For much of its 2,000-year history, the Roman Catholic Church was a
formidable political and military power, in contrast to its
pacifist origins and its present concentration on spiritual
matters. The period of political and military activism can be dated
to roughly between 410, when Pope Innocent I vainly tried to avert
the sack of Rome by the Visigoths, and about 1870, when Pope Pius
IX was abandoned by his protectors, the French Army, and forced to
submit to the new Italian state by surrendering any political power
the Vatican had left. During those centuries, the popes employed
every means at their disposal, including direct military action, to
maintain their domains centred on Rome. Some pontiffs, such as
Alexander VI, Julius II (15th century), plus the energetic Borgia
popes later, built the Papal States into a power in their own
right. In the following century and a half, Europe's destructive
religious wars almost always had a papal component, with the
Lateran and later Vatican fielding their own armies. Climaxing the
story are the little-known yet bitter late-nineteenth century
battles between the papal volunteers from all over Europe and
America, and the Italian nationalists who ultimately prevailed.
John Carr narrates the story of Papal military clout with engaging
verve.
General
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