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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Pius IX</title><script src="https://dtyry4ejybx0.cloudfront.net/js/cmp/cleanmediacmp.js?ver=0104" async="true"></script><script defer data-domain="newadvent.org" src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12134b.htm"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="Biography of this pope, who died in 1878"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://feeds.newadvent.org/bestoftheweb?format=xml"><link rel="icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><meta name="robots" content="noodp"><link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../utility/screen6.css" media="screen"></head> <body class="cathen" id="12134b.htm">  <br/> <div id="capitalcity"><table summary="Logo" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="100%"><tr valign="bottom"><td align="left"><a href="../"><img height=36 width=153 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></td><td align="right"> <form id="searchbox_000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0" action="../utility/search.htm">  <input type="hidden" name="safe" value="active"> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0"/> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:9"/>  <label for="searchQuery" id="searchQueryLabel">Search:</label> <input id="searchQuery" name="q" type="text" size="25" aria-labelledby="searchQueryLabel"/>  <label for="submitButton" id="submitButtonLabel" class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</label> <input id="submitButton" type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" aria-labelledby="submitButtonLabel"/> </form> <table summary="Spacer" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td height="2"></td></tr></table> <table summary="Tabs" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../"> Home </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_white_on_color" href="../cathen/index.html"> Encyclopedia </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../summa/index.html"> Summa </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../fathers/index.html"> Fathers </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../bible/gen001.htm"> Bible </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../library/index.html"> Library </a></td> </tr></table> </td> </tr></table><table summary="Alphabetical index" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"> <a href="../cathen/a.htm"> A </a><a href="../cathen/b.htm"> B </a><a href="../cathen/c.htm"> C </a><a href="../cathen/d.htm"> D </a><a href="../cathen/e.htm"> E </a><a href="../cathen/f.htm"> F </a><a href="../cathen/g.htm"> G </a><a href="../cathen/h.htm"> H </a><a href="../cathen/i.htm"> I </a><a href="../cathen/j.htm"> J </a><a href="../cathen/k.htm"> K </a><a href="../cathen/l.htm"> L </a><a href="../cathen/m.htm"> M </a><a href="../cathen/n.htm"> N </a><a href="../cathen/o.htm"> O </a><a href="../cathen/p.htm"> P </a><a href="../cathen/q.htm"> Q </a><a href="../cathen/r.htm"> R </a><a href="../cathen/s.htm"> S </a><a href="../cathen/t.htm"> T </a><a href="../cathen/u.htm"> U </a><a href="../cathen/v.htm"> V </a><a href="../cathen/w.htm"> W </a><a href="../cathen/x.htm"> X </a><a href="../cathen/y.htm"> Y </a><a href="../cathen/z.htm"> Z </a> </td></tr></table></div> <div id="mobilecity" style="text-align: center; "><a href="../"><img height=24 width=102 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></div>  <div id="mi5"><span class="breadcrumbs"><a href="../">Home</a> > <a href="../cathen">Catholic Encyclopedia</a> > <a href="../cathen/p.htm">P</a> > Pope Pius IX</span></div> <div id="springfield2"> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-top' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <h1>Pope Pius IX</h1> <p><em><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/na2"><strong>Please help support the mission of New Advent</strong> and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99...</a></em></p> <p>(G<font size=-2>IOVANNI</font> M<font size=-2>ARIA</font> M<font size=-2>ASTAI</font>-F<font size=-2>ERRETTI</font>).</p> <p><a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">Pope</a> from 1846-78; born at <a href="../cathen/14013a.htm">Sinigaglia</a>, 13 May, 1792; died in <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, 7 February, 1878.