The sieges upon the Catholic Church continues; in fact as you the reader have seen, they have not let up since the early days of the Church. The siege reached its climax at the end of this century with the French Revolution. The attack on the Church at the end of century saw the rise of Free Thinkers, those who abandoned the religious truths and moral dictates of the Christian Revelation, and accepting no Dogmatic teaching on the grounds of authority, based on their beliefs on the unfettered findings of reason alone. It was these people who were in the thick of things during the French Revolution, as well as the Masons, whose aim it has always been to destroy the Catholic Church. This century saw the rise of the Enlightenment Period, the Age of Reason. This of course was another contributing factor in the Revolt. This century gave birth to another branch of Masonry, the Freemasons. I have traced the “Masons” back to the fifteenth century; but this group, originating in England was soon to become the enemy of all Catholics, the Freemasons. Theirs was, and still is, to De-Catholicize the world by destroying the family unit. They have been most successful; it was they who have said that Marriage is a simple contract dissoluble by either partner at any given time; hence, the reason for the alarming divorce rate; children living in homes with step-parents, the decline of family values, the moral decay of our society.

1701
The War of Spanish Succession begins.

The City of Detroit, Michigan was founded by French Catholics. St. Ann’s Church was erected.

Death of King William III (Orange) of England.

1702
Anne is crowned Queen of England. She was the younger daughter of James II and the last Monarch of the House of Stuart. She married Prince George of Denmark.

Queen Anne restores John Churchill to his position at the English Court.

1703
English Commander John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough, reduced the strongholds of France in the Netherlands.

1704
Father Jean Croiset published The Devotion to the Sacred Heart.

1705
Death of Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Joseph I.

1706
Bishop Michelangelo Dei Conti was elevated to the College of Cardinals.

John V becomes King of Portugal. He was the son of Pedro II.

1707
The Act of Union joined England, Wales, and Scotland under one Kingdom, Great Britain.

1708
Pope Clement XI declared that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an obligatory Feast throughout Christendom. That is, it became a Holy Day of Obligation.

Pope Clement XI condemns the Jansenist writing Reflexions Morales of Pasquier Quesnal.

1709
Emperor Joseph I invades the Papal States, conquers Naples, and threatens Rome. The Pope had to accept the new Emperor’s harsh terms, including the abandonment of Philip V and the recognition of Archduke Charles, as King of Spain.

1710
Death of Bishop Espirit Fletcher. He was a member of the Academy, and together with Bourdaloue, Bossuet, Fenelon, and Mascaron, was one of the greatest Sacred Orators on his century.

Sir Christopher Wren, the English Architect, completed the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The Cathedral had been destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. He started the project in 1667.

1711
Charles VI become Holy Roman Emperor. He was a Hapsburg Duke; he succeeded his brother Joseph I.

1712
Emperor Charles VI becomes King of Hungary as Charles III.

1713
Birth of Blessed Padre Junipero Serra.

Papal Constitution condemns Jansenistic writings.

Free Thinkers sect begins. The phenomenon of Free Thought has existed, in specific form, long before it could express itself in propagandist writings, or find any generic name except those of Atheism or infidelity. The Free-Thinker holds such principles, whether of truth or of action, as he is persuaded that he can prove; and he gives assent to no others. He is a Rationalist; but since the persuasion of having proved, or of being able to prove, even the doctrines of natural religion by reason alone varies indefinitely with the individual, it is difficult, except on the most general lines, to class free-thinkers together.

Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI decrees by Pragmatic Sanction, that if were to die without leaving a male heir, his eldest daughter, would inherit the Hapsburg dominions.

St. Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort founds the Company of Mary.

1714
The War of Spanish Succession ends.

Death of Queen Anne of England. She was succeeded by her cousin, the Elector of Hanover, George I. He was the first King from the House of Hanover.

1715
Death of King Louis XIV of France.

Louis XV ascends to the French Throne.

The fighting between Catholics and Protestants appeared to end in a drawn battle.

Birth of St. Mary Frances Gallo.

1716
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, the second wife of King Louis XIV, publishes her work on Christian and Spiritual Discourses.

Death of St. Louis Marie De Montfort. He was only forty-three years old. He body is incorrupt; he dedicated himself as the Slave of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We can become members of the Confraternity of St. Louis De Montort by Total Consecration of ourselves to the blessed Virgin. It takes about one month of prayers, readings, and song; doing all things with Mary, through Mary, in Mary, and for Mary. By this means, we will live more perfect lives and act with, through, in and for Christ.

