With Father Nicholas Diessbach’s death in 1798, Amicizia lost its founder. That worthy priest was never able to achieve his plan to combat the Revolution in ideas. He accomplished relatively little compared to the great work he had planned. The Amicizia associations he had established were only the foundation of a grand edifice. Some of them, like the one in Turin, were threatened by the French invasion and the consequent spread of revolutionary errors. However, the sodalities were prospering in places where those errors had not yet penetrated. Their thriving presence was a promising sign that the work started through Father Diessbach’s many sacrifices would continue.
Father Luigi Virginio, his heir and successor, had been in Paris since 1785. His mission had been to establish an Amicizia that would provide a model for all others. The French Revolution destroyed everything he achieved. Nonetheless, many of his disciples fought bravely in the ranks of the Counter-Revolution. Some also received the palm of martyrdom. Father Virginio never abandoned them. He hid in France, encouraging their resistance and helping faithful priests who went underground. The Amicizia members continued caring for souls. They organized a movement to counter gradually dominating influence of the French Revolution’s barbarism.
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A few months after Father Diessbach’s death, Father Virginio arrived unexpectedly in Vienna. He took over the reins of the entire organization. This was providential. In August 1798, Father Sineo della Torre, who had directed the sodality immediately after Father Diessbach’s death, joined the Society of the Sacred Heart. Now engaged in restoring the Jesuit order, he no longer had time to devote to Amicizia.
Baron Joseph von Penckler lent Father Virginio the same support and cooperation he had given to Father Diessbach. As the administrator of the Minoritenkirchen (a small church), he made Father Virginio its director. The parish housed the chaplaincy of Vienna’s numerous Italian exiles. As large swaths of Italy had belonged to the Holy Roman Empire, that diaspora included emigres to Austria. Italian officials living or visiting Vienna because of their positions thus frequented the Minoritenkirche. Many among the Austrian nobility also frequented the church, as it had become fashionable to attend preaching in Italian.
Many other Amicizia priests ministered in the Minoritenkirchen and chose future sodality members from among their number. Marquis Pio Filippo Ghislieri, a native of Bologna, was beginning his diplomatic career in Vienna. His membership was one of the best achievements of this apostolate. While still very young, he immediately rendered important services to Amicizia.
On August 29, 1799, Pope Pius VI died, and the Sacred College of Cardinals, meeting in Venice, elected Cardinal Chiaramonti to the papal see. He took the name Pius VII.1 Despite Marquis Ghislieri’s youth, the Emperor appointed him as Austria’s Minister to the Holy See. He sent him immediately to Venice to settle many unpleasant conflicts between the Holy See and Austria, which had emerged because of the disorder caused by the French Revolution. The new pontiff’s Secretary of State, Ercole Cardinal Consalvi, did not get along well with Ghislieri on that occasion. However, the Cardinal later praised Ghislieri in his memoirs, paying tribute to his piety and honesty.
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The young Marquis would render Amicizia another outstanding service in Rome, where he accompanied Pius VII.2 1801 the Holy Father appointed Most Rev. Antonio Gabriele Severoli as Nuncio to Austria. In that Nunciature, he distinguished himself for his tenacious resistance to Josephism and later for his opposition to Cardinal Consalvi’s policy. In 1816, having received the cardinal’s hat, Severoli left Austria. In the conclave of 1813, convened to elect Pius VII’s successor, he was not elected Pope only because Austria vetoed his name.
When Marquis Ghislieri learned of the new Nuncio’s appointment to Vienna, he sought out Archbishop Severoli. The Marquis revealed to the Nuncio the existence of Amicizia, named some of its members, and highly recommended Father Virginio. He even proposed that Cardinal Severoli choose Father Virginio as his confessor.
Accordingly, Cardinal Severoli sought out Father Virginio as soon as he arrived in Vienna. While he did not take him as his confessor, he made him one of his most trusted advisers. In his book about the Amicizie,3 Father Candido Bona reproduces some passages from this Nuncio’s memoirs. These excerpts clearly show the influence of Father Diessbach’s successor in the Nunciature. Father Virginio was well aware of the action of Freemasonry in the revolutionary process. Having analyzed the means the Freemasons employed to stir up public opinion in France, Father Virginio rendered Cardinal Severoli an excellent service by warning him against the organization’s maneuvers in Austria. The following excerpt from the Nuncio’s memoirs, quoted by Father Bona, shows how detailed his information was.
“I talked with Father Virginio about ecclesiastical matters. He warned me the Illuminists will be holding a meeting today. He is suspicious because he observed in streets and squares some uniform signs—polished stones—scattered here and there. In Paris, such signs were blank notes cast into the streets or white numbers painted on walls.”
Father Virginio’s friendship with Cardinal Severoli increased his influence over the Italian diaspora. The Cardinal’s influence opened the doors of Princess Rospigliosi’s palace. Her salon was frequented by the emigrant nobility from Lombardy and Tuscany after those territories were occupied by Bonaparte. Father Virginio could see that new fields of apostolate were opening up, especially in Tuscany, and these connections would prove useful.
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After the battle of Marengo in 1800, Napoleon tried to gain the good graces of Catholics. To achieve that goal, Napoleon hinted at the possibility of reestablishing worship in France and the conquered Italian regions. The same political calculations made it appear advisable to hand over to Father Lanteri the direction of the Italian Amicizie, especially since the most important of the sodalities was Milan’s. (At that moment, Piedmont, Lombardy, and Tuscany were all under French rule). All these factors led Father Virginio to become a “missionary” again and leave for Italy.
Before leaving the topic entirely, a note about Cardinal Severoli’s later career may be in order. As Archbishop—and later Cardinal—Severoli distinguished himself for his tenacious resistance to Josephism and, later, for his opposition to some of Cardinal Consalvi’s diplomatic policies.4 In 1816, having received the cardinal’s hat, Severoli left Austria. In the conclave of 1823, convened to elect Pius VII’s successor, he was not elected Pope only because Austria vetoed his name.
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Footnotes
- Napoleon wanted to assert his power by forcing the Church to move its headquarters from Rome to France. When Pope Pius VI died, he was a prisoner of Napoleon, being held in Valence in southeastern France. The conclave to elect his successor occurred at the Benedictine San Giorgio Monastery. From August 1799 until March 1800, the papacy was sede vacante.
- Pope Pius VII ruled in Rome from the beginning of his pontificate until, like his predecessor, Pius VII also became Napoleon’s prisoner. In 1809, Napoleon forced the Pope to go to Savona for three years and then to Fontainebleau Palace, south of Paris. After the collapse of Napoleon’s Empire, Pius VII returned to Rome on May 27, 1814.
- Father Candido Bona; Le Amicizie—Società segrete e rinascita religiosa (1770-1830), Turin: Deputazione Subalpina di Storia Patria, 1962.
- Unfortunately, the policies that caused this disagreement are uncertain. The available sources allude to the disagreement but not to the specific issues that divided Cardinals Severoli and Consalvi.