</p> <h2>Before his papacy</h2> <h3>His early years</h3> <p>After receiving his classical <a href="../cathen/05295b.htm">education</a> at the <a href="../cathen/13588a.htm">Piarist</a> College in <a href="../cathen/15504b.htm">Volterra</a> from 1802-09 he went to <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> to study <a href="../cathen/12025c.htm">philosophy</a> and <a href="../cathen/14580x.htm">theology</a>, but left there in 1810 on account of political disturbances. He returned in 1814 and, in deference to his <a href="../cathen/11478c.htm">father's</a> wish, asked to be admitted to the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope's</a> Noble Guard. Being subject to epileptic fits, he was refused admission and, following the desire of his mother and his own inclination, he studied <a href="../cathen/14580x.htm">theology</a> at the Roman Seminary, 1814-18. Meanwhile his malady had ceased and he was <a href="../cathen/11279a.htm">ordained</a> <a href="../cathen/12406a.htm">priest</a>, 10 April, 1819. <a href="../cathen/12132a.htm">Pius VII</a> appointed him <a href="../cathen/05024a.htm">spiritual director</a> of the <a href="../cathen/11322b.htm">orphan asylum</a> popularly known as "Tata Giovanni", in <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, and in 1823 sent him, as auditor of the <a href="../cathen/09118a.htm">Apostolic delegate</a>, Mgr Muzi, to <a href="../cathen/03660a.htm">Chile</a> in South America. Upon his return in 1825 he was made canon of <a href="../cathen/13458a.htm">Santa Maria</a> in Via Lata and director of the large <a href="../cathen/07480a.htm">hospital</a> of San Michele by <a href="../cathen/09167a.htm">Leo XII</a>. The same <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> created him <a href="../cathen/01691a.htm">Archbishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/14232b.htm">Spoleto</a>, 21 May, 1827. In 1831 when 4000 Italian revolutionists fled before the <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austrian</a> army and threatened to throw themselves upon <a href="../cathen/14232b.htm">Spoleto</a>, the <a href="../cathen/01691a.htm">archbishop</a> persuaded them to lay down their arms and disband, induced the Austrian commander to pardon them for their treason, and gave them sufficient money to reach their homes. On 17 February, 1832, <a href="../cathen/07006a.htm">Gregory XVI</a> transferred him to the more important <a href="../cathen/07692a.htm">Diocese of Imola</a> and, 14 December, 1840, created him <a href="../cathen/03333b.htm#p">cardinal priest</a> with the titular church of Santi Pietro e Marcellino, after having reserved him <a href="../cathen/08025b.htm"><em>in petto</em></a> since 23 December, 1839. He retained the <a href="../cathen/07692a.htm">Diocese of Imola</a> until his elevation to the <a href="../cathen/11451b.htm">papacy</a>. His great charity and amiability had made him beloved by the people, while his friendship with some of the revolutionists had gained for him the name of liberal.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <h3>His election</h3> <p>On 14 June, 1846, two weeks after the death of <a href="../cathen/07006a.htm">Gregory XVI</a>, fifty <a href="../cathen/03333b.htm">cardinals</a> assembled in the Quirinal for the <a href="../cathen/04192a.htm">conclave</a>. They were divided into two factions, the conservatives, who favoured a continuance of absolutism in the temporal government of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a>, and the liberals, who were desirous of moderate political reforms. At the fourth scrutiny, 16 June, Cardinal Mastai-Ferretti, the liberal candidate, received three votes beyond the required majority. Cardinal Archbishop Gaysruck of <a href="../cathen/10298a.htm">Milan</a> had arrived too late to make use of the <a href="../cathen/05677b.htm">right of exclusion</a> against his election, given him by the <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austrian</a> Government. The new <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> accepted the <a href="../cathen/14714c.htm">tiara</a> with reluctance and in memory of <a href="../cathen/12132a.htm">Pius VII</a>, his former benefactor, took the name of Pius IX. His <a href="../cathen/04380a.htm">coronation</a> took place in the <a href="../cathen/13369b.htm">Basilica of St. Peter</a> on 21 June. His election was greeted with <a href="../cathen/07131b.htm">joy</a>, for his charity towards the poor, his kindheartedness, and his wit had made him very popular.</p> <h2>Temporal aspect of his papacy</h2> <h3>Within the Papal States</h3> <p><em>Conciliatory policies (1846-1848).