Popes QUESTION from Mr. William O'Rourke October 10, 1999 Who was the pope at the turn of the centry(20th) and who did he dedicate the centry to? I am having a hard time finding this information, thank-you for any help you can give me!
ANSWER by Mrs. Suzanne Fortin on October 15, 1999 Dear Mr. O'Rourke
I believe you are referring to Pope Leo XII's (1878-1903) consecration of humanity (not the century!) to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 11, 1899. I found an interesting article on the internet in regards to this matter, and you can access it by clicking here. This was Pope Leo's way of marking the beginning of the twentieth century.
A little bit about Pope Leo XIII: when I sought information about him, I noticed that writers like to compare him to his predecesoor, Pope Pius IX, who had won much admiration and was quite loved. Pope Leo XIII was not a Pius IX-- he is described as polite, cordial but a little distant. He wrote many encyclicals-- dozens. He was a veritable enycyclical-writing machine. No less than ten encyclicals were devoted to the rosary. Two other famous encyclicals were Rerum Novarum, in which he outlined the duties and rights of workers and capitalists; and Aeterni Paternis, in which he promoted the learning of Thomism-- the philosophy and theology of the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas. Another interesting thing about his encyclicals was that so many of them were directed specifically to countries-- something which is not really done any more. Pope Leo wrote to The United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Portugal, Brazil, France, etc. In his encyclicals, he spoke with the tone of authority and fatherly sollicitude, and in this age of namby-pamby I-don't-want-to-offend-you kind of Catholicism, I find his tone quite refreshing.
God Bless You.
Back to Index Page