Editing Pope Benedict XIV (section)

====Chinese rites and Indian rites====
[[File:Pompeo Girolamo Batoni - Pope Benedict XIV (Minneapolis Institute of Arts).jpg|thumb|left|250px|Benedict XIV presents his encyclical ''Ex Omnibus'' to the Comte de Stainville [[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul|Étienne François]], later the Duc de Choiseul.]]
He had a very active papacy, reforming the education of priests, the [[Calendar of saints|calendar of feasts]] of the church, and many papal institutions. Perhaps the most important act of Benedict XIV's pontificate was the [[Promulgation (Catholic canon law)|promulgation]] of his famous laws about [[Mission (Christian)|mission]]s in the two [[papal bull|bulls]], ''Ex quo singulari'' (11 July 1742),<ref>{{cite book|author=Benedictus XIV|title=Benedicti papae XIV. Bullarium: In quo continentur constitutiones, epistolae, aliaque edita ab initio pontificatus usque ad annum MDCCXLVI.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SDERAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA388|volume=Tomus primus, Volumen 1|year=1826|publisher=P. J. Hanicq|location=Mechlin|language=la|pages=388–422}} Pastor, Vol. 35, pp. 433–460.</ref> and ''Omnium sollicitudinum'' (12 September 1744).<ref>{{cite book|author=Benedictus XIV|title=Sanctissimi Domini nostri Benedicti papae XIV bullarium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2WOl4Upwf0C|edition=editio nova|volume=Tomus primus, Volumen 2|year=1826|publisher=Hanicq|location=Mechlin|language=la|pages=369–428, no. CVII}}</ref> In these bulls he ruled on the custom of accommodating non-Christian words and usages to express Christian ideas and practices of the native cultures, which had been extensively done by the [[Jesuits]] in their Indian and Chinese missions. An example of this is the statues of ancestors&nbsp;– there had long been uncertainty whether honour paid to one's ancestors was unacceptable '[[ancestor worship]],' or if it was something more like the Catholic [[veneration of saints|veneration of the saints]]. This question was especially pressing in the case of an ancestor known not to have been a Christian. The choice of a Chinese translation for the [[Names of God|name of God]] had also been debated since the early 17th century. Benedict XIV denounced these practices in these two bulls. The consequence of this was that many of these converts left the church.<ref>Pastor, Vol. 35, pp. 433–458.</ref>

During his papacy, Benedict XIV commissioned a team of architects, led by [[Nicola Salvi]] and [[Luigi Vanvitelli]], to design a large palace that was to be 'more complex and with greater baroque style than the [[Royal Palace of Caserta|box of a palace]] Vanvitelli designed in [[Caserta]]'.  The palace was to be built south of [[St. Peter's Basilica]], but was never built, as the plans were quietly ignored by Benedict's successor, [[Clement XIII]].  They were brought up once more by [[Pius VI]] late in his papacy, but had to stop due to the possibility of invasion.  On 15 December 1744, Benedict XIV blessed the baroque chapel (Chapel of St. John the Baptist) in [[Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi]] in Rome, which featured mosaics on the sides, floor, and wall behind the altar made of semi-precious stones.  The chapel, which had been commissioned by King John V of Portugal in 1740, was designed by Nicola Salvi and Luigi Vanvitelli.  When complete, it was then shipped to Portugal to be placed in the [[Igreja de São Roque]], the Jesuit church in Lisbon.<ref>{{cite book|author=Barry Hatton|title=Queen of the Sea: A History of Lisbon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvlyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA143|date= 2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York and Oxford|isbn=978-1-84904-997-9|page=143}} Anthony Blunt, ''Guide to Baroque Rome'' New York: Harper & Row, 1982. {{Page needed|date=December 2018}}</ref>

The [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]], under the leadership of Italian priest [[Giuseppe Maria Bernini]], grew the community of [[Bettiah Christians]] in colonial India.<ref name="UCA2020"/> He was invited to spread Catholic Christianity by Maharaja Dhurup Singh of the [[Bettiah Raj]], an appointment that was blessed by Pope Benedict XIV on 1 May 1742 in a personal letter to the king.<ref name="UCA2020">{{cite web |title=Diocese of Bettiah |url=https://www.ucanews.com/directory/dioceses/india-bettiah/50 |publisher=[[Union of Catholic Asian News]] |access-date=15 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref>