This year marks the centenary of Quas Primas (1925), the great encyclical of Pope Pius XI establishing the Feast of Christ the King. In that text, the Holy Father reminded the faithful that Christ reigns not only in Heaven but also in society and in the hearts of men:
“He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls” (Quas Primas, no. 33).
As we reflect on this centenary, it is fitting to recall that the Social Kingship of Christ once found visible expression in the political order itself. For centuries, Christendom upheld the Catholic monarchy as the ideal form of government, uniting temporal authority to the spiritual order under Christ the King.
Scriptural Foundations of Monarchy
Sacred Scripture presents kingship not as a human invention but as a divinely sanctioned institution. God Himself gave Israel a king in Saul, and later David, of whom He said: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man according to My own heart, who shall do all My wills” (Acts 13:22).
The Davidic monarchy prefigured the eternal reign of Christ, the Son of David, Whose Kingdom is everlasting. Moreover, Our Lord confirmed Pilate’s words that He was indeed a King, declaring: “My kingdom is not of this world…[1] Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth” (John 18:36-37).
Thus, monarchy is not contrary to Christian revelation but finds its perfection in Christ the King.
Patristic and Medieval Witness
The Fathers of the Church recognized monarchy as the natural and most stable form of governance. St. Gregory of Nazianzus wrote: “Monarchy is the most ancient and most fitting image of the divine government” (Orationes, 3). Note his use of the term “image.” Men are made in the image of God. Thus, the order of our earthly government is best when it images the order of heavenly rule. Heaven is most definitely a monarchy. Our time on earth is meant to be a “practicing” for Heaven and thus our finite political forms of government ought to prepare us to better participate in the eternal order of Heaven.
Likewise, St. Augustine, though acknowledging the abuses of corrupt rulers, affirmed that righteous kingship is a great good when subordinated to God: “Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies?” (City of God, IV, 4)
The Scholastic theologians, especially St. Thomas Aquinas, gave the most systematic defense of monarchy. In De Regno, Aquinas argued that monarchy best secures the unity and common good of a people, just as the universe is governed by the one God: “It is manifest that it is better for a multitude to be governed by one man, than by many: for there is nothing worse than for the multitude to be without unity” (De Regno, I, 2).
Thus, monarchy reflects both the unity of divine governance and the order of nature itself.
Papal Teaching on Catholic Monarchy
The Popes of the Church have consistently upheld monarchy as a legitimate and even ideal form of rule, so long as it is subordinated to Christ and His Church.
Pope Leo XIII, in Diuturnum Illud (1881), explained:
“The authority of the rulers is not greater than that of God, and it is not lawful for them to command or ordain anything against His will. … The right to rule is not bound up with any particular form of government; it may take this or that form, provided only that it be of a nature to ensure the general welfare.”
While the Church did not bind Catholics to monarchy as the only permissible form of government, she consistently taught that monarchy most perfectly mirrors the divine kingship of Christ when properly ordered to God’s law.
Pope Pius XI himself, who instituted the Feast of Christ the King, lamented that nations had rejected the gentle yoke of Christ and sought instead to found their laws apart from Him:
“Then, truly, will many evils be cured … when all the world shall have recognized the authority of Christ and every tongue shall confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” (Quas Primas, no. 19).
The implication was clear: Societies governed under Christ the King – often embodied in Catholic monarchs – flourished in faith and culture, while those rejecting His reign fell into disorder.
Historical Witness of Catholic Monarchs
History itself testifies to the fruitfulness of Catholic monarchy. Charlemagne, crowned by Pope St. Leo III in 800 A.D., sought to defend Christendom and advance the Faith. St. Louis IX of France reigned not only as a wise administrator but also as a saint, embodying the Catholic ideal of kingship:
“I prefer to see my kingdom destroyed and reduced to a desert rather than receive the mark of a mortal sin” (St. Louis IX’s advice to his son).
The Holy Roman Empire under Henry II and his wife, Cunigunde; England under Edward the Confessor; Russia under Vladimir the Great; Spain under Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand; Austria under the Habsburgs; and Portugal under King John II – all reveal how monarchs could foster Catholic culture, defend orthodoxy, and uphold the social reign of Christ.
The Decline of Catholic Monarchy
The Protestant Revolt, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution dealt devastating blows to Catholic kingship. The dethronement and even execution of kings in Europe reflected not merely political upheaval but the rebellion of man against the Kingship of Christ.[2] The rise of liberal democracies, founded on religious indifferentism and the separation of Church and State, was condemned repeatedly by the Popes of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Pope Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors (1864) rejected the proposition that “the Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church” (no. 55). Monarchy had once embodied the opposite principle: the union of Altar and Throne for the glory of Christ the King.
Why Monarchy Is Superior
From a theological and philosophical perspective, monarchy remains the superior form of government because:
- Unity of Rule – Reflects the divine governance of the universe by one God.
- Stability – Provides continuity across generations, rooted in dynastic succession.
- Symbolism – Embodies the Kingship of Christ and His reign over men.
- Paternal Authority – The king serves as a father to his people, reflecting natural law and the family structure.
