published a work against the Italian Jan senists entitled (It Trionfo della Santa Sede,' which ran through several editions in Italy and was translated into several other European languages. In this book he upheld the infalli bility of the and his temporal sovereignty. After receiving a number of ecclesiastical ap pointments, including the office of Vicar-General of his order, he was created cardinal by Leo XII on 21 March 1P25, and shortly after was made prefect of the Congregation of Propa ganda, a position which was in effect Minister of Foreign Affairs. As Prefect of Propaganda, he was entrusted with the adjustment of a concordat regarding the interests of the Belgian Catholics and the Dutch Protestants in 1827 and with negotiations with the Sultan looking toward"'the emancipation of the Armenian Catholics in 1829. On 2 Feb. 1831, after a con clave lasting 64 days, he was unexpectedly elected Pope to succeed Pius VIII. Being a
firm believer in autocracy, Gregory was opposed to even a minimum of democratic progress, as were most of the rulers of his time. His rule was a period of no ordinary interest and difficulty in the relations of the Vatican with the temporal powers of Christendom and per haps he was not fully able to cope with these problems. In his public life, Gregory was very active in his conduct of affairs, although he left the papal treasury in difficulties by his bad financial administration. This was due in part to his liberal patronage of architecture, engin eering, literature and art. In his private life, he was noted for his piety and his simplicity.
3., Cardinal, Kirchenstaat seit der franzosischen Revo lution' (Freiburg 1860) ; Bernasconi, A. M., Gregorii Papa XVI> (Rome 1901 et seq.) ; Modern History' (Vol X, Cambridge 1907) ; Wiseman, N., Cardinal, 'Recollections of the Last Four Popes and of Rome in their Times' (London 1858) ; Sylvain, (Gregoire XVI et son Pontificat' (Lille 1889).