Dr. Xavier Marechaux, associate professor of History & Philosophy and coordinator of graduate programs in History education, chronicles the rise and turmoil of Pope Pius VII in his new book "Pie VII, Le Pape qui défia Napoléon” [Pius VII, The Pope who defied Napoleon], published in French by Humenis. Acceded to the papacy during the French Revolution in 1800, the biography highlights the Pope's goal of preserving his spiritual power, and the Church during the Napoleonic Wars.
According to the publisher, Dr. Marechaux "tells of the extraordinary destiny of a man, and of the institution he had to preserve" including the conflicts the lead to Napoleon invading the Papal States, and his forces capturing and imprisoning the Pope. The book shows how this affected the relationship between the Church and France during the 19th century to today.
A noted scholar who focuses his research on the secularization of the French Society from the 18th century to present day, Marechaux’s first book was about the marriages of priests in France during years 1789-1815. He earned his Ph.D. in History at Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne.