Benedict XV: A Pope in the World of the ‘Useless Slaughter’ (1914-1918)

On August 1, 1917 - three years after the outbreak of WW1 - pope Benedict XV signed his famous peace note, urging the governments of the belligerent Powers to seek a diplomatic solution to their disputes and stop the useless massacre. In order to commemorate the event and to define the place of this forgotten pope in twentieth-century history, on November 3-5, 2016, the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII (Fscire) hosted an international conference, entitled Benedict XV in the world of the useless massacre, in which more than a hundred historians from all over the world participated. The aim of the initiative, supported by the Historical and Scientific Committee for Italy’s National Anniversaries, is to shed light on the key issues of this pontificate, from Giacomo Della Chiesa’s education in the theological seminary in Genua to his heritage and memory all along the twentieth century. The volume resulting from this conference provides a comprehensive and systematic reference work about a key figure in Church history that has all too often been neglected.