Giuseppe Pecci

Italian Jesuit Thomist theologian

His Eminence

Giuseppe Pecci

S.J.

Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Agata dei Goti

Photo of Cardinal Pecci in 1887.

Church| Roman Catholic Church
Appointed| 15 May 1879
Term ended| 8 February 1890
Predecessor| Frédéric de Fallorx du Cordray
Successor| Andreas Steinhuber
Other post(s)| Cardinal Protodeacon (1887–90)
Orders
Ordination| 6 February 1837
Created cardinal| 12 May 1879
by Pope Leo XIII
Rank| Cardinal-Deacon
Personal details
Born|

Giuseppe Pecci

(1807-12-13)13 December 1807

Carpineto Romano, Papal States

Died| 8 February 1890(1890-02-08) (aged 82)
Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Buried| Campo Verano, Rome, Italy
Nationality| Italian
Denomination| Catholic (Roman Rite)
Parents| Dominico Ludovico Pecci
Anna Prosperi Buz
Previous post(s)| Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Studies (1884–87)
Alma mater| Collegium Romanum
Coat of arms|

Giuseppe Pecci S.J. (13 December 1807 - 8 February 1890) was a Jesuit Thomist theologian whose younger brother, Vincenzo, became Pope Leo XIII and appointed him a cardinal. The Neo-Thomist revival, which Leo XIII and his brother Giuseppe, Cardinal Pecci originated in 1879, remained the leading papal philosophy until Vatican II.

## Early years[edit]

Count and Countess Pecci, parents of Giuseppe and Vincenzo Pecci

Born in Carpineto Romano, near Rome, Giuseppe was one of the seven sons of Count Dominico Ludovico Pecci (1767–1833) and his wife Anna Prosperi Buzzi, Countess Pecci (1773–1824). From 1807 to 1818 he lived at home with his family. Together with his younger brother Vincenzo, he studied in the Jesuit College in Viterbo from 1818 until 1824.[1][2] In 1824, Count Pecci called him and Vincenzo home to Rome, where their mother was dying; the father wanted his children to be with him after the loss of his wife, and so they remained in Rome, attending the Collegium Romanum, a college belonging to the Society of Jesus. In 1828, the question of occupational choice arose for the two brothers; Giuseppe Pecci professed the Jesuit order, while Vincenzo decided in favour of a diocesan priest.[3]

The house in Carpineto, in which the Pecci brothers grew up

## Professor[edit]

Pecci taught Thomism, the theology and philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1847. At the request of his brother, who became Archbishop of Perugia, he was made a professor at the theological seminary in Perugia, where he remained from 1852 through 1859. After the city was taken over by Piedmont forces in 1860, Pope Pius IX called him to Rome and offered him a professorship in theology at La Sapienza University. Pope Pius also called him into the papal commission to prepare the First Vatican Council. Good Thomist theology was hard to come by at that time, with the result that young scholars from other countries were sent to Rome to learn from Pecci and Tommaso Maria Zigliara.[4] In 1870 he resigned his professorship because he refused to take the anti-papal oath which was demanded by the new Italian government. He continued his prominent theological research independently.

Giuseppe, Cardinal Pecci. For the most part throughout his life, he refused to be photographed: he considered painting a 'far superior and more benevolent presentation of a human being'.[5]

## Cardinal[edit]

Coat of arms of Giuseppe Pecci

In 1879, the College of Cardinals, led by Camillo, Cardinal di Pietro, insistently asked Pope Leo XIII to elevate his brother to their ranks,[6][7][8] and at the age of 71 Giuseppe Pecci was created Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Agata dei Goti on 12 May 1879 in his brother's first consistory.[9] He was the last member of a pope's family made a cardinal.

The ceremony was described by Ludwig von Pastor in his diary: "On 15 May at 11 am, Pope Leo XIII entered the hall in pontifical vestments, before him the College of Cardinals. The Swiss Guards stood to attention. After the Papal speech, each of the new cardinals, Pecci, John Henry Newman, Joseph Hergenröther and Tommaso Maria Zigliara, received the red hat, all of whom being well-known Church scholars."[10]

## Thomism[edit]

Carpineto in 1878

The elevation of Pecci, a well-known Thomist, took place in the context of the determined efforts of Leo XIII to foster science and Thomist theology throughout the Catholic Church [1]. Thomism had lost its role as a leading theology and Leo attempted to re-establish it "for the protection of faith, welfare of society and the advancement of science".[11] What he envisaged were not sterile interpretations of it, but a return to the original sources. This new orientation at the beginning of his pontificate was welcomed by Dominicans, Thomist Jesuits like Pecci and numerous bishops throughout the world. Strong opposition also developed as well on several fronts within the Church: Some considered Thomism simply outdated, while others used it for petty condemnations of dissident views that they did not like.[12] As traditional antagonists, Jesuits and Dominicans both claimed leadership in the renewal of Catholic theology.[12]

### Papal Collaboration[edit]

The then-Father Pecci in 1872.

