Editing Pope Benedict XIV (section)

===Other activities===
[[File:Benoit XIV.jpg|thumb|Benedict XIV in 1741, portrait by [[Pierre Subleyras|Subleyras]]]]
On 22 December 1741, Benedict XIV issued the Bull ''Immensa Pastorum Principis'' and sent an [[Papal brief|Apostolic Brief]] to the Bishops of [[Colonial Brazil|Brazil]] and King [[John V of Portugal]], against the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other countries. It excommunicated any person who, for whatever motive, enslaved a native Brazilian. It did not address the case of black Africans. The Bull ordered the Jesuits to cease engaging in commerce, which was strictly forbidden by their own statutes, and meddling in politics. The bull went unenforced in Brazil.<ref>{{cite book|author=João Capistrano de Abreu|title=Chapters of Brazil's Colonial History 1500–1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x4vmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA210|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York and Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-510302-1|page=210}} {{cite book|author=Pius Onyemechi Adiele|title=The Popes, the Catholic Church and the Transatlantic Enslavement of Black Africans 1418–1839|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YN9DDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA532|year=2017|publisher=Georg Olms Verlag AG|location=Hildesheim|isbn=978-3-487-42216-9|pages=377–378, 532–534}}</ref>

The [[Apostolic constitution]] ''[[Sacramentum Poenitentiae]]'' of 1741<ref>{{cite book|author=Benedict XIV|title=Bullarium Sanctissimi Domini Nostri Benedicti Pape Benedicti XIV Bullarium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U-0XktFfDwYC|edition=recentior, auctior, et emendatoir|volume=Tomus primus|year=1777|publisher=Occhi|location=Venice|language=la|pages=65–68, no. XX}}</ref> assigned to the [[congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition]] the responsibility of safeguarding the sanctity of the [[Sacrament of Penance|sacrament of penance]].

On 18 May 1743, Benedict XIV signed a document addressed to the Archbishops and Bishops of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] regarding marriage,<ref>[http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14nimia.htm Benedict, XIV, "Nimiam Licentiam: To Bishops of Poland: On Validity of Marriages", May 18, 1743] {{cite book|author=Benedict XIV|title=Bullarium Sanctissimi Domini Nostri Benedicti Pape Benedicti XIV|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U-0XktFfDwYC|volume=Tomus primus|year=1777|publisher=Occhi|location=Venice|language=la|pages=301–306}}</ref> communicating his dissatisfaction with the dissolution of Christian marriages, some even long-stable ones, by the [[Ecclesiastical court|Ecclesiastical Courts]] of Poland without due cause or in violation of [[canon law]].<ref>Benedict wrote, "At times it is argued that the marriage was entered upon by force or by fear, in either case without the free consent of one or the other of the contracting parties; at other times a legitimate and canonical impediment is alleged, which could have been known before the marriage was contracted if it had not been purposefully concealed; also at times, and this happens more frequently, a marriage is annulled because it was contracted before another priest, even with the consent of the parish priest or of the ordinary bishop but without the necessary and usual formalities. Certainly it is clear that these dissolutions of marriages in Poland are a source of evil and an open door to crime."</ref> Troubles arose from what are called "clandestine marriages", a secret arrangement between partners, usually for the purpose of marrying a person of choice rather than entering into an "arranged marriage".<ref>Benedict wrote, "We had learned that an evil custom of hidden marriages, more popularly known as marriages of joint knowledge, has spread throughout much of the Christian world. Among the resulting irregularities is that hidden marriages of this sort were themselves being dissolved where other marriages were publicly celebrated." {{cite book|author=Michael Joseph Schuck|title=That They be One: The Social Teaching of the Papal Encyclicals, 1740–1989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lCy1YfERcNcC&pg=PA33|year=1991|publisher=Georgetown University Press|location=Washington DC|isbn=978-0-87840-489-6|page=7}}</ref>