--</em> "Young <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a>" was clamouring for greater political freedom. The unyielding attitude of <a href="../cathen/07006a.htm">Gregory XVI</a> and his secretary of state, <a href="../cathen/08760b.htm">Cardinal Lambruschini</a>, had brought the <a href="../cathen/14257a.htm">papal states</a> to the verge of a revolution. The new <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> was in favour of a political reform. His first great political act was the granting of a general amnesty to political exiles and <a href="../cathen/12430a.htm">prisoners</a> on 16 July, 1846. This act was hailed with enthusiasm by the people, but many prudent men had reasonable fears of the results. Some extreme reactionaries denounced the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> as in league with the <a href="../cathen/09771a.htm">Freemasons</a> and the <a href="../cathen/03330c.htm">Carbonari</a>. It did not occur to the kindly nature of Pius IX that many of the pardoned political offenders would use their liberty to further their revolutionary <a href="../cathen/07630a.htm">ideas</a>. That he was not in accord with the radical <a href="../cathen/07630a.htm">ideas</a> of the times he clearly demonstrated by his <a href="../cathen/05413a.htm">Encyclical</a> of 9 November, 1846, in which he laments the oppression of <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholic</a> interests, intrigues against the <a href="../cathen/07424b.htm">Holy See</a>, machinations of <a href="../cathen/14071b.htm">secret societies</a>, sectarian bitterness, the <a href="../bible">Bible</a> associations, <a href="../cathen/07759a.htm">indifferentism</a>, <a href="../cathen/05781a.htm">false</a> philosophy, <a href="../cathen/04179a.htm">communism</a>, and the licentious press. He was, however, willing to grant such political reforms as he deemed expedient to the welfare of the people and compatible with the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> sovereignty. On 19 April, 1847, he announced his intention to establish an advisory council (<em>Consulta di Stato</em>), composed of <a href="../cathen/08748a.htm">laymen</a> from the various provinces of the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> territory. This was followed by the establishment of a civic guard (<em>Guardia Civica</em>), 5 July, and a cabinet council, 29 December.</p> <p><em>Failure of appeasement (1848-1850).--</em> But the more concessions the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> made, the greater and more insistent became the demands. Secret clubs of <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, especially the "Circolo Romano", under the direction of Ciceruacchio, fanaticized the mob with their radicalism and were the real rulers of <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>. They spurred the people on to be satisfied with nothing but a constitutional government, an entire laicization of the ministry, and a declaration of <a href="../cathen/15546c.htm">war</a> against <a href="../cathen/07149b.htm">hated</a> and reactionary <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austria</a>.</p> <p>On 8 February, 1848, a street riot extorted the promise of a lay ministry from the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> and on 14 March he saw himself <a href="../cathen/11189a.htm">obliged</a> to grant a constitution, but in his <a href="../cathen/01325c.htm">allocution</a> of 29 April he solemnly proclaimed that, as the Father of <a href="../cathen/03699b.htm">Christendom</a>, he could never declare <a href="../cathen/15546c.htm">war</a> against <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholic</a> <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austria</a>.</p> <p>Riot followed riot, the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> was denounced as a traitor to his country, his prime minister <a href="../cathen/13204a.htm">Rossi</a> was stabbed to death while ascending the steps of the Cancelleria, whither he had gone to open the parliament, and on the following day the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> himself was besieged in the Quirinal. Palma, a <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> <a href="../cathen/12386b.htm">prelate</a>, who was standing at a window, was shot, and the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> was forced to promise a democratic ministry. With the assistance of the <a href="../cathen/02353c.htm">Bavarian</a> ambassador, Count Spaur, and the French ambassador, Duc d'Harcourt, Pius IX escaped from the Quirinal in disguise, 24 November, and fled to Gaëta where he was joined by many of the <a href="../cathen/03333b.htm">cardinals</a>. Meanwhile <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> was ruled by traitors and adventurers