Stefan Zweig described the First World War as a war “of everyone against everyone”. Pope Benedict XV would have agreed with him; from his election to the papacy on 3 September 1914, ending the war was his priority. The “Peace Note” he sent to the belligerent states on 1 August 1917, sometimes known by its opening words in French, Dès le debut, went beyond platitudes, addressing specific issues in detail.