![Picture](/uploads/3/0/0/9/30099703/7380694.jpg)
Giacomo
della Chiesa, was elected in 1914 to the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church, and
became Pope Benedict XV. He was born an
aristocrat in Italy and served in the cardinal. He was elected by fellow
cardinals from neighboring countries, including the countries from both sides
of battle lines due to the fact that he professed his neutral stance in the
conflict. He called the Great War a suicide of Europe and was insistent on
peace. He influenced many bishops in America, to maintain a general
silence toward the issue of intervention. Millions of Catholics lived in
warring camps but many Catholic Americans tended to split in their opinions
toward American involvement in the war. Many heavily Catholic towns and cities
in the East and Midwest often contained multiple parishes, each serving a
single ethnic group, such as Irish, German, Italian, Polish, or English.
American Catholics of Irish and German descent opposed intervention most
strongly. A large photo was taken of Pope Benedict XV, signed 1916.
It was a gift from the Vatican.