1717
The Grand Lodge of the Freemasons are founded in England.

Death of Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte, the second wife of King Louis XIV. She had embraced Quietism for a time but died professing absolute belief in the Roman Catholic Church.

Birth of Giovanni Angelo Braschi. He is the future Pope Pius VI.

Birth of Maria Theresa. She is the eldest daughter of Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI. She and her husband will have sixteen children, including future Emperors Joseph II, Leoplod II, and France’s future Queen, Marie Antoinette.

1718
Pope Clement XI excommunicated the Appellants of the Jansenist heresy without their taking any notice.

1719
Death of Jansenist Pasquier Quesnal.

1720
Pope Clement XI names: St. Anselem, Doctor of the Church.

St. Paul of the Cross spoke to the local bishop and asked if he could be allowed to live as a hermit.

1721
Innocent XIII becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Michelangelo Dei Conti. He was a descendant from the family of Pope Innocent III.

St. Paul of the Cross went to Rome to get his Rule approved by the Vatican, but was unable to get approval.

1722
Pope Innocent XIII names St. Isidore of Seveille, Doctor of the Church.

1723
Death of Philip II of Orleans.

Father Lorenzo Cozza becomes the Chapter General of the Franciscan Order.

Death of Increase Mather.

1724
Benedict XIII becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Pietro Francesco Orsini. His family produced Popes: Celestine III, and Nicholas III.

Reverend Sebastian Rale suffers Martyrdom in Main by English colonists.

1725
Pope Benedict XIII celebrates the Holy Year Jubilee.

St. Paul of the Cross founds the Passionist Fathers.

Lateran Synod. Pope Benedict XIII called for the unconditional submission to Unigenitus.

1726
Charles Albert succeeded his father, Maximilian II Emanuel as Elector of Baveria.

1727
The Ursalines become the first Nuns in the United States. They arrived in New Orleans.

1728
Death of Cotton Mather. He was the son of Increase Mather. Together he and his father headed the Congregationalist church in Massachusetts. It was they who were instrumental in the Salem witch trials of the 1690’s. Cotton mather is responsible for putting to death 19 people and crushing to death a man who refused to plead the charge of witchcraft.

1729
Pope Benedict XIII names St. Peter Chrysologus, Doctor of the Church.

Juan Soto becomes the Chapter General of Franciscan Order in Milan.

1730
Clement XII becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Lorenzo Corsini.

Blessed Junipero Serra enters the Franciscan Religious Order.

1731
The Clementine Instruction. The Pontiff regulates the governing of the Forty Hours Devotion.

1732
St Alphonsus Ligouri founds the Redemptorist Order.

Pope Clement XII founds a College for Uniat Marionites in Lebanon.

1733
The First Roman Catholic Church was built in Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Father Joseph Greaton, S.J..

1734
The statute of the Franciscan Order were collected, rearranged, and published.

St. Paul of the Cross was ordained to the priesthood.

1735
Pope Clement XII renews Pope Clement XI’s prohibition of Chinese Rites, and starts a fresh inquiry into the whole issue.

1736
Pope Clement XII sent J. S. Assemani, Orientalist and Custodian of the Vatican Library, to preside as Papal Legate over the Synod of Mount Lebanon, which effected a complete change in Marionite Liturgical and Canonical life.

1737
Pope Clement XII Canonized St. Vincent De Paul, an rigid opponent of Jansenism.

1738
Blessed Junipero Serra is ordained a priest.

Pope Clement XII condemns Freemasonry in the Papal Constitution In Eminenti. The Pontiff thrashed their naturalistic bias, the demand for secret oaths, and the threat to Church and State; especially their teaching on the Marriage Law.

1740
Benedict XIV becomes Pope.

Pope Benedict XIV writes his first Papal Encyclical, Ubi Primun. This was addressed to all Bishops.

Death of Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI.

Maria Theresa becomes Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.

Frederick II the Great becomes King of Prussia.

1740-1748 The War of the Austrian Succession. This conflict was caused by the rival claims for the hereditary dominions of the Hapsburg family.

1741
Pope Benedict wrote his second and third Papal Encyclicals, Matrimonii and Con Quanta Consolatione. This Encyclical was committed to exhorting obiedience to the Constitution, Unigenitus. The Pontiff published two more Encyclicals this year, Quanta Cura, forbidding traffic in alms under pain of censure, absolution from which is reserved to the Sovereign Pontiff; and Satis Vobis, declaring that all marriages were to be performed in public.

Charles Albert becomes King of Bohemia.

