Coronation of Napoleon
On this day in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor in the presence of Pope Pius VII. According to tradition, the Pope was supposed to crown the ruler, thereby granting him divine blessing and confirming that he governed the people in God’s name. However, according to legend, Napoleon took the crown from Pope Pius VII’s hands and crowned himself, thus demonstrating that he did not acknowledge the Pope’s authority and that he attributed his power to himself rather than to God.
Excommunication of Napoleon
Only five years after his coronation, the Pope excommunicated Napoleon after he annexed the Papal States into the French Empire in 1809. Angry at the Pope’s decision, Napoleon ordered his arrest and had him taken to France as a prisoner. While in captivity, the Pope refused to cooperate with Napoleon and declined to sign documents that would compromise the sovereignty of the Papal States, thereby becoming a symbol of resistance to French imperialism.
That same year, Napoleon gathered Catholic Church cardinals in Rome and attempted to persuade them to declare Pope Pius VII incapable of performing his duties and to elect someone more subservient to him as pope. However, this effort also failed, and Pope Pius VII remained pope even after Napoleon’s fall in 1814.
Abdication of Napoleon
Although he initially conquered and subjugated much of Europe, Napoleon’s fate changed after his defeat in the Russian campaign of 1812. He lost the illusion of invincibility, and coalitions led primarily by Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Britain began to form across Europe. In 1814, he was defeated and captured in Paris, where he also abdicated.
