The Concordat of 1801 is an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed on July 1, 1801.
It solidifies the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France and brings back most of its civil status.
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly had taken Church properties and issued the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which made the Church a department of the State, removing it from the authority of the Pope.
This has caused hostility among the Vendeans towards the change in the relationship between the Catholic Church and the French government.
Subsequent laws had abolished the traditional Gregorian calendar and Christian holidays.
While the Concordat restores some ties to the papacy, it is largely in favor of the state; the balance of church-state relations has tilted firmly in Napoleon's favor.
Now, he can win favor with the Catholics within France while also controlling Rome in a political sense.
As a part of the Concordat, he presents another set of laws called the Organic Articles.
