Xavier de Mérode

Xavier de Mérode (Frédéric François Xavier Ghislain; March 22,1820 – July 11, 1874) was a Belgian Catholic prelate, archbishop and statesman of the Papal States.

A protege of Pope Pius IX, de Mérode became known for his humane reform of prisons in the Papal States, for his public works projects in Rome and for the establishment of the Papal Zouaves to defend the pope.

Biography

Early life and education Xavier De Mérode was born on March 16, 1820, in Brussels, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Xavier De Mérode was connected through the House of Mérode in Belgium to the French aristocracy. and the grand-nephew of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution. De Mérode first attended the Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix, a Jesuit Catholic school in Namur. He continued his education in France at the Collège de Juilly, an Oratorians Catholic school in Juilly, Seine-et-Marne.

Director of prisons In 1850, Pius IX returned to Rome. In recognition of de Mérode's service during the rebellion the pope named him as a cameriere segreto (secret waiter), a member of the papal household. Interested in making the prisons more humane, de Mérode introduced religious brothers from Brothers of Mercy of Our Lady of Perpetual Help from Mechelen, Belgium to provide spiritual instruction to the inmates and care for their sick. The French envoy at Rome, Alphonse de Rayneval, praised de Mérode's prison reforms in an official report to his government. Archbishop Gioacchino Pecci wanted de Mérode to undertake similar reforms in the Archdiocese of Perugia. The Zouaves served the pope until their disbandment in 1870.

Public works director After establishing the Papal Zouaves, de Mérode devoted himself to public works in Rome. He paid for the construction of the Campo pretoriano outside the Porta Pia Gate of the Aurelian Walls, the fortifications of ancient Rome. His other projects in Rome included the clearing of the approaches to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the opening of streets in the new section of Rome and sanitation upgrades in the old quarters by the Tiber River.