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Events on Wednesday 17 May 1809 1
1809Annexation of the Papal States and arrest of Pope Pius VIINapoleon absorbs Rome and seizes the PopeNapoleon formally annexed the Papal States into the French Empire, prompting Pope Pius VII to excommunicate him in response. French troops under General Radet entered the Vatican and took the Pope captive, beginning years of papal exile in France.