The Jesuit theologian Suárez, while acknowledging that sovereignty originates in the community, taught that monarchy is the form that most perfectly secures order: “Among the legitimate forms of government, monarchy is to be preferred, since the unity of the ruler corresponds most closely to the unity of divine governance.” (De Legibus ac Deo Legislatore, Bk. III, c. 4)
And St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), a Doctor of the Church, confirmed monarchy’s preeminence but insisted it must remain bound to the Faith: “The best form of government is that of one just prince, tempered by laws and counsel, for this most nearly resembles the government of God over the universe” (De Laicis, c. 6).
As St. Thomas succinctly taught, “The best government is that of one who rules with a view to the common good” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 105, a. 1). And that is found in a true Catholic monarchy.
Lessons from History
It is important for Catholics today to recall that an “absolute monarchy” is not the only form of monarchy. European history saw the rise of totalitarian (or absolute) monarchies in the late 17th Century, notable examples include Louis XIV (†1715), the Sun King in France; Frederick the Great (†1786) in Prussia; Joseph II (†1790) in Austria; and Peter the Great in Russia (†1725). All too often people living today associate ‘monarchy’ with the abusive rule of these kings. Their sinful rule actually paved the path for their demise by opening the path for revolutionary ideas to take root in the zeitgeist of their age.
Earlier forms of Christian monarchy had a built-in system of checks and balances. The monarch depended on the support of his high-ranking vassals, and this ensured he acted with greater justice. The Church also exerted a great deal of influence upon the ruling class and frequently pressured them into acting in favor of their people’s common good.
An absolute monarch on this earth, without any checks and balances, will almost always fall into corruption. (There is a reason why we have the saying ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely.’) However, a virtuous Christian monarch with proper limits, checks and balances is clearly the best form of government here on earth.
We all know that, given the reality of original sin, every human government is liable to succumb to corruption. In a democratic form of government, with rule by the many, it is nearly impossible to enact real and lasting reform. Likewise, it is very difficult to reform an oligarchy because the majority of the ruling class would all need to convert. A communist or socialist form of government is even further beyond repair because the very materialistic principles of the system reject God and His grace. However, a monarchy, ruled by a single family, is the structure which can most easily undergo conversion and reform. Moreover, virtuous royal parents can have a profound impact on raising saintly children and forming them from infancy in the art of governing according to the common good and Christian principles.
Proof of this is easily found in how many monarchs have been canonized by Holy Mother Church. The list includes many of the good kings listed above, as well as St. Hermenegild (Visigoths), St. Magnus (Orkney), St. Ferdinand III (Castille), St. Stephen (Hungary), St. Canute (Denmark), St. Olaf (Norway), St. Wenceslaus (Bohemia), St. Clotilde (Franks), St. Elizabeth (Hungary), St. Adelaide (Holy Roman Empire), St. Hedwig (Bavaria), St. Jadwiga (Poland), St. Isabel (Portugal), and many others. Contrast this with the complete absence of canonized rulers in democratic systems of government.[3]
Conclusion: Restoring the Kingship of Christ
In this centenary of Quas Primas, Catholics are called to renew their faith in Christ the King – not only as a personal devotion but as a social and political reality. While monarchies have largely disappeared in the modern world, their theological justification remains. They remind us that political authority is from God and must be exercised in union with His law and His Church.
The restoration of Catholic monarchy may not be immediate, but the restoration of the Kingship of Christ in our homes, communities, and nations is urgent! For as Pius XI taught:
“When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony” (Quas Primas, no. 19).
In a world of chaos, Catholic monarchy stands as a forgotten but enduring witness to the truth that only Christ reigns, and only under His reign can men and nations find peace.
ENDNOTES:
[1] This phrase does not mean that Christ’s kingdom has no influence or power in the world. Rather it means His kingdom is not made of the things of this world. The things of which earthly kingdoms are made (money, resources, military force, etc.) is not what makes up Christ’s kingdom. It is precisely because Christ’s kingdom is of eternal, infinite, spiritual, and true realities that His kingdom is supreme and universal.
In a similar phrase, it is often said that Christians are ‘in the world but not of the world.’ [As I have heard it (& based on Jn 15:19; 17:14-16)] This means Christians are not to be governed by the same values and false maxims which govern the world, which is under the dominion of the prince of darkness. But we do live in this vale of tears and must fight for the common good of the world.
[2] The French Revolution attacked both Altar and Throne because both Bishop and King are meant to represent Christ’s Kingship in Church and State, respectively. This revolution destroyed the French monarchy, and the Italian Revolution devastated the Papal monarchy. The English monarchy never recovered its splendor after Henry VIII’s schism, and the Spanish monarchy was never able to recover after the Communist Revolution of the 1930’s. World War I dealt a final “death blow” to monarchies by dethroning the Austrian (Holy Roman) Emperor and the Russian Tsar. It was Divine Providence that Our Lady would appear at Fatima to restore God’s right order in the midst of the crumbling of Christendom’s monarchies.
[3] Gabriel Garcia Moreno (1821-1875), former Catholic President of Ecuador, is perhaps the only ruler of a democratic republic that deserves the title of saint. It is highly unlikely that any elected ruler of a democracy or republic which does not confess the Catholic Faith as its official state religion would ever be able to rule in such a manner as to be canonized.