Oration ”Quotiens nova” of Pope Pius II (9 February 1459, Perugia). Edited and translated by Michael von Cotta-Schønberg. 7th version. (Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II; 30)

Published as part of project Edition and Translation of the Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius IIAfter his accession to the Papacy in August 1458, Pius II received a number of embassies from the rulers of Europe coming to present the declaration of their lord’s obedience to the Apostolic See and the new pope. In February 1459, the pope thus received the ambassadors of the Duke of Savoy. In his oration to the ambassadors, the “Quotiens nova”, the pope asserted papal supremacy in all matters, spiritual and temporal, by virtue of the unlimited mission entrusted to the Apostle Peter by Jesus Christ. This mission and the power of the apostolic office is passed on from pope to pope, through apostolic succession, and had now reached the present pope, Pius II. He declared that he was personally unworthy of this high office and did not merit the extravagant praises of the ambassadors. But since God had chosen him for his own inscrutable purposes, he was now God’s Vicar on earth. Finally, the pope praised Duke Louis of Savoy and expressed his goodwill towards him