To Kidnap a Pope by Ambrogio A. Caiani

Author:Ambrogio A. Caiani
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press

Lebzeltern was to go to Savona. His official mission was to settle Habsburg church affairs, but clearly mediation with France was the true purpose of his journey. This was not to be done in writing, but through informal discussions, preliminaries that would serve as the basis for more formal negotiations. Metternich wanted the pope to know that Napoleon was willing to allow him to return to Rome. He would be spiritually independent in the eternal city, but would lose all temporal sovereignty. Pius could request that a few trusted individuals travel to Savona to advise him, but the Sacred College would remain in Paris for the time being.121 Duly briefed, Lebzeltern travelled at great speed to Savona. He arrived on 15 May 1810 and immediately headed to the bishop’s palace, where he was stopped by the troops guarding the entrances. Despite his diplomatic credentials, nobody could be admitted without being cleared by the commander of the ‘papal guard of honour’. At the very moment of his arrival, two Royal Navy frigates hove into view, and the gunners of the citadel, clearly over-excited, started firing their guns at these enemy ships. The British sailors, evidently unperturbed, started playing the tune ‘Go to bed, Tom, rise as early as ever you can’.122 It was a comic and incongruous scene that greeted the Austrian representative.

The commander insisted that, as he had not been informed of Lebzeltern’s mission, he would be present during all conversations with the pope. The chevalier replied that this would be unacceptable: he would be discussing affairs relating to the church in Austrian lands, especially the archdiocese of Vienna. If he was not given access, he would send a diplomatic complaint to the French emperor directly. The commander, angrily, persisted in reminding him that he had no orders to admit him. Lebzeltern had appeared out of the blue, claiming to have government authorisation, but how could the commander know without confirmation from Paris? The commander’s words clearly showed Napoleon’s assurance that the pope was free to see whomever he wished in Savona to be a blatant lie. When Metternich’s agent threatened to return immediately to Paris, the commander, in frustration, threw his bicorne hat on the ground and said: ‘Damn it, do whatever you want, see the pope for all I care.’123

After this stormy interview, the papal maestro di camera introduced Lebzeltern into the pope’s presence. Pius was much moved after months of isolation to have contact with a diplomat without police surveillance. He inquired after the diplomat’s health and thanked the Austrian emperor for taking an interest in his fate. They discussed the deepening crisis at length and the vexations suffered by Pius at Napoleon’s instigation. The pope then expressed how pained he was from both a political and religious perspective that Francis had been forced to wed his favourite daughter to Napoleon. The pope regretted that the valiant Austrian troops had not succeeded in defeating the French at Wagram.124 He believed the current peace was a truce, and blamed Russian weakness for the lamentable situation.

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