condemned to deportation. As an "enemy of the Roman republic" his property was confiscated. But he was soon released and joined Pope Pius VI in exile. An able diplomat, he was nominated after the death of that pope to be secretary of the conclave that met in Venice from November 1799 to March 1800 to choose his successor, and resulted in the election of Pope Pius VII. Consalvi was created Cardinal-Deacon and named Cardinal Secretary of State by the new pope in the secret consistory of 11 August 1800, receiving the red hat from him in a public consistory on 14 August 1800. In this capacity Consalvi first endeavoured to restore better conditions in the Papal States. He introduced free trade, withdrew from circulation all depreciated money, and admitted a large number of laymen to Government offices. On 20 October 1800, he was assigned the titular church of Sant'Agata dei Goti (later transferred to that of the Basilica of Santa Maria ad Martyres (Our Lady of the Martyrs), better known as the Pantheon, on 28 July 1817). In his new position of Secretary of State, he immediately left Rome for Paris in June 1801 to negotiate an understanding with the French, that resulted in the Catholic Church's Concordat of 1801 with Napoleon. While not effecting a return to the old Christian order, the treaty did provide certain civil guarantees to the church, acknowledging "the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion" as that of the "majority of French citizens". In Paris he enjoyed a considerable social success thanks to his personal charisma, to which even Napoleon was not immune. Consalvi was highly cultivated and a lifelong devotee of poetry, the arts and sciences, archaeology, and, in particular, music. He did much to embellish Rome and to make it an art-centre by designing public promenades along the Tiber, restoring the ancient monuments, and filling the museums with statues unearthed by excavations made under his direction. Consalvi was ordained to the subdiaconate and then to the diaconate on 20 and 21 December 1801, respectively. He was never elevated to the sacramental offices of priest or bishop. But he acted as virtual sovereign in Rome during the absence of Pius VII in Paris for the coronation of Napoleon as emperor. Due to his firm stance against the Napoleonic government and his opposition to the participation of the Papal States in France's Continental Blockade, he was