Benedict XIV was also responsible, along with Cardinal [[Domenico Silvio Passionei]], for beginning the catalogue of the oriental manuscripts in the [[Vatican Library]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Isidoro Carini|title=La Biblioteca Vaticana, proprietà della Sede apostolica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0PgvlVHPjMQC|year=1893|publisher=Tipografia Vaticana|location=Rome|language=it|page=118}}</ref> The Pope added some 3,300 of his own books to the collection. In 1741 the collection of manuscripts relating to Chinese religion and history were left to the Vatican Library by bequest of Fouchet, a one-time missionary.<ref>Carini, p. 114.</ref> During his reign the library of Marchese Alessandro Capponi was acquired through bequest. The collection of the antiquarian [[Philipp von Stosch|Filippo Stosch]] of Florence also came to the Vatican Library after his death, including a large collection of manuscripts that went back as far as the twelfth century.<ref>{{cite book|author=Domenico Zanelli|title=La Biblioteca Vaticana dalla sua origine fino al presente|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J6-5AAAAIAAJ|year=1857|publisher=Tipografia delle belle arti|location=Rome|language=it|pages=82–83, 86–87}}</ref>

In 1747, Benedict promulgated the bull ''[[Postremo mense]] superioris anni'', which summarised and restated certain aspects of Catholic teaching on [[infant baptism]], in particular that 1) it is generally not licit to baptise a child of a Jewish family without parental consent, 2) it is licit to baptise a Jewish child in danger of death without parental consent, 3) once such a baptism had occurred (whether licit or not), the ecclesiastical authorities have a duty to remove the child from its parents' custody in order to provide it with a Christian education.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cunningham|first1=James J.|title=Summa Theologiae: Volume 57, Baptism and Confirmation: 3a. 66–72|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521029650|page=112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sB7lrpjH7dkC&pg=PA112|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Carlen|first1=Claudia|title=Papal Pronouncements, a Guide, 1740–1978: Benedict XIV to Paul VI|date=1990|publisher=Pierian Press|isbn=978-0876502730|page=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4uNVAAAAYAAJ|access-date=13 January 2018|language=en}}</ref>

====Oriental rites====

Since his days as a Consultor at the Holy Office (Inquisition), Benedict had been involved in issues pertaining to the missions, both those seeking to convert non-Christians, and those seeking to reconcile heretics and schismatics to the Roman Church.<ref>Lambertini had composes a survey of the history of the Malabar rites in India. Pastor, pp. 463–464.</ref> One concern was the [[Copts|Coptic Christians]] in upper Egypt, where efforts to seek union with the Coptic Patriarch had not been successful. Numbers of Coptic priests and laity had entered into union with Rome, but had no bishop to serve their needs. In the Bull ''Quemadmodum ingenti'' of 4 August 1741, Benedict entrusted their care to the one Coptic bishop who was in union with Rome, the Patriarch Athanasius of Jerusalem, who was given extensive powers to supervise uniate Copts in Egypt.<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=125–127}} Pastor, p. 404.</ref> 

On 7 August the same year, he supervised a commission of cardinals discussing the acts of the [[Lebanese Council of 1736]] against some of which (such as the prohibition of mixed monasteries) one part of the Maronite clergy had brought forward some complaints. The Lebanese Council was declared legitimate by the commission and on 1 September 1741, Benedict XIV approved the acts of the Lebanese Council.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moosa |first1=Matti |title=The Maronites in History |date=2005 |publisher=Gorgias Press |location=New York |isbn=1-59333-182-7 |page=273 |language=en}}</ref>

In his encyclical ''Allatae Sunt'', promulgated on 26 July 1755, and sent to missionaries working under the direction of the Congregation ''de propaganda fide'',<ref>{{cite book|author=Benedictus XIV|editor= Hieronymus Mainardi|title=Sanctissimi domini nostri Benedicti Papae XIV Bullarium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llkoNmNJCQQC|volume=Tomus quartus|year=1758|publisher=Bartholomaeus Occhi|location=Rome|language=la|pages=175–193}}</ref> Pope Benedict addressed the numerous problems arising in dealing with the clergy and laity belonging to various eastern rites, particularly the [[Armenian Rite|Armenian]] and [[Syriac Rite (disambiguation)|Syriac Rites]]. He reminded the missionaries that they were converting people from schism and heresy:<ref>Benedict XIV, ''Allatae sunt'', § 48. {{cite book|author=Agnes de Dreuzy|title=The Vatican and the Emergence of the Modern Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LBCkDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA93|year=2016|publisher=CUA Press|location=Washington DC |isbn=978-0-8132-2849-5|page=93}}</ref>
<blockquote>We also wanted to make clear to all the good will which the Apostolic See feels for Oriental Catholics in commanding them to observe fully their ancient rites which are not at variance with the Catholic religion or with propriety. The Church does not require schismatics to abandon their rites when they return to Catholic unity, but only that they forswear and detest heresy. Its great desire is for the preservation, not the destruction of different peoples{{snd}}in short, that all may be Catholic rather than all become Latin.</blockquote>

