Archbishop of Baltimore to Woodrow Wilson
Title
Archbishop of Baltimore to Woodrow Wilson
Creator
Gibbons, James, 1834-1921
Identifier
WWP25269
Date
1918 October 12
Description
Pope asks President Wilson to grant Austria the peace they request.
Source
Library of Congress, Woodrow Wilson Papers
Publisher
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum
Subject
World War, 1914-1918--Armistices
Benedict XV, Pope, 1854-1922
Contributor
Mark Edwin Peterson
Relation
WWP25268
WWP25270
Language
English
Provenance
Document scan was taken from Library of Congress microfilm reel of the Wilson Papers. WWPL volunteers transcribed the text.
Text
Woodrow Wilson, Esq.
President of the United States,
Washington, DC
My dear Mr. President:=
I bet to inform you that I have just received a message from His Holiness the Pope, through the Cardinal Secretary of State, in which His Holiness asks me in his name to command to your benevolent consideration the request of the Austrian Government that an armistice be granted with a treaty for peace based on the points given by you in your messages of the 8th of January and the 12th of February. The Holy Father asks me to inform you that in this step he is actuated solely by his most ardent desire to see ended as soon as possible this disastrous war which for so long a time has desolated the world, and that he feels that Divine Providence has reserved for you and for our great Republic the merciful mission of restoring peace to the world.
I would have given myself the honor of presenting this message of His Holiness to you in person, but I did not wish to trespass on your valuable time now engrossed by such weighty cares, or to offer any occassion for comment which would likely be caused by my calling on you personally.
I would be pleased to communicate to His Holiness any reply or communication which you would wish to make assuring you that it will be treated in strictest confidence.
With sentiments of the highest esteem and warm personal regards, I am
Very faithfully Yours,
J. Card. Gibbons
President of the United States,
Washington, DC
My dear Mr. President:=
I bet to inform you that I have just received a message from His Holiness the Pope, through the Cardinal Secretary of State, in which His Holiness asks me in his name to command to your benevolent consideration the request of the Austrian Government that an armistice be granted with a treaty for peace based on the points given by you in your messages of the 8th of January and the 12th of February. The Holy Father asks me to inform you that in this step he is actuated solely by his most ardent desire to see ended as soon as possible this disastrous war which for so long a time has desolated the world, and that he feels that Divine Providence has reserved for you and for our great Republic the merciful mission of restoring peace to the world.
I would have given myself the honor of presenting this message of His Holiness to you in person, but I did not wish to trespass on your valuable time now engrossed by such weighty cares, or to offer any occassion for comment which would likely be caused by my calling on you personally.
I would be pleased to communicate to His Holiness any reply or communication which you would wish to make assuring you that it will be treated in strictest confidence.
With sentiments of the highest esteem and warm personal regards, I am
Very faithfully Yours,
J. Card. Gibbons
Original Format
Letter
To
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
Files
Collection
Citation
Gibbons, James, 1834-1921, “Archbishop of Baltimore to Woodrow Wilson,” 1918 October 12, WWP25269, World War I Letters, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.