Jefferson Davis and Pio Nono

Donald R. McClarey

Jefferson Davis was always a friend to Catholics.  In his youth as a boy he studied at the Saint Thomas School at the Saint Rose Dominican Priory in Washington County Kentucky.  While there, Davis, the only Protestant student, expressed a desire to convert.  One of the priests there advised the boy to wait until he was older and then decide.  Davis never converted, but his early exposure to Catholicism left him with a life long respect for the Faith.

When the aptly named anti-Catholic movement, the Know-Nothings, arose in the 1840s and 1850s, Davis fought against it, as did his great future adversary Abraham Lincoln.

During the Civil War, Pope Pius wrote to the archbishops of New Orleans and New York, praying that peace would be restored to America.  Davis took this opportunity to write to the Pope:

RICHMOND, September 23, 1863.

VERY VENERABLE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF

The letters which you have written to the clergy of New Orleans and New York have been communicated to me, and I have read with emotion the deep grief therein expressed for the ruin and devastation caused by the war which is now being waged by the United States against the States and people which have selected me as their President, and your orders to your clergy to exhort the people to peace and charity. I am deeply sensible of the Christian charity which has impelled you to this reiterated appeal to the clergy. It is for this reason that I feel it my duty to express personally, and in the name of the Confederate States, our gratitude for such sentiments of Christian good feeling and love, and to assure Your Holiness that the people, threatened even on their own hearths with the most cruel oppression and terrible carnage, is desirous now, as it has always been, to see the end of this impious war; that we have ever addressed prayers to Heaven for that issue which Your Holiness now desires; that we desire none of our enemy’s possessions, but that we fight merely to resist the devastation of our country and the shedding of our best blood, and to force them to let us live in peace under the protection of our own institutions, and under our laws, which not only insure to every one the enjoyment of his temporal rights, but also the free exercise of his religion. I pray Your Holiness to accept, on the part of myself and the people of the Confederate States, our sincere thanks for your efforts in favor of peace. May the Lord preserve the days of Your Holiness, and keep you under His divine protection.

JEFFERSON DAVIS

Pio Nono responded to this letter as follows:

“ILLUSTRIOUS AND HONORABLE PRESIDENT,

Salutation:

We have just received with all suitable welcome the persons sent by you to place in our hands your letter, dated 23d of September last. Not slight was the pleasure we experienced when we learned, from those persons and the letter, with what feelings of joy and gratitude you were animated, illustrious and honorable President, as soon as you were informed of our letters to our venerable brother John, Archbishop of New York, and John, Archbishop of New Orleans, dated the 18th of October of last year, and in which we have with all our strength excited and exhorted those venerable brothers that, in their episcopal piety and solicitude, they should endeavor, with the most ardent zeal, and in our name, to bring about the end of the fatal civil war which has broken out in those countries, in order that the American people may obtain peace and concord, and dwell charitably together. It is particularly agreeable to us to see that you, illustrious and honorable President, and your people, are animated with the same desires of peace and tranquility which we have in our letters inculcated upon our venerable brothers. May it please God at the same time to make the other peoples of America and their rulers, reflecting seriously how terrible is civil war, and what calamities it engenders, listen to the inspirations of a calmer spirit, and adopt resolutely the part of peace. As for us, we shall not cease to offer up the most fervent prayers to God Almighty, that He may pour out upon all the people of America the spirit of peace and charity, and that He will stop the great evils which afflict them. We, at the same time, beseech the God of pity to shed abroad upon you the light of His grace, and attach you to us by a perfect friendship.”

Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, the 3d of December, 1863, of our Pontificate 18.

(Signed) “.Plus IX.”

In his captivity after the war, Davis was remembered by Pius.  The Pope sent the imprisoned Davis his photograph with the text  from Matthew 11:28  ‘Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et ego reficiam vos, dicit Dominus.’ (Come to me all all ye who labor and are heavy burdened and I will give you rest, sayeth the Lord.)

Davis wrote warmly in later life about the consolation that he received from this token that the Pope remembered him.  His family in its hour of need received assistance from Catholics, as his wife Varina recalled:  “No institution of my own Church offered to teach my children. One day three Sisters of Charity came to see me and brought me five gold dollars, all the money they had. They almost forced me to take the money, but I did not. They then offered to take my children to their school in the neighborhood of Savannah, where the air was cool and they could be comfortably cared for during the summer months.”