Benedict XIV, however, echoing the words of [[Pope Gelasius I]], universally banned the practice of females serving the priest at the altar, noting that the practice had spread to certain Oriental Rites.<ref>Benedict XIV, ''Allatae sunt'', § 29.</ref>

====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>

====Consistories====
{{main|Cardinals created by Benedict XIV}}
Benedict XIV created 64 cardinals in seven consistories; among the new cardinals he elevated into the cardinalate was the [[Henry Benedict Stuart]] (1747). The pope also reserved one cardinal {{lang|la|[[in pectore]]}} and revealed that name at a later time, therefore validating the creation.

====Canonizations and beatifications====
The pope canonized seven saints during his pontificate including [[Camillus de Lellis]] and [[Fidelis of Sigmaringen]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.causesanti.va/it/celebrazioni/canonizzazioni/1746/06/29.html | title=29 }}</ref> He also beatified several individuals, including [[Charlemagne]] and [[Niccolò Albergati]].

====Jubilee====
On 5 May 1749, Pope Benedict XIV declared a [[Holy Year]], to begin on Christmas Eve, 1749 and to extend throughout the next year until Christmas 1750.<ref>[http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14pereg.htm Benedict XIV, "Peregrinantes" (Proclaiming a Holy Year for 1750), 5 May 1749] {{cite book|author=Juan Facundo Raulin|title=Año Santo dentro y fuera de Roma: Sirve para ella en este Año Santo de 1750. Para España en el de 1751 y en los siguientes para las Indias|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXkx964ceQUC&pg=PA4|year=1751|publisher=Francisco Moreno|location=Zaragoza|language=es|pages=4–12}}</ref> During the month of April 1750, 43,000 meals were served to the poor at the Trinita Hospital.<ref>[http://www.papalartifacts.com/portfolio-item/pope-benedict-xiv/ Kunst, Richard. "Benedict XIV", Papal Artifacts]{{self-published source|date=June 2022}} James A. Campbell, "The Year of Jubilee," in: {{cite book|title=The American Catholic Quarterly Review |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=apkNAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA247|volume=25|year=1900|publisher=Hardy and Mahony|location=Philadelphia|pages=240–252}}</ref> Later that year, the Pope banned [[card game]]s.<ref name="Gazette">''The Dublin Gazette'' (Number 26). Dublin: Richard James and John Butler, 1750. {{Page needed|date=December 2018}} Context: "In the Edict lately published against all Games on the Cards, it is enacted, that the Penalty on Delinquents shall be a Fine of 500 Crowns; but if any Persons of high Rank or Distinction are convicted of suffering or promoting Gaming of that Kind in their house, they shall incur the Pope's Indignation, and be liable to such arbitrary Punishment as to his Holiness shall seem meet."</ref>

With the [[papal bull]] ''Peregrinantes'', Benedict XIV convoked a [[Jubilee in the Catholic Church|Jubilee]] in 1750. Furthermore, the pope called upon Saint [[Leonard of Port Maurice]] to preach; both had a close relationship and the year previously saw Benedict XIV ask him to give sermons on penance and conversion in Rome. Among the initiatives that the pope designed for the Jubilee were the call for Christian unity and organizing for proper accommodation for those pilgrims who flocked to Rome.

Upon the advice of Saint Leonard, the pope was the first to institute the ''[[Via Crucis]]'' at the [[Colosseum]], which he consecrated as a site of martyrdom for the early Christians. The pope placed the stations of the Cross in the arena, however, these were removed in 1874 before being restored in 1925.