who abolished the temporal power of the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>, 9 February, 1849, and under the name of a democratic republic terrorized the people and committed untold outrages. The <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> appealed to <a href="../cathen/06166a.htm">France</a>, <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austria</a>, <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a>, and <a href="../cathen/10683a.htm">Naples</a>. On 29 June French troops under General Oudinot restored order in his territory. On 12 April, 1850, Pius IX returned to <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, no longer a political <a href="../cathen/09212a.htm">liberalist</a>.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p><em>His subsequent rule (1850-1858).--</em> <a href="../cathen/01583d.htm">Cardinal Antonelli</a>, his secretary of state, exerted a paramount political influence until his death on 6 November, 1876. The temporal reign of Pius IX, up to the seizure of the last of his temporal possessions in 1870, was one continuous struggle, on the one hand against the intrigues of the revolutionaries, on the other against the <a href="../cathen/12076b.htm">Piedmontese</a> ruler Victor Emmanuel, his crafty premier Cavour, and other antipapal statesmen who aimed at a united <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a>, with <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> as its capital, and the <a href="../cathen/12076b.htm">Piedmontese</a> ruler as its king. The political difficulties of the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> were still further increased by the double dealing of <a href="../cathen/10699a.htm">Napoleon III</a>, and the necessity of relying on French and Austrian troops for the maintenance of order in <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> and the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> legations in the north.</p> <p><em>Intrigues against the Papal States (1858-1878).--</em> When Pius IX visited his provinces in the summer of 1857 he received everywhere a warm and loyal reception. But the doom of his temporal power was sealed, when a year later Cavour and <a href="../cathen/10699a.htm">Napoleon III</a> met at Plombières, concerting plans for a combined <a href="../cathen/15546c.htm">war</a> against <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austria</a> and the subsequent territorial extension of the <a href="../cathen/13473b.htm">Sardinian</a> Kingdom. They sent their agents into various cities of the <a href="../cathen/14257a.htm">Papal States</a> to propagate the <a href="../cathen/07630a.htm">idea</a> of a politically united <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a>. The defeat of <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austria</a> at Magenta on 4 July, 1859, and the subsequent withdrawal of the Austrian troops from the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> legations, inaugurated the dissolution of the <a href="../cathen/14257a.htm">Papal States</a>. The insurrection in some of the cities of the Romagna was put forth as a plea for annexing this province to <a href="../cathen/12076b.htm">Piedmont</a> in September, 1859. On 6 February, 1860, Victor Emmanuel demanded the annexation of Umbria and the Marches and, when Pius IX resisted this <a href="../cathen/08010c.htm">unjust</a> demand, made ready to annex them by force. After defeating the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> army at Castelfidardo on 18 September, and at <a href="../cathen/01463d.htm">Ancona</a> on 30 September, he deprived the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> of all his possessions with the exception of <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> and the immediate vicinity. Finally on 20 September, 1870, he completed the spoliation of the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> possessions by seizing <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> and making it the capital of <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">United Italy</a>. The so-called <a href="../cathen/07048a.htm">Law of Guarantees</a>, of 15 May, 1871, which accorded the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> the <a href="../cathen/13055c.htm">rights</a> of a sovereign, an annual remuneration of 3¼ million lire ($650,000), and extraterritoriality to a few <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> palaces in <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, was never accepted by Pius IX or his successors. (<em>See</em> <a href="../cathen/14257a.htm">S<font size=-2>TATES OF THE</font> C<font size=-2>HURCH</font></a>; <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">R<font size=-2>OME</font></a>; <a href="../cathen/07048a.htm">LAW OF GUARANTEES</a>).