I have a different opinion. My thoughts are shaped by the interpretation of the prophecies based on scriptural and historical evidence. I will try to summarise the events leading to the deadly wound.
Background: The French Revolution
The French Revolution began in 1789 and sought dismantle the absolute power of the monarchy and the church, leading to widespread social, political, and cultural upheavals. Early on, revolutionary forces viewed the Catholic Church as a pillar of the old regime (Ancien Régime), and thus enacted measures against it, such as the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790), which aimed to bring the Church under state control.
Tensions with the Papacy
Pope Pius VI was an adamant critic of these revolutionary policies, particularly the invasion of the Papal States and the secularization of lands. Relations between revolutionary France and the Papal States deteriorated as France extended its revolutionary wars across Europe, seeing the Papal States as a potential ally of the counter-revolutionary forces.
The Invasion of the Papal States
In 1796,
Napoleon Bonaparte, then a rising military leader, waged a successful campaign in Northern Italy against the Austrians, who were allied with the Pope. The French victories expanded their influence in Italy, but tensions remained high. When a pro-French sympathizer, the French envoy to the Papal States, was killed in a Roman riot in December 1797, it served as a pretext for further French intervention.
Capture of Pope Pius VI
On February 10, 1798, in response to this strife and the threat posed by anti-revolutionary forces, the French forces, led by
General Louis-Alexandre Berthier, entered Rome. They declared the establishment of the Roman Republic, thus ending the Papal government's political control. General Berthier, executing orders from the Directory (the French government at the time), took Pope Pius VI prisoner on February 20, 1798.
Exile and Death of the Pope
Pius VI was initially taken to Siena, and later moved to the fortress of Valence in France, where he died on August 29, 1799. During his captivity, the Pope maintained a stoic resistance to French demands, and his death marked the first time in centuries that the Papal throne was vacant due to the interference of a European power.
Shift in Power in Rome
Pope Pius VI's capture and death were indicative of the significant erosion of Papal political power in Europe, a symbolic deathly blow to the temporal authority of the Papacy. The establishment of the Roman Republic echoed a broader revolutionary pattern of secularization and republicanism.
Despite these setbacks, the Church's spiritual authority persisted (you can see the
power transition here). Following Napoleon's eventual downfall and the
Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Papal States were restored, and the Church regained temporal control over these territories. Nonetheless, the power dynamics had shifted significantly, laying the foundations for future conflicts over the role of the Church in European politics, eventually leading to the unification of Italy and the later establishment of the Vatican City (
Holy See) as an independent state in 1929.
You can find more resources about the
deadly wound here.