When Davis died at 81 in New Orleans, Catholic clergy helped officiate at this funeral.  I am sure Davis would have had no objection.

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18 thoughts on “Jefferson Davis and Pio Nono”

  1. From reading the comments, I recall having heard it claimed somewhere that in ancient Sparta political judgments were reached based on which side could scream the loudest.

    Keep up the good work, Mr. McClarey.

  2. Great post, Mr. M!

    It was posts like the one you did on Bedford Forrest that made me take a second look at why three of my grandfathers were on the “wrong side” of history.

    I appreciate your writings. I graduated HS just up the highway from you ( i wrestled against a young man from your town whose sister blew herself up with the weathermen – you know whom I speak of)

    i’m sorry you and Ihad a falling out on your other blog ((and youhad to ban me)) 🙁

  3. Dear Mr. McClarey: I appreciate that you are a Catholic and pro-life advocate. Unfortunately this article makes Catholics and pro-lifers look bad. Now it will be associated with you on Google for any opponent who wants to beat you over the head in any future debate: “Pro-Lifer Admires Racist Confederate.”

  4. Dear Mr. McClarey: I appreciate that you are a Catholic and pro-life advocate. Unfortunately this article makes Catholics and pro-lifers look bad. Now it will be associated with you on Google for any opponent who wants to beat you over the head in any future debate: “Pro-Lifer Admires Racist Confederate.”
    There is an analogy. The Swastika had a history in ancient times as a good luck symbol among societies. However, it was appropriated by the Nazi Party and can never be rehabilitated to any positive use.

  5. Pingback: Family's Ordeal w/Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome - BigPulpit.com

  6. “Jefferson Davis was a racist advocate of slavery and a white supremacist who did not consider blacks to be people;”

    Oh Davis was most certainly a racist and he believed that whites were superior to blacks. He most certainly considered them people as anyone familiar with his biography, and I do not think you would be included in that category, would understand.

    Davis was ever the constitutionalist and his view of the Constitution prior to the Civil War had ample support, including a majority of the Supreme Court. Military force settled the issues of slavery and civil rights for blacks during the Civil War, but the legal issues and questions raised were resolved by Constitutional amendments since the old Constitution did not.

    “Regardless of his cordial relationship with a Pope, you cannot omit or change the history of evil.”

    On my blogs The American Catholic and Almost Chosen People I have endless posts on the Civil War. I am a partisan of the Union. However Davis cannot be regarded simply as a stick evil figure in a historical melodrama. He was a complicated man and he warrants dispassionate historical study.

  7. “It seems that the Pope had no preference and would have been satisfied with the breaking up of the union and perpetuation of slavery instead of what ended up happening. Nowhere does he admonish Davis for his unwillingness to end slavery. So, who cares if Davis had respect for Catholicism? It’s more significant that the Pope condoned slavery by not reading Davis the Riot Act.”

    Ah, yet another devotee of enlisting the present to condemn the past. Your comment is as ridiculous as some future history claiming that a Pope was not against the violent actions of jihadists because he called for peace rather than condemning the jihadists.

  8. “Here is a clue — quit honoring such men.”

    Accurate history is not honoring anyone, it is merely accurate history. Now speaking of accurate history I would appreciate a citation to your statement that Davis hired 1700 men from Texas to invade Kansas.

    I rather suspect that on another blog you are Mark from DC. The link below may explain some of your misaprehensions in regard to your statement about 1700 men from Texas:

    https://freedmenspatrol.wordpress.com/tag/jefferson-davis/

  9. Did you notice what Davis “forgot” to mention? That he had hired 1700 men from Texas to invade Kansas, and kill to spread slavery.

    Here is a clue — quit honoring such men.

    1. “Here is a clue — quit honoring such men.”

      Accurate history is not honoring anyone, it is merely accurate history. Now speaking of accurate history I would appreciate a citation to your statement that Davis hired 1700 men from Texas to invade Kansas.