</p> <h3>Outside of the Papal States</h3> <p>The loss of his temporal power was only one of the many trials that filled the long pontificate of Pius IX. There was scarcely a country, <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholic</a> or <a href="../cathen/12495a.htm">Protestant</a>, where the <a href="../cathen/13055c.htm">rights</a> of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> were not infringed upon. In <a href="../cathen/12076b.htm">Piedmont</a> the Concordat of 1841 was set aside, the <a href="../cathen/14741b.htm">tithes</a> were abolished, <a href="../cathen/05295b.htm">education</a> was laicized, <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monasteries</a> were suppressed, <a href="../cathen/12466a.htm">church property</a> was confiscated, <a href="../cathen/12748b.htm">religious</a> orders were expelled, and the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> who opposed this anti-ecclesiastical legislation were <a href="../cathen/12430a.htm">imprisoned</a> or banished. In vain did Pius IX protest against such outrages in his <a href="../cathen/01325c.htm">allocutions</a> of 1850, 1852, 1853, and finally in 1855 by publishing to the world the numerous injustices which the <a href="../cathen/12076b.htm">Piedmontese</a> government had committed against the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> and her representatives. In <a href="../cathen/15716b.htm">Würtemberg</a> he succeeded in concluding a concordat with the Government, but, owing to the opposition of the <a href="../cathen/12495a.htm">Protestant</a> estates, it never became a law and was revoked by a royal <a href="../cathen/12783b.htm">rescript</a> on 13 June, 1861. The same occurred in the <a href="../cathen/02194a.htm">Grand Duchy of Baden</a> where the Concordat of 1859 was abolished on 7 April, 1860. Equally hostile to the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> was the policy of <a href="../cathen/12519c.htm">Prussia</a> and other German states, where the anti-ecclesiastical legislations reached their height during the <a href="../cathen/11126b.htm">notorious</a> <a href="../cathen/08703b.htm"><em>Kulturkampf</em></a>, inaugurated in 1873. The violent outrages committed in <a href="../cathen/14358a.htm">Switzerland</a> against the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> and the remaining <a href="../cathen/04049b.htm">clergy</a> were solemnly denounced by Pius IX in his encyclical letter of 21 November, 1873, and, as a result, the <a href="../cathen/08078a.htm">papal internuncio</a> was expelled from <a href="../cathen/14358a.htm">Switzerland</a> in January, 1874. The concordat which Pius IX had concluded with <a href="../cathen/13231c.htm">Russia</a> in 1847 remained a dead letter, horrible cruelties were committed against the <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholic</a> <a href="../cathen/04049b.htm">clergy</a> and <a href="../cathen/08748a.htm">laity</a> after the Polish insurrection of 1863, and all relations with <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> were broken in 1866. The anti-ecclesiastical legislation in Colombia was denounced in his allocution of 27 September, 1852, and again, together with that of Mexico, on 30 September, 1861. With <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austria</a>, a concordat, very favourable to the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a>, was concluded on 18 August, 1855 ("Conventiones de rebus eccl. inter s. sedem et civilem potestatem", Mainz, 1870, 310-318). But the <a href="../cathen/12495a.htm">Protestant</a> agitation aginst the concordat was so strong, that in contravention to it the emperor reluctantly ratified marriage and <a href="../cathen/13554b.htm">school</a> <a href="../cathen/09053a.htm">laws</a> 25 March, 1868. In 1870 the concordat was abolished by the <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austrian</a> Government, and in 1874 <a href="../cathen/09053a.htm">laws</a> were enacted, which placed all but the inner management of <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">ecclesiastical</a> affairs in the hands of the Government.