1742
Pope Benedict XIV publishes his Papal Encyclical, Certiores Effecti, on frequent Communion.

Charles Albert of Baveria becomes Holy Roman Emperor as Charles VII.

1743
Pope Benedict XIV publishes his Papal Encyclical, Quemadmodum Preces, on Liturgical Prayer.

1744
Pope Benedict XIV publishes three Papal Encyclicals, In Suprema, informing priests that they are not obliged to administer Holy Communion to all; Inter Omnigenas, addressed to the Serbian Episcopate, forbidding marriage by Moslem rites and forbidding divorce. The Third Encyclical, Cum Semper, enforced Holy Mass on Feast days to be celebrated for the Parishioners.

1745
Pope Benedict XIV published four Papal Encyclicals, Cum Multorum, on Fasting; Libentissme Quidem, also on Fasting; Vix Pervemit, on usury; and Ab Eo Tempore, on the forbiddence of trading on Sundays.

The Shrine of Sainte Anne-de-Micmacs founded in Quebec.

Francis I, through the influence of his wife, Maria Theresa, becomes Holy Roman Emperor. He married Maria Theresa in 1736.

1746
The Library of the Ottobuoni family was added to the Vatican Library; containing 3,862 manuscripts.

Pope Benedict XIV publishes his Papal Encyclical, Accepimus, on Vestments.

1747
Birth of Leopold II. He was the son of Francis I and Maria Theresa. He will become the father of the Last Holy Roman Emperor.

1748
Pope Benedict XIV published two Papal Encyclicals, Inter Caetera, on Profane Festivals; and Magnae Nobis, on mixed marriages.

1749
Pope Benedict XIV published two Papal Encyclicals, Apostolica Constituto, on Constituition Urgenitus; and Annus Qui Hunc, on Jubilee Year.

1750
Pope Benedict XIV celebrates the Holy Year Jubilee.

Pedro Joannetio of Molina becomes the only Discalced Franciscan to be Chapter General of the Order.

Pope Benedict XIV publishes his Papal Encyclical, Benedictus Deus, on the Jubilee Year.

1751
Pope Benedict XIV publishes four Papal Encyclicals, Celebrationem Magni, on the Jubilee Year; Elapso Proximo Anno, on the Holy Inquisition; Magno Cum, on the abuses in private Oratories; and A Quo Primum, on the prohibition to Jews living in the same localities as Christians.

Pope Benedict XIV condemns Freemasonry.

1753
St. Joseph of Copertino is Beatified by Pope Benedict XIV.

1754
Pope Benedict XIV names: Pope St. Leo I the Great, Doctor of the Church.

Christian Wulff introduces the Protestant doctrine of theological rationalism in Germany.

Pope Benedict XIV published two Papal Encyclicals, Cum Religiosi Aquae, on teaching Catechism; and Quod Provinciale, on Christians not taking Moslem names.

1754-1763
The French and Indian War.

1755
The British expelled French Catholic Acadians from Canada.

Pope Benedict XIV publishes his Papal Encyclical, Allatea Sunt Quam Ex Sublimi.

1756
Pope Benedict XIV publishes his Papal Encyclical, Ex Omnibus, to the French Episcopate on Unigentitus.

The Seven Years War begins.

1756-1763
The Seven Years War.

1757
Pope Benedict XIV writes his last Papal Encyclical, Quam Grave, addressed to all, concerning priests not properly ordained.

1758
Clement XIII becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Carlo Della Torre Rezzonico. His first Papal Encyclical, Venimus In Altitudinem, was addressed to all, on Jubilee Proclaimed. Two days later, he published his second Encyclical, A Quo Die Nobis, on Charity necessary among Christians.

1759
Pope Clement XIII publishes three Papal Encyclicals, Pastoralis Officii, on the duties of priests; Cum Primum, on the observation of Canonical Sanctions; and Appetente Sacro, on the merits of fasting.

Pombal, the all-powerful ruler of Portugal, on the charges of illegal trading, inciting revolts in Paraguay, and complicity in a plot to murder the King, stood for state absolutism and a hatred for the Jesuit Order, sequestered its assets in Portugal and her colonies, and deported its members to the Papal States. The Pope protested this move in vain; his Nuncio was expelled and diplomatic relations were ruptured for the next ten years.

1760
George III becomes King of England, now referred to as Great Britain.

1761
Pope Clement XIII publishes his Papal Encyclical, In Dominico, on Uniformity of instruction in the Catholic Faith.

1762
The Sisters of Providence were founded in France.

1763
The politico-ecclesiastical system of Febronianis was outlined in a book written by Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, auxiliary Bishop of Trier, under the pseudonym Justinus Febronius.

