January 25, 1904
During a two-week trip to Italy, Theodor Herzl meets with Pope Pius X in an effort to gain his support for the Zionist cause. The meeting comes two days after Herzl met with Italian King Vittorio Emanuele III. While the king showed an interest in the Zionist movement and even revealed that one of his ancestors was a co-conspirator of the false messiah Shabbetai Zevi, the audience with Pope Pius X does not gain his support.
The pope tells Herzl: “We cannot give approval to this movement. We cannot prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem, but we could never sanction it. The earth of Jerusalem, if it was not always holy, has been made holy by the life of Jesus Christ. I, as head of the church, cannot possibly say otherwise. The Jews have not recognized our Lord; we therefore cannot recognize the Jewish people.”
Pope Pius X also says that if Jews settle in Palestine en masse, the church will make sure that there are churches and priests there to baptize them.