</p> <p>With <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a>, Pius IX concluded a satisfactory <a href="../cathen/04196a.htm">concordat</a> on 16 March, 1851 (Nussi, 281-297; "Acta Pii IX", I, 293-341). It was supplemented by various articles on 25 November, 1859 (Nussi, 341-5). Other satisfactory <a href="../cathen/04196a.htm">concordats</a> concluded by Pius IX were those with:</p> <div class="bulletlist"><ul><li>Portugal in 1857 (Nussi, 318-21);</li><li>Costa Rica, and Guatemala, 7 Oct., 1852 (Ib., 297-310);</li><li>Nicaragua, 2 Nov., 1861 (Ib., 361-7);</li><li>San Salvador, and Honduras, 22 April, 1862 (Ib., 367-72; 349);</li><li>Haiti, 28 March, 1860 (Ib., 346-8);</li><li>Venezuela, 26 July, 1862 (Ib., 356-61);</li><li><a href="../cathen/05278a.htm">Ecuador</a>, 26 Sept., 1862 (Ib., 349-56).</li></ul></div> <p>(<em>See</em> <a href="../cathen/04196a.htm">C<font size=-2>ONCORDAT</font>: <em>Summary of Principal Concordats</em></a>.)</p> <h2>Religious aspect of his papacy</h2> <p>His greatest achievements are of a purely ecclesiastical and religious character.</p> <h3>Battle against false liberalism</h3> <p>It is astounding how fearlessly he fought, in the midst of many and severe trials, against the <a href="../cathen/05781a.htm">false</a> <a href="../cathen/09212a.htm">liberalism</a> which threatened to destroy the very essence of <a href="../cathen/05752c.htm">faith</a> and religion. In his <a href="../cathen/05413a.htm">Encyclical</a> "Quanta Cura" of 8 December, 1864, he condemned sixteen propositions touching on <a href="../cathen/05525a.htm">errors</a> of the age. This <a href="../cathen/05413a.htm">Encyclical</a> was accompanied by the famous "Syllabus errorum", a table of eighty previously censured propositions bearing on <a href="../cathen/11447b.htm">pantheism</a>, <a href="../cathen/10713a.htm">naturalism</a>, <a href="../cathen/12652a.htm">rationalism</a>, <a href="../cathen/07759a.htm">indifferentism</a>, <a href="../cathen/14062a.htm">socialism</a>, <a href="../cathen/04179a.htm">communism</a>, <a href="../cathen/09771a.htm">freemasonry</a>, and the various kinds of <a href="../cathen/09212a.htm">religious liberalism</a>. Though misunderstandings and malice combined in representing the Syllabus as a veritable embodiment of religious narrow-mindedness and cringing servility to <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">papal</a> authority, it has done an inestimable service to the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> and to <a href="../cathen/14074a.htm">society</a> at large by unmasking the <a href="../cathen/05781a.htm">false</a> <a href="../cathen/09212a.htm">liberalism</a> which had begun to insinuate its subtle poison into the very marrow of <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholicism</a>.</p> <p>Previously, on 8 January, 1857, he had condemned the philosophico-theological writings of <a href="../cathen/07085a.htm">Günther</a>, and on many occasions advocated a return to the <a href="../cathen/12025c.htm">philosophy</a> and <a href="../cathen/14580x.htm">theology</a> of <a href="../cathen/14663b.htm">St. Thomas</a>.</p> <h3>His promotion of the inner life of the Church</h3> <p>Through his whole life he was very devout to the <a href="../cathen/15464b.htm">Blessed Virgin</a>. As early as 1849, when he was an exile at Gaëta, he issued letters to the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a>, asking their views on the subject of the <a href="../cathen/07674d.htm">Immaculate Conception</a>, and on 8 Dec., 1854, in the presence of more than 200 <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a>, he proclaimed the <a href="../cathen/07674d.htm">Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin</a> as a <a href="../cathen/05089a.htm">dogma</a> of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a>. He also fostered the <a href="../cathen/07163a.htm">devotion to the Sacred Heart</a>, and on 23 Sept., 1856, extended this feast to the whole world with the rite of a double major. At his instance the <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholic</a> world was <a href="../cathen/04276a.htm">consecrated</a> to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on 16 June, 1875. He also promoted the inner life of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> by many important <a href="../cathen/09306a.htm">liturgical</a> regulations, by various monastic reforms, and especially by an unprecedented number of beatifications and canonizations.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <h3>Convocation of the Vatican Council</h3> <p>On 29 June, 1869, he issued the <a href="../cathen/03052b.htm">Bull</a> <a href="../cathen/01176a.htm">"Æterni Patris"</a>, convoking the <a href="../cathen/15303a.htm">Vatican Council</a> which he opened in the presence of 700 <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> on 8 Dec., 1869. During its fourth solemn session, on 18 July, 1870, the <a href="../cathen/07790a.htm#IIIB">papal infallibility</a> was made a <a href="../cathen/05089a.htm">dogma</a> of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a>. (<em>See</em> <a href="../cathen/15303a.htm">V<font size=-2>ATICAN</font> C<font size=-2>OUNCIL.