Pope-In-Exile Locations

King of the Uzbeks

King of the Uzbeks

So lets imagine that during Italian unification things get a bit bloodier and crazier and the Pope is forced to Flee Rome.

What happens now? Where do they set up shop?
 
Tjakari

Tjakari

Some dark place beneath Blachernae where the Sun doesn't shine and the howling of Turks can be heard from across the bay.
 

wietze

andorra? small, so the political benefits of having the pope in the country would not go to a big country
 
St. Just

St. Just

Well, Italian unification was supported by Nappy and opposed by Austria; either unification is of a different sort without French support (Nappy wasn't going to tolerate anti-Papal actions) or events get out of control.

I'd guess Austria or Spain.
 

Nick Griffalco

Banned
Maybe the Pope moves around so no one can claim the Papacy, plus, that way you'd get a truly Roamin Catholic Church (insert rim shot here)
 

Sian

wietze said:
andorra? small, so the political benefits of having the pope in the country would not go to a big country
Click to expand...

Given that the traditional ruler of Andorra is the French King (nowadays, head-of-state, the president) and the Bishop of d'Urgell (in Catalonia).

But the important part is the French in this debate, as the Pope would then de facto live under the French King, if they would have been a problem in Avignon, it would still be a problem in Andorra
 
packmanwiscy

packmanwiscy

I think he would go back to Avignon. If not then probably to Spain. Or he could go on a world tour or something spreading Christianity until it was safe.
 

Iserlohn

I just remembered something: Bismarck considered allowing the Pope exile in the city of Fulda, located in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau. So that's another option, though if German-Italian ties are tight, then it's probably unlikely, since it'd sully the two countries' relationship.
 

jlk7e

Pius IX certainly would not have gone to France (which in 1870 is in the middle of the Franco-Prussian War, anyway). I'd guess he heads off to Austria somewhere - a court in exile in Innsbruck or Trent or Laibach or somewhere like that. Spain in 1870 is pretty unstable.
 

Dr. No

What do you think about the 1983: Doomsday scenario?

Rome as most cities in the West and East gets its instant sunshine and the future Vatican would be established anywhere in Latin America where most Catholics in the world are.
 

Just a Rube

For all those saying "Avignon," remember that the Pope lost it during the Revolution, so he could only return if the French gave it back. Given the unfortunate resonances the Avignon Papacy had historically, and that this would make him a French puppet, that seems unlikely.

But wherever he ends up, a later pope probably signs a treaty with Italy to be let back into Rome, only without a country.
 

wilcoxchar

France and Spain are out as both countries were having an anticlerical streak during the 19th century and Spain was pretty unstable throughout it. Portugal or Austria might accept the Pope. Trent sounds like a good location for an exiled Papacy.
 
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