Pope Leo responded with the encyclical Æterni Patris, much of which was co-written by Cardinal Pecci [2] on the restoration of Christian philosophy in the schools, which was published on 4 August 1879, and mandated all Catholic universities to teach Thomism; it also created a papal academy for the training of Thomist professors and publishing scholarly editions of the works of St Thomas Aquinas. The leadership of this academy he entrusted to his brother, who aided the creation of similar Thomas Aquinas academies in other places (Bologna, Freiburg (Switzerland), Paris and Lowden). In 1879, Cardinal Pecci was appointed as first Prefect of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, which Leo founded on 15 October 1879, and was also appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Studies in February 1884 [3]. (On 28 January 1999, the academy was reoriented to more social issues by Pope John Paul II.)[13] Pope Leo XIII appointed thirty members, ten each from Rome, from Italy, and from the rest of the world, and provided generous financial support to attract scholars from everywhere. The Pope also personally supported individual Thomist scholars and applauded numerous critical editions of the Angelic Doctor's texts.[12] To balance his Thomist Jesuit appointments, Leo entrusted the overall responsibility of the works of St Thomas Aquinas to the Dominican Order, of which the saint had been a member.

### Vatican Library[edit]

Pope Leo XIII considered the mostly locked-up and neglected Vatican Library "an infinite treasure for the Church and a monument to its role in culture and science".[14] He greatly increased staff and organization and appointed Jesuit father Franz Ehrle and Giuseppe Pecci to head the new undertaking as prefect and librarian, respectively. They in turn opened the Vatican Library to the general public after establishing a consultation library of 300,000 volumes.[15]

## Death[edit]

Cardinal Pecci continued his work as congregation and academy prefect and librarian until he died on 8 February 1890, aged 82, of complications from pneumonia. His body lay in repose in the Basilica of the Twelve Apostles (Basilica dei Santi Apostoli) in Rome, where his funeral took place on 12 February. He is buried in the chapel of the Society of Jesus in Campo Verano Cemetery, in Rome [4][5].

## References[edit]

1. ^ Kühne 12
2. ^ peter-hug.ch/lexikon/18_0714
3. ^ Kühne 20
4. ^ "Home - die Tagespost - Katholische Zeitung für Politik, Gesellschaft und Kultur". Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
5. ^ Benno Kühne, Papst Leo XIII Unser Heiliger Vater in seinem Leben und wirken, Benzinger, Einsiedeln, 1880
6. ^ Kühne, 247
7. ^ Schmidlin, Papstgeschichte der Neuesten Zeit, Pustet München 1934, 537
8. ^ Acta Leonis XIII PM Romae, 1881, Acta I, 35 ff
9. ^ Acta Sanctae Sedis (PDF). Vol. XI. 1878. pp. 587–8. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
10. ^ L. von Pastor, Tagebücher, Heidelberg, 1950 127
11. ^ Schmidlin 394
12. ^ a b c Schmidlin 395
13. ^ Annuario Pontificio 2005, p.1908
14. ^ Schmidlin 400
15. ^ Schmidlin 401

Catholic Church titles

Preceded by

Lorenzo Ilarione Randi

|  Cardinal Protodeacon
1887-1890  | Succeeded by

John Henry Newman

Preceded by

Antonio Saverio De Luca

|  Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Studies
16 February 1884 - 29 October 1887  | Succeeded by

Tommaso Maria Zigliara

* v
* t
* e

History of Catholic theology

Key figures

General|

* History of the Catholic Church
* Timeline
* History of the papacy
* Papal primacy
* Ecumenical councils
* Catholic Bible
* Vulgate
* Biblical canon
* History of Christian theology

Early Church|

* Paul
* Clement of Rome
* First Epistle of Clement
* Didache
* Ignatius of Antioch
* Polycarp
* Epistle of Barnabas
* The Shepherd of Hermas
* Aristides of Athens
* Justin Martyr
* Epistle to Diognetus
* Irenaeus
* Montanism
* Tertullian
* Origen
* Antipope Novatian
* Cyprian

Constantine to
Pope Gregory I

* Eusebius
* Athanasius of Alexandria
* Arianism
* Pelagianism
* Nestorianism
* Monophysitism
* Ephrem the Syrian
* Hilary of Poitiers
* Cyril of Jerusalem
* Basil of Caesarea
* Gregory of Nazianzus
* Gregory of Nyssa
* Ambrose
* John Chrysostom
* Jerome
* Augustine of Hippo
* John Cassian
* Orosius
* Cyril of Alexandria
* Peter Chrysologus
* Pope Leo I
* Boethius
* Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
* Pope Gregory I

