 However, it is known that at one point the revolutionary government of France had planned to create him antipope in opposition to Pope Pius VI when he condemned the French Revolution in 1791.In 1816, Pope Pius VII made De Gregorio a cardinal and in the following decade he rose to be one of the most powerful men in the Church.In both the 1829 and 1830 conclaves, he was considered one of the leading "papabili" but had too many opponents to be elected Pope.