From the Archives – Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922)

A little more than a century ago, Saint Mary Church, along with Catholic churches around the world, mourned the passing of Pope Benedict XV. He died of pneumonia on January 22, 1922. Our church draped a black mourning crepe over the front doors, and a Solemn High Requiem Mass was offered here for the repose of his soul. In 1922, many people did not have radios; their main source of information was the newspaper. When the parish was collecting information for its 1995 bicentennial, several older parishioners still remembered the death of Benedict XV. They were young children at the time, but vividly recalled hearing newsboys on the streets of Alexandria calling out “The Pope is dead!” as they sold an extra edition of the local paper, which went to press as soon as staff writers received telegraph messages informing them of the pontiff’s death.

Benedict XV was a Sardinian and a lawyer before being ordained a priest in 1878. He spent his earlier years in the Vatican diplomatic service and served as the Archbishop of Bologna. After the death of Pope Pius XI, he was elected to the papacy in September 1914, shortly after World War I began. Consequently known as the “War Pope,” he worked tirelessly for peace, calling the war “the suicide of civilization in Europe.” In later years, Pope Benedict XVI called him “a courageous prophet of peace…working tirelessly for reconciliation and harmony between peoples.” Unfortunately, Benedict XV’s efforts failed to quickly end the fighting. He also is known for canonizing Saint Joan of Arc and helping develop the Code of Canon Law.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series. An archive of the features is located here.