The French and Indian War ends.

The Seven Years War ends. Great Britain emerged as most powerful on the sea.

1764
Pope Clement XIII formally condemns Febronism. This was the German counter part of Gallicanism. They confined the Pope’s authority to spiritual matters, professed a bogus interpretation of the Keys to the Kingdom and submitted that an Ecumenical Council was superior to the Pope himself. [See Isaia 22:22].

The city of St Louis, Missouri is founded as a French trading post by Pierre Laclade Ligue.

On December 1 of this year the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, were abolished in France by Royal Decree.

1765
Pope Clement XIII publishes the Papal Bull, Apostolicum Pascendi, reaffirming support for the Jesuits and applauding their achievements.

The Pontiff also published two Papal Encyclicals, Ubi Primum Accepimus, on Josephism, and Quanta Auxilii, on Constitution Unigenitus.

1766
Pope Clement XIII published two Papal Encyclicals, Quam Graviter, to the Clergy of Paris, and Christianae Reipublicae, to the Episcopate of Austria.

1767
St. Joseph of Copertino is Canonized a Saint.

The Jesuits are expelled from Spain in February. Naples and Silcily followed suit and expelled the Jesuit in November of this year.

1768
Pope Clement XIII wrote his last Papal Encyclical, Accedamus Cum, on the Jubilee.

Parma expelled the Jesuits in February of this year.

1769
Clement XIV becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli. The new Pontiff published two Papal Encyclicals, Inscrtabili Divini, on Jubilee; and Cum Summi, a Program for the Pope’s reign.

The Mission at San Diego, California was founded by Padre Junipero Serra and the Franciscans. This the first of twenty-one Missions in California.

At the age of 13, Mozart composed the "Dominicus Mass" for Abbot Hagenauer.

The Passionist Order, and the Rule that St. Paul of the Cross wrote was finally approved in 1769.

1770
San Carlos Borromeo Mission founded in California.

Reverend Pierre Gibault founded the first Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri.

1771
Franciscans found Missions at San Luis Obispo and San Gabriel.

Pope Clement XIV publishes his Papal Encyclical, Magna Atque, on Jubilee.

The Cathedral Notre Dame de Bon Secours was built in Montreal, Canada.

1772
The first partition of Poland by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Hungary acquired Galicia.

1773
Pope Clement XIV wrote his Papal Encyclical, Dominus Ac Redemptor Noster, dissolving the Jesuit Order.

1774
Pope Clement XIV wrote his last Papal Encyclical, Salutis Nostrae, on Jubilee.

Louis XVI becomes King of France.

1775
Pope Clement XIV celebrates the Holy Year Jubilee.

Pius VI becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Braschi. The new Pontiff wrote his first two Papal Encyclicals in this year, Inscurtabile Divinae, on choice of the clergy and respect for the House of God; and Summa Dei,on Jubilee. He was not the writer the last two Pope were; his next Encyclical will come sixteen years later.

Death of St. Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists.

1776
Padre Juniper Serra and the Franciscans found the Mission in San Francisco; the same year the city was founded.

On July 4, the thirteen Colonies, declared its independence from England and became known as the United States of America.

1777
The Franciscans found the Mission at Santa Clara.

The Presentation Nuns are founded in Ireland.

1778
Queen Marie Antoinette of France tried to bring French mediation between Austria and Prussia. Austria laid claim to the Throne of Baveria. This caused the Queen’s unpopularity to reach its climax.

Birth of Madame Royale. She was the first born child of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.

1780
Catherine II of Russia set up a Novitiate for the Jesuits.

Death of Maria Theresa, Archduchess and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.

Emperor Joseph II becomes sole ruler of Hungary and Bohemia.

1781
Padre Junipero Serra founds his last Mission, San Buenaventura.

1782
Luigi Barnaba Chiaramonte is consecrated Bishop of Tivoli.

1783
Father Thomas Hassett founds the first free school in America, in the state of Florida.

1783-1784
Pope Pius VI gives his approval for the Jesuit Order to continue its work in Russia.

1784
Death of Blessed Padre Junipero Serra.

Birth of Frances Allen, the first New England born woman to become a Nun.

1785
Birth of Louis XVII of France.

1786
The Franciscans founded the Mission at Santa Barbara.

Synod of Pistoia. The Synod was presided over by the heretic Bishop, Scipio Ricci, who adopted four Gallican Articles of 1682 and exempted Bishops from the Pope’s authority.

Pope Pius VI condemns the heretic Bishop, Scipio Ricci, who was also involved with Febronism.

