Pope Pius IX convoked the First Vatican Council on June 29, 1868. It opened the following year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1869. During the intervening eighteen months, intellectuals, journalists, and the idly curious eagerly anticipated the upcoming Council—the first since the Council of Trent adjourned in 1563. This anticipation was not limited to Catholics or even those of religious inclinations (editor’s note).
The First Vatican Council would deal with several critical issues. Its decisions would influence the social and political lives of all peoples. Therefore, Catholic and non-Catholic circles across Europe, and even in the Americas, were passionate, taking sides in the struggle between Ultramontanism and religious liberalism. Politicians, the press, universities and all of France spoke out and gave their opinions on infallibility and the organization of the Church. People discussed theological questions everywhere. Everyone had an opinion (whether for or against) about Louis Veuillot in his ongoing public debate with Bishop Felix Dupanloup. All appeared willing to attack or defend Dom Guéranger. In short, on the eve of the Council, all public opinion was riveted to see what would come of it.
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In Paris, the salons, then in their heyday, were divided into infallibilists and anti-infallibilists. The dispute became the obligatory topic of conversation. The most varied theological or historical theses on the subject were endlessly debated. Worldly circles discussed Pope Liberius (352-366) and Pope Honorius I (625-638). Incredibly, ladies were the most passionate in these doctrinal debates. Viscount Armand de Malun comments in his memoirs on the lack of moderation of the anti-infallibilist ladies: “Entering the most devout salons, until then most Catholic, we thought we had gone into the wrong door or floor. There was applause and praise for every prelate who spoke out against infallibility. There was no point in telling this female conclave that their staunch opposition was unwise because infallibility would surely be proclaimed. They agreed but continued to argue against the pope.”
As the Council’s opening date approached, the ideological commotion infecting the Parisian solons spread to Rome. These new-fangled worldly battles were fought in the houses hosting the Council Fathers. Accustomed to the verbal give and take, the French dominated with their brilliant intelligence and polished conversation skills. People classified Roman palaces according to the opinion of the aristocracy’s great ladies who presided over their respective salons. They were soon dubbed the “conciliar mothers.” A merciless Veuillot called them “conciliar godmothers.”
Rome looked even more picturesque than usual. Bishops from all over the world attended the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council. Poor prelates in Rome who came at the expense of the Supreme Pontiff mingled on the streets together with Austro-Hungarian ecclesiastical princes and their splendid retinues. Some presented themselves with all the refinements of civilization, others with traces of regional barbarism.
Most Rev. Joseph Georg Strossmayer, Bishop of Diakovar and Vicar Apostolic of Serbia, stood out in this brilliant and picturesque ensemble. He was a leading opponent of infallibility. A great orator, he was considered one of the best Latinists of the Council. However, he pretended not to understand well the misspoken Latin of some infallibilist bishops.
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Bishop Strossmayer was a typical representative of the Slav aristocracy. Very wealthy, he founded a museum in Diakovar consisting only of paintings he owned. He built a cathedral with the proceeds from selling part of his forests. He was a friend of the Russian philosopher [Sergey Mikhaylovich] Soloviev. He was so influential in the Slavic world that people cheered him as he passed through the streets of Diakovar. British Prime Minister William Gladstone (a “low church” Anglican) and Prince Michael of Serbia treated him as a potentate.
Louis Veuillot was another great attraction in Rome. There, he rented a house and set up an active nucleus of Ultramontanism with the help of his sister, Elisa. Everyone wanted to see the famous defender of the Holy See. During the Council, his residence was pointed out as a rival to Villa Grazioli, which Duke Grazioli had lent to Bishop Dupanloup.
The Council was inaugurated in St. Peter’s Basilica on December 8, 1869. The pope presided over the opening ceremony, which was attended by seven hundred Council Fathers. Twenty thousand pilgrims from all over the world witnessed the liturgy.
The initial meetings made it clear that the episcopate was divided into two major parties: an open infallibilist majority and an anti-infallibilist minority. The British Henry Cardinal Manning was the undisputed leader of the first group. He vowed to dedicate himself unconditionally to promulgating the dogma of infallibility. Almost all the bishops of Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Latin America belonged to this majority. Together, they constituted the great Ultramontane force. Among their spokesmen were Victor-Auguste-Isidore Dechamps, Archbishop of Mechelen, and Louis-Édouard-François-Desiré Pie, Bishop of Poitiers. The minority was composed mainly of German bishops, almost the entire Austro-Hungarian episcopate, and about a third of the French bishops. In addition to Bishop Dupanloup, among their leaders were Friedrich Cardinal Schwarzenberg of Prague, Bishop Karl Josef von Hefelé of Rottenburg, and Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler of Mainz.
Naturally, both groups contained all shades of opinion. There was no lack of bishops within the majority who were eager to form a third force that would promote a fictitious “unity” of the episcopate. Accordingly, they were willing to make all sorts of concessions and retreats. This attempt never achieved any appreciable result, thanks mainly to Cardinal Manning’s efforts. The minority ranged from openly anti-infallibilist bishops such as Most Rev. Hefelé to Bishop Strossmayer, who claimed that he opposed the dogma because it would hinder the conversion of the mostly Russian Orthodox Slavs.
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Pius IX’s rules for the Council prevented the plenary session from hindering the study and solution of those problems for which he had summoned the Council Fathers. Although written by Bishop Hefelé, a great historian of the Councils who openly sided with the minority, these rules divided the episcopate. The majority welcomed them. The minority, always suspicious, took the rules as a sign that the Holy Father wanted to direct the work dictatorially. They, therefore, opposed them relentlessly. Finally, after some changes, the rules were approved. Then, the Fathers began to elect various deputations to prepare the subjects for discussion. In these elections, the two groups clashed. Despite their contentiousness, these debates dispelled all doubts. The Nineteenth Ecumenical Council would certainly proclaim papal infallibility.