## Who was Pope Benedict XV?

Giacomo Paolo Battista della Chiesa (1854-1922), elected Pope on September 3, 1914, under the name of Benedict XV, governed the Church during World War I and its aftermath. His pontificate (1914-1922), situated between Pius X and Pius XI, was marked by intense diplomatic efforts in favor of peace, the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law, and a deep Marian devotion evident in all his documents. Born in Genoa into an aristocratic family, he was educated at Cardinal Rampolla’s diplomatic school and appointed Archbishop of Bologna by Pius X in 1907, becoming a cardinal just three months before his papal election.

## The “Pope of Peace” and the Great War

Benedict XV was elected twelve days after the outbreak of World War I. His “Note of Peace” of August 1, 1917, proposing an immediate armistice, international arbitration, progressive disarmament, and renouncing war reparations, was rejected by all warring powers but anticipated decades later the principles of the UN. The Pope described the war as “the suicide of civilized Europe.” His humanitarian actions—supporting prisoners of war, facilitating exchanges of the sick, and establishing information networks about the missing—were recognized by governments on all sides of the conflict.

## Benedict XV’s Mariology: *Inter Sodalicia* (1918)

The most significant mariological document of Benedict XV is the apostolic letter *Inter Sodalicia* (March 22, 1918), addressed to Cardinal Boggiani regarding the Association of Our Lady of Sorrows. In it, Benedict XV states that Mary “by her suffering and death, by her voluntary immolation… atoned for the transgressions of men and appeased divine justice, thus justly earning the title of Reparative of the world lost.” This formulation—one of the most explicit expressions of papal teaching on Mary’s *compassio*—was extensively cited by theologians of Co-Redemption throughout the 20th century. It associates Mary with Christ’s sacrificial offering on the Cross and represents a significant step in the development of the doctrine of Mary’s Mediation.

## Benedict XV, Fatima, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

While Pope Benedict XV did not directly address the apparitions at Fatima, his teachings on Mary’s role in salvation history resonate with the message of the Holy See’s official response to the Fatima revelations, which emphasizes Mary’s intercession and her role as a guide to peace.

# In 1917, the Same Year as Fatima Appearances

In 1917, in the same year as the Fatima apparitions, Pope Benedict XV added the invocation *”Queen of Peace”* (May 1917) to the Litany of Our Lady and repeatedly appealed to the Virgin to intercede for an end to war. While he did not officially comment on the Fatima apparitions during his pontificate, he explicitly linked devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the need for peace—a convergence that subsequent mariologists would recognize as prophetically significant. The encyclical *Fausto Appetente Die* (1921), marking the seventh centenary of Saint Dominic’s death, reaffirmed the Rosary as a privileged instrument of Marian devotion and peace.

## Marian Documents of Pope Benedict XV

## The 1917 Code of Canon Law

One of Pope Benedict XV’s most enduring achievements was the promulgation of the *Codex Iuris Canonici* in 1917, the first systematic code of canon law in the history of the Church. This work, initiated by Pius X and completed under his pontificate, consisted of 2,414 canons and remained in force until 1983 when John Paul II promulgated a new code. Benedict XV also issued the apostolic letter *Maximum Illud* (1919), reforming missionary activity and emphasizing the formation of local clergy—liberating missions from European colonial imperialism.

## Legacy and Cause for Beatification

Pope Benedict XV died on 22 January 1922, at age 67, from pneumonia. His death was universally lamented, including by non-Catholic governments. His pontificate was marked by a rare evangelical consistency: he rejected nationalist rhetoric from any side, defended the dignity of defeated peoples, and was the first pope to send diplomatic representatives to almost all countries worldwide. *Inter Sodalicia* (1918) remains his most cited mariological contribution, serving as a link between *Ad Diem Illum* (1904) by Pius X and the Vatican II definitions on Mary in the Church. The cause for his beatification has been open since 1972.

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Pope Benedict XV: life, pontificate, and Marian devotion (1914-1922)

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