World War I
1914-1918 AD
📂 WAR
📖 About This Event
World War I (1914-1918) was the first truly global conflict, involving nations from every continent and killing an estimated 17 million people (military and civilian). The war was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, but its roots lay in decades of imperial rivalry, militarism, and alliance systems that had entangled Europe in a web of mutual obligations.
Pope Benedict XV, who reigned from 1914 to 1922, was a tireless advocate for peace throughout the war. He issued an appeal for a 'truce of God' in August 1914, proposed a six-point peace plan in 1917 that was rejected by both sides, and worked behind the scenes to negotiate prisoner exchanges, care for wounded soldiers on both sides, and protect civilians. Despite his efforts, he was denounced as a German sympathizer by the Allies and an Italian sympathizer by the Central Powers.
The war devastated Catholic Europe, killing millions of faithful Catholics on both sides. The Treaty of Versailles redrew the map of Europe and planted the seeds of World War II. Key Sources: Pope Benedict XV, Pacem, Dei Munus Pulcherrimum (1917); Vatican Secretary of State's Peace Note; Hubert Wolf, Pope Benedict XV and the Great War
📜 Key Facts
Date
1914-1918 AD
Category
War
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