Holy See (Italy)
Pope Benedict XV
1854–1922 Pope, 1914–1922
Giacomo della Chiesa, born near Genoa into a noble family, took a law doctorate in 1875 before his father allowed him to study for the priesthood. After service in the Vatican diplomatic corps he became Archbishop of Bologna and, in May 1914, a cardinal. The cardinals elected him pope on 3 September 1914, as the war began, and he took the name Benedict XV. He kept the Holy See neutral and arranged exchanges of prisoners unfit for service. His peace note of 1 August 1917 proposed reciprocal disarmament, arbitration, the evacuation of occupied territory and the renunciation of war indemnities. Germany replied ambiguously, the Allies let the initiative fall, and Woodrow Wilson rejected it. Benedict died on 22 January 1922.