  10. what nonsense. Utter nonsense. Davis insisted blacks were not even human beings — did you know that? He claimed God “delivered the Negro to us”. DId you know that? Did you know Davis demanded the spread of slavery as a Confederate war ultimatum, in May of 1861? Did you know that when Davis issued the war ultimatums, Kansas whites had already voted 95% against slavery, and fought a four year war against slavery? Did you know who paid the 1700 Texas men to come to Kansas in 1856, under command of US Senator David Rice Atchison, and invade Kansas in one of three killing sprees? Here is a hint, Atchison was Davis “General of Law and Order in Kansas”, and gave a speech bragging he worked for Davis and his goal was to “rid the world of damn abolitionist, kill every one of those damn dogs”. Did you know Davis supported Atchison, and claimed Atchison was only doing what was “constitutionally required”?

    Finally, do you know about Jeff Davis wife’s letter, revealing his cowardice and false claims of heroism?

    Atchison’s speech, transcribed that day,(he was proud of it) is still available at Kansas HIstorical Society.

    Varina’s letter about Davis cowardice and false claims of heroism is available at Library of Congress.

    Davis own book – justifying the spread of slavery AGAINST states rights — is easy to find. Davis repeats there that blacks are not persons, and that Kansas could not keep slavery out, because slaves were property, ( not human beings).

    I suggest you learn some history, and quit honoring men who killed, tortured, enslaved, and of all Southern leaders, pushed actions which led to war, because he kept using violence to spread slavery.

  11. It seems that the Pope had no preference and would have been satisfied with the breaking up of the union and perpetuation of slavery instead of what ended up happening. Nowhere does he admonish Davis for his unwillingness to end slavery. So, who cares if Davis had respect for Catholicism? It’s more significant that the Pope condoned slavery by not reading Davis the Riot Act.

    1. “It seems that the Pope had no preference and would have been satisfied with the breaking up of the union and perpetuation of slavery instead of what ended up happening. Nowhere does he admonish Davis for his unwillingness to end slavery. So, who cares if Davis had respect for Catholicism? It’s more significant that the Pope condoned slavery by not reading Davis the Riot Act.”

      Ah, yet another devotee of enlisting the past to condemn the present. Your comment is as ridiculous as some future history claiming that a Pope was not against the violent actions of jihadists because he called for peace rather than condemning the jihadists.

    2. No, the Pope would not have been satisfied with the perpetuation of slavery. That is you reading into it whatever you wanted. Pope Francis, in a similar way has told us not to focus on the bad the sinner has done or is doing, but to extend mercy to such people. That is all that Pius did. You have to build bridges to people before you can get them to change their sinful ways.

    3. No, the Pope would not have been satisfied with the perpetuation of slavery.

      He should have stated as such to Davis.

  12. Jefferson Davis was a racist advocate of slavery and a white supremacist who did not consider blacks to be people; his support of Catholicism is of no relevance when he dehumanized black people. In his own words: “The Rise and Fall of the Confederate States” 1881, volume 1, pp. 70-71.

    ‘1. That persons of the African race were not, and could not be, acknowledged as “part of the people,” or citizens, under the Constitution of the United States;

    2. That Congress had no right to exclude citizens of the South from taking their negro servants; as any other property, into any part of the common territory, and that they were entitled to claim its protection therein;
    3. Finally, as a consequence of the principle just above stated, that the Missouri Compromise of 1820, insofar as it prohibited the existence of African servitude north of a designated line, was unconstitutional and void. (It will be remembered that it had already been declared “inoperative and void” by the Kansas-Nebraska bill of 1854.)

    Regardless of his cordial relationship with a Pope, you cannot omit or change the history of evil.

    1. “Jefferson Davis was a racist advocate of slavery and a white supremacist who did not consider blacks to be people;”

      Oh Davis was most certainly a racist and he believed that whites were superior to blacks. He most certainly considered them people as anyone familiar with his biography, and I do not think you would be included in that category, would understand.

      Davis was ever the constitutionalist and his view of the Constitution prior to the Civil War had ample support, including a majority of the Supreme Court. Military force settled the issues of slavery and civil rights for blacks during the Civil War, but the legal issues and questions raised were resolved by Constitutional amendments since the old Constitution did not.

      “Regardless of his cordial relationship with a Pope, you cannot omit or change the history of evil.”

      On my blogs The American Catholic and Almost Chosen People I have endless posts on the Civil War. I am a partisan of the Union. However Davis cannot be regarded simply as a stick evil figure in a historical melodrama. He was a complicated man and he warrants dispassionate historical study.

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