Pope Pius V — Expulsion of the Jews from All Places of the Dominion of the Holy Roman Church, Except the City of Rome and the City of Ancona (1569 AD)
The Hebrew people, once alone chosen by God — which, infused with the divine oracles, was made a partaker of celestial mysteries — excelled all others in grace and dignity as much as afterwards, by the desert of its unbelief, it was merited to be cast down headlong, contemned and rejected; because, when the fullness of time came, it impiously and perfidiously reprobated its Redeemer, killing Him by an unworthy death. For, having lost the priesthood, with the authority of the law taken away, dispersed from its own lands which the most merciful and gracious God had prepared for it from the very beginning of that people’s origin — lands flowing with milk and honey — wandering now through so many ages across the world, hated, exposed to every insult and disgrace, it is compelled to ply the meanest and most infamous trades by which it can endure its hunger, no differently than the vilest slaves. But Christian piety, especially commiserating this inescapable downfall, suffered it to dwell among itself with sufficient humanity — so that, namely, through frequent sight of them, the memory of the Lord’s Passion might more often stand before the eyes of the faithful, and at the same time they might be the more invited by examples, teaching, and admonitions to the conversion and salvation which, by the oracle of the prophet, is to come to the remnant of Israel; from which salvation, if, expelled from Christian lands, they were to turn to those peoples who do not know Christ, they would be rendered more and more estranged from it.
Nevertheless their impiety, instructed in all the worst arts, has advanced to the point that it is now, for the common salvation of our people, expedient to check the force of so great a disease by a swift remedy. For — to pass over the many kinds of usury by which Hebrews have utterly drained the substance of poor Christians everywhere — we consider it sufficiently plain that they are receivers and accomplices of thieves and robbers, who strive to suppress, transfer to another place, or completely transform things stolen and misappropriated by those thieves, including not only profane things but even those dedicated to divine worship, lest they be identified; that many of them also, under the guise of practising a trade proper to themselves, frequenting the houses of honest women, plunge many of them into the most shameful debauchery; and, what is the most pernicious of all, devoted to sorceries, incantations, magical superstitions, and evil deeds, they lead very many incautious and weak persons into the tricks of Satan, leading them to believe that future events can be foretold, that fury, treasures, and hidden things can be revealed, and that many other things can be known, the power of investigating even which has been permitted to no mortal whatsoever. Finally, we have sufficiently well known and ascertained how unworthily this perverse race bears the name of Christ, how hostile it is to all who are known by that name, and by what plots it lies in wait for their lives. Moved by these and other most grave considerations, and impelled by the gravity of crimes daily increasing to the ruin of our cities, and considering further that the said people, apart from moderate trade with the East, is of no use to our commonwealth — while for our peoples, especially those somewhat more remote from us, it will be more advantageous to hear the name, the crimes, the miseries of that people reported to them from elsewhere, than to harbour it henceforth in their bosom as heretofore under any impulse of charity —
§ 1. By the authority of the present letters, we command that all and each of the Hebrews of either sex, in all our temporal dominions and of the cities, lands, and places therein, of the lords of manors, barons, and other temporal lords, even those having full and mixed jurisdiction and the power of life and death and whatever other jurisdiction and exemption, depart entirely from those territories within the space of three months from when the present letters shall have been published here.
§ 2. Once those months have passed, whosoever, whether inhabitants or strangers, present or future, shall be found in whatever city, land, or place of the said dominion — even of the lords of manors, barons, lords, and other exempted persons aforesaid — at whatever time, shall be despoiled of all their goods, which shall be applied to the fisc; they shall become slaves of the Roman Church and be claimed in perpetual servitude; and that Church shall claim over them the same right which other lords have over their slaves and bondsmen. Excepting only the City of Rome and Ancona, where we permit only those Hebrews who now inhabit them to be tolerated — for the further stirring of that memory, and for the pursuit of trade with the Eastern peoples and mutual commerce with them — provided however that they take care to observe our and our predecessors’ and other canonical constitutions concerning them; otherwise, by the very fact they shall fall into all the penalties contained in those constitutions, which we hereby renew. For we hope that those who are particularly near to our presence and that of this See will, from fear of punishment, refrain from evildoing, and that some of them, as has sufficiently happened heretofore even at our own exhortation, will joyfully acknowledge the light of truth. But neither those at Rome nor those at Ancona may at any time migrate or travel to other places in the said dominion, nor receive among them anyone of those proscribed, if they would avoid the yoke of servitude and punishment.
We therefore command the legates, governors, presidents, praetors, and magistrates of all the provinces, cities, and places of the said dominion, and likewise the local ordinaries, lords of manors, barons, lords, and exempt persons aforesaid, and all others to whom it pertains, that each one for his part, without awaiting any other command or declaration of our mind, execute all the aforesaid as soon as possible; and let them take care diligently that henceforth no Hebrews approach those provinces, cities, and places, even those of the lords of manors, barons, and the others aforesaid, from any cause whatsoever. Whoever, even of those who are now in Rome and Ancona, after the expiry of the next three months, is found in any part of the said dominion, even in places temporarily under the dominion of the same small lords, barons, lords, and exempted persons, shall immediately be thrown into perpetual servitude, enslaved to the aforesaid Church, and we signify that even more grievous penalties hang over their necks, so that others may learn by their example how serious it was to have rashly neglected this our prohibition.
§3. Notwithstanding the aforesaid and Apostolic constitutions and ordinances, common and municipal laws of the provinces, cities, and places mentioned above, nor [the obligations of] the Apostolic Chamber confirmed by oath, Apostolic confirmation, or any other firmness, statutes and customs, and conventions with the university of the aforesaid Hebrews, even under public faith, pacts, privileges, indults, exemptions, and Apostolic letters to all of them, and even to the aforesaid small lords, barons, and lords, and their cities, lands, places, and peoples, by any Roman Pontiffs our predecessors, and by us and the aforesaid See, even by our own motion and from certain knowledge, and by the fullness of Apostolic power, and otherwise in whatsoever manner, and under whatever tenors and forms, and for whatever
causes, even onerous, and with restitutions, preservations, derogations of derogations, and other stronger, most efficacious and unusual clauses, as well as irritants and other decrees, generally and specifically however many times granted, confirmed, and innovated many times. All and each of which, even if special, specific, express and individual mention of them and their entire tenors were to be made word for word, not by general clauses, or any other expression had to be made; treating such tenors as if they were inserted word for word in the present, insofar as they might impede or delay the aforesaid, or otherwise oppose them, by the series of these from similar fullness of power, we specifically and expressly revoke and abolish, and decree that they utterly lack force and effect, and that whatever might be attempted to the contrary by anyone knowingly or ignorantly, is null and void; and any other things to the contrary whatsoever.
§4. We wish moreover that copies of the present, even printed, be issued, and that these, signed by the hand of a public notary and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical court or prelate, shall make exactly the same proof in all places as the present itself would make if it were exhibited or shown.
§5. Therefore, let no one at all infringe this page of our permission, precept, innovation, command, signification, revocation, abolition, decree, and will, or dare to go against it with rash audacity. If anyone, however, should presume to attempt this, let him know he will incur the indignation of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
Given at Rome, at Saint Peter’s, in the year of the Lord’s Incarnation 1569, on the fourth day before the Kalends of March, in the fourth year of our pontificate.
Dated February 26, 1569; pontificate year 4.
Source. Bullarium Romanum, Taurinensis Edition, Vol. VII, pp. 740–742. Pope Pius V, Hebraeorum gens. Translated from the Latin.