1787
The Franciscans found their Mission, La Purisima Concepcion.

The Methodist Protestant church formed. They originally began in 1739 in the Anglican church by John Wesely; they subsequently gave rise to numerous separated denominations. They have no formal Creed. They consider religion primarily as practical, not Dogmatic. Their faith is based on the 25 Articles of John Wesely, who adapted them from the 39 Articles of faith from the Anglican church; and the first 53 of Wesley’s published sermons and his Notes on the New Testament.

1788
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were suppressed.

1789-1799
The French Revolution. Numerous Catholic Churches were desecrated or destroyed! Priests were killed in the uprising! Catholic Churches were converted into Free Thinkers meeting places. The began an era of social upheaval, bloodshed, and anti-Clericalism. The movement of thought of which Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot, each his own fashion, had been protagonists, an impatience provoked by the abuses incident to a too centralized Monarchy, and the yearning for equality which was deeply agitating the French people, all prepared the explosion of the French Revolution. One of the themes of the revolt is what the Freemasons profess, that is the ascendancy of State over the Church.

1789
Father John Carrol of Baltimore was chosen as the First American Bishop.

The Federal Constitution of the United States is adopted, containing guarantee of Religious Freedom.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man was issued in France.

The first Catholic College was founded in the United States, Georgetown University, in Washington D. C..

1790
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was issued in France. This reorganized the French Church and made the Clergy salaried officials. The Pope was cautious not to take action against this, because the Revolution was a more ominous chapter, but soon afterwards an oath of loyalty to the regime was demanded of them.

Death of Emperor Joseph II. He was succeeded by his brother, Leopold II.

1791
Pope Pius VI publishes his first Papal Encyclical in sixteen years, Quod Aliquantulum, on the Civil Constitution of France. This Encyclical denounced the Constitution of the Clergy in France as schismatical, declared the ordinations of the new state bishoprics sacriligous, suspended priests and prelates who had taken the civil oath, and condemned the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

The First Synod of Baltimore was held.

The Franciscans founded their Mission at Santa Cruz.

The body of Francois Marie Arouet, known by his pen name as Voltaire, was transferred from an Abbey in Champagne to the Pantheon in Paris. He was excommunicated twice, and therefore denied a Catholic burial. Voltaire was a professed atheist and Mason. He vehemently persecuted the Catholic Church.

Pope Pius VI published two more Encyclicals this year, Caritas Quae, condemning the French Revolution; and Adeo Nota, a protest against the Avignon defection.

Death of St. Mary Frances of Naples. She had early visions of the French Revolution and said: “I can see nothing but disasters.” She was also quoted as saying, “Troubles in the present, greater troubles in the future..”

The Royal French couple were arrested at Varennes.

1792
The Ursaline Nuns reopen their Convent at Valenciennes.

The Second Partitian of Poland by Russia and Prussia.

The First priest is ordained in the United States, Father Theodore Badin, in Baltimore, Maryland.

The upheaval in France pushed the Pope to employ his pen. The Pontiff wrote four Papal Encyclicals, In Gravissimis, on France, Ubi Lutetiam, on the schismatic French clergy, Ignotae Nemini, on France; and Quae Causa, on Jubliee.

Death of Emperor, Leopold II. He is succeeded by his son, Francis II.

1793
King Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette were both executed in France as a direct result of the French Revolution. They got the guillotine. The King was executed sometime before the Queen. Her trial was on October 14. She was accused by Fouquier-Tinville of having tried to foment both war with foreign nations and civil war, the “Widow Capet” was defended by Chauveau-Lagarde and Tronson Ducoudray, who were also cast into prison. It is likely the Queen made a confession and was absolved of her sins from the Cure of Ste-Marguerite, who was in the cell opposite to hers; at all events, she refused to make her confession to the Abbe Girard, a constitutional priest, who offered her his services.

1794
The Ursaline Nuns are Martyred on the charge of reopening their Convent; they too were victims of the French Revolution.

Pope Pius VI publishes his Papal Encyclical, Auctorem Fidei, it is about the condemnation of an Italian book.

1795
The Third and final partition of Poland by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

Pope Pius VI spurns the Spanish offer of mediation.

The Russian Gallitzin, was ordained a priest. He labored for forty-one years as the Apostle of the Alleghenies.

1796
Napoleon Bonaparte occupied Milan in the spring of this year, then invaded the Papal States in retaliation of the Pope’s giving his support to the First Coalition against France and by hospitably receiving numerous royalist refugees.

Death of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.