Giovanni Battista Caprara - Legate in France

Legate in France

When the Concordat of 1801 between Pope Pius VII and the French First Republic was concluded, Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, asked for the appointment of a papal legate with residence in Paris. Napoleon's choice fell upon Cardinal Caprara; he may have expected in this way little or no opposition to his plans. Caprara was appointed legate a latere for France on 24 August 1801; he departed at once for his destination and arrived in Paris on 4 October.

During the negotiations which followed concerning the execution of the Concordat of 1801 he displayed a conciliatory spirit in dealing with the ten constitutional bishops who were to be appointed to as many of the newly-established dioceses; in fact, he went contrary to specific instructions from Rome, under persistent pressure exerted by Napoleon Cardinal Caprara officiated at the Solemn restoration of public worship in the cathedral of Notre-Dame on Easter Day (18 April 1802), at which function the First Consul, the high officers of state, and the new ecclesiastical dignitaries assisted. In a letter written 18 August 1803, he protested against the Organic Articles added to the Concordat by the French Government.