Early Middle Ages|

* Isidore of Seville
* John Climacus
* Maximus the Confessor
* Monothelitism
* Ecthesis
* Bede
* John of Damascus
* Iconoclasm
* Transubstantiation dispute
* Predestination disputes
* Paulinus II of Aquileia
* Alcuin
* Benedict of Aniane
* Rabanus Maurus
* Paschasius Radbertus
* John Scotus Eriugena

High Middle Ages|

* Roscellinus
* Gregory of Narek
* Berengar of Tours
* Peter Damian
* Anselm of Canterbury
* Joachim of Fiore
* Peter Abelard
* Decretum Gratiani
* Bernard of Clairvaux
* Peter Lombard
* Anselm of Laon
* Hildegard of Bingen
* Hugh of Saint Victor
* Dominic de Guzmán
* Robert Grosseteste
* Francis of Assisi
* Anthony of Padua
* Beatrice of Nazareth
* Bonaventure
* Albertus Magnus
* Boetius of Dacia
* Henry of Ghent
* Thomas Aquinas
* Siger of Brabant
* Thomism
* Roger Bacon

Mysticism and reforms|

* Ramon Llull
* Duns Scotus
* Dante Alighieri
* William of Ockham
* Richard Rolle
* John of Ruusbroec
* Catherine of Siena
* Bridget of Sweden
* Meister Eckhart
* Johannes Tauler
* Walter Hilton
* The Cloud of Unknowing
* Heinrich Seuse
* Geert Groote
* Devotio Moderna
* Julian of Norwich
* Thomas à Kempis
* Nicholas of Cusa
* Marsilio Ficino
* Girolamo Savonarola
* Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

Reformation
Counter-Reformation

* Erasmus
* Thomas Cajetan
* Thomas More
* John Fisher
* Johann Eck
* Francisco de Vitoria
* Thomas of Villanova
* Ignatius of Loyola
* Francisco de Osuna
* John of Ávila
* Francis Xavier
* Teresa of Ávila
* Luis de León
* John of the Cross
* Peter Canisius
* Luis de Molina (Molinism)
* Robert Bellarmine
* Francisco Suárez
* Lawrence of Brindisi
* Francis de Sales

Baroque period to
French Revolution

* Tommaso Campanella
* Pierre de Bérulle
* Pierre Gassendi
* René Descartes
* Mary of Jesus of Ágreda
* António Vieira
* Jean-Jacques Olier
* Louis Thomassin
* Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
* François Fénelon
* Cornelius Jansen (Jansenism)
* Blaise Pascal
* Nicolas Malebranche
* Giambattista Vico
* Alphonsus Liguori
* Louis de Montfort
* Maria Gaetana Agnesi
* Alfonso Muzzarelli
* Johann Michael Sailer
* Clement Mary Hofbauer
* Bruno Lanteri

19th century|

* Joseph Görres
* Félicité de La Mennais
* Luigi Taparelli
* Antonio Rosmini
* Ignaz von Döllinger
* John Henry Newman
* Henri Lacordaire
* Jaime Balmes
* Gaetano Sanseverino
* Giovanni Maria Cornoldi
* Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherr von Ketteler
* Giuseppe Pecci
* Joseph Hergenröther
* Tommaso Maria Zigliara
* Matthias Joseph Scheeben
* Émile Boutroux
* Modernism
* Neo-scholasticism
* Léon Bloy
* Désiré-Joseph Mercier
* Friedrich von Hügel
* Vladimir Solovyov
* Marie-Joseph Lagrange
* George Tyrrell
* Maurice Blondel
* Thérèse of Lisieux

20th century|

* G. K. Chesterton
* Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
* Joseph Maréchal
* Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
* Jacques Maritain
* Étienne Gilson
* Ronald Knox
* Georges Bernanos
* Dietrich von Hildebrand
* Gabriel Marcel
* Marie-Dominique Chenu
* Romano Guardini
* Edith Stein
* Fulton Sheen
* Henri de Lubac
* Dorothy Day
* Henri Daniel-Rops
* Jean Guitton
* Josemaría Escrivá
* Nouvelle théologie
* Karl Rahner
* Yves Congar
* Bernard Lonergan
* Emmanuel Mounier
* Jean Daniélou
* Hans Urs von Balthasar
* Marcel Lefebvre
* Frederick Copleston
* Alfred Delp
* Thomas Merton
* René Girard
* Johann Baptist Metz
* Jean Vanier
* Henri Nouwen

21st century|

* Pope John Paul II
* Alice von Hildebrand
* Carlo Maria Martini
* Pope Benedict XVI
* Gustavo Gutiérrez
* Alasdair MacIntyre
* Walter Kasper
* Raniero Cantalamessa
* Michał Heller
* Peter Kreeft
* Jean-Luc Marion
* Tomáš Halík
* Aidan Nichols
* Scott Hahn

* Catholicism portal

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Italy
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Vatican

People|

* Italian People
* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* RISM
* IdRef

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template