Early Years
Born in Carpineto Romano, near Rome, Giuseppe was one of the seven sons of Count Dominico Ludovico Pecci and his wife Anna Prosperi Buzi, Countess Pecci. From 1807 to 1818 he lived at home with his family, in which religion counted as the highest grace on earth, as through her, salvation can be earned for all eternity. Together with his younger brother Vincenzo, he studied in the Jesuit College in Viterbo from 1818 until 1824. In 1824, Count Pecci called him and Vincenzo home to Rome, where their mother was dying; the father wanted his children to be with him after the loss of his wife, and so they remained in Rome, attending the Collegium Romanum, a college belonging to the Society of Jesus. In 1828, the question of occupational choice arose for the two brothers; Giuseppe Pecci professed the Jesuit order, while Vincenzo decided in favour of saecular, or diocesan, clergy.
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