Napoleon signs Concordat with Pope Pius VII
- When
- 1801–1802
- Where
- Paris
- Episodes
- 2
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII in Paris. It aimed to reconcile the Catholic population with the regime, recognizing Catholicism as the majority religion while guaranteeing religious freedom.
Episodes
- Signing of the Concordat
First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII signed the Concordat in Paris, establishing an agreement between the French Republic and the Holy See.
- Publication and Organic Articles
The Concordat was published in April 1802, accompanied by the Organic Articles which increased state control over the French Church.
Background and detail
Background. Following the death of Pope Pius VI in 1799, the conclave elected Barnaba Chiaramonti as Pope Pius VII in Venice. Cardinal Consalvi negotiated the agreement with Napoleon, who had become First Consul after the Coup of 18 Brumaire. The Concordat sought national reconciliation between revolutionaries and Catholics, establishing a framework for Church-State relations.
Terms and Publication. The Concordat recognized Catholicism as the majority religion of France and guaranteed religious freedom for Catholics. Napoleon presented the agreement in April 1802, alongside the Organic Articles, which increased state control over the French Church. The agreement was signed in Paris, though sources vary on the exact signing date.
People involved
- Napoleon Bonaparte · First Consul
- Pope Pius VII · Head of the Catholic Church
- Cardinal Consalvi · Negotiator
Sources
- Concordat of 1801 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-29
- Napoleon Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
- Pope Pius VII Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-20
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.