</font></a>.)</p> <h3>Appointments and foundations</h3> <p>The healthy and extensive growth of the <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">Church</a> during his pontificate was chiefly due to his unselfishness. He appointed to important <a href="../cathen/03744a.htm">ecclesiastical</a> positions only such men as were famous both for <a href="../cathen/12748a.htm">piety</a> and learning. Among the great <a href="../cathen/03333b.htm">cardinals</a> created by him were: <a href="../cathen/15670a.htm">Wiseman</a> and <a href="../cathen/09604b.htm">Manning</a> for <a href="../cathen/05445a.htm">England</a>; <a href="../cathen/04564a.htm">Cullen</a> for <a href="../cathen/08098b.htm">Ireland</a>; McCloskey for the <a href="../cathen/15156a.htm">United States</a>; <a href="../cathen/04786b.htm">Diepenbrock</a>, Geissel, <a href="../cathen/12730c.htm">Reisach</a>, and <a href="../cathen/09111b.htm">Ledochowski</a> for <a href="../cathen/06484b.htm">Germany</a>; <a href="../cathen/12660b.htm">Rauscher</a> and <a href="../cathen/06242a.htm">Franzelin</a> for <a href="../cathen/02121b.htm">Austria</a>; Mathieu, <a href="../cathen/05132a.htm">Donnet</a>, <a href="../cathen/06684b.htm">Gousset</a>, and Pitra for <a href="../cathen/06166a.htm">France</a>. On 29 Sept., 1850, he re-established the <a href="../cathen/16037d.htm">Catholic hierarchy in England</a> by erecting the <a href="../cathen/15592c.htm">Archdiocese of Westminster</a> with the twelve suffragan Sees of Beverley, <a href="../cathen/02578c.htm">Birmingham</a>, <a href="../cathen/04058c.htm">Clifton</a>, <a href="../cathen/07318b.htm">Hexham</a>, <a href="../cathen/09314a.htm">Liverpool</a>, Newport and Menevia, <a href="../cathen/11107b.htm">Northampton</a>, <a href="../cathen/11133a.htm">Nottingham</a>, <a href="../cathen/12171b.htm">Plymouth</a>, <a href="../cathen/13399a.htm">Salford</a>, <a href="../cathen/13759c.htm">Shrewsbury</a>, and <a href="../cathen/14162b.htm">Southwark</a>. The widespread commotion which this act caused among English fanatics, and which was fomented by Prime Minister Russell and the <a href="../cathen/09341a.htm">London</a> "Times", temporarily threatened to result in an open <a href="../cathen/11703a.htm">persecution</a> of <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholics</a> (<em>see</em> <a href="../cathen/05445a.htm">E<font size=-2>NGLAND</font></a>). On 4 March, 1853, he restored the <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholic</a> <a href="../cathen/07322c.htm">hierarchy</a> in <a href="../cathen/10759a.htm">Holland</a> by erecting the <a href="../cathen/15245a.htm">Archdiocese of Utrecht</a> and the four suffragan Sees of <a href="../cathen/07095a.htm">Haarlem</a>, <a href="../cathen/02625b.htm">Bois-le-Duc</a>, <a href="../cathen/13110a.htm">Roermond</a>, and Breda (<em>see</em> <a href="../cathen/10759a.htm">H<font size=-2>OLLAND</font></a>).</p> <p>In the <a href="../cathen/15156a.htm">United States of America</a> he erected the Dioceses of: Albany, <a href="../cathen/03037a.htm">Buffalo</a>, <a href="../cathen/04055a.htm">Cleveland</a>, and Galveston in 1847; Monterey, <a href="../cathen/13488a.htm">Savannah</a>, <a href="../cathen/13366b.htm">St. Paul</a>, <a href="../cathen/15608a.htm">Wheeling</a>, <a href="../cathen/13457a.htm">Santa Fe</a>, and Nesqually (Seattle) in 1850; Burlington, <a href="../cathen/04462b.htm">Covington</a>, <a href="../cathen/05518b.htm">Erie</a>, <a href="../cathen/10710a.htm">Natchitoches</a>, <a href="../cathen/02798d.htm">Brooklyn</a>, <a href="../cathen/10779c.htm">Newark</a>, and Quincy (Alton) in 1853; Portland (Maine) in 1855; Fort Wayne, Sault Sainte Marie (Marquette) in 1857; <a href="../cathen/04149a.htm">Columbus</a>, Grass Valley (Sacramento) Green Bay, <a href="../cathen/07143a.htm">Harrisburg</a>, <a href="../cathen/08735b.htm">La Crosse</a>, Rochester, <a href="../cathen/13633a.htm">Scranton</a>, <a href="../cathen/13356b.htm">St. Joseph</a>, Wilmington in 1868; Springfield and St. Augustine in 1870; Providence and Ogdensburg in 1872; San Antonio in 1874; Peoria in 1875; Leavenworth in 1877; the <a href="../cathen/15401b.htm">Vicariates Apostolic</a> of the Indian Territory and Nebraska in 1851; Northern Michigan in 1853; Florida in 1857; North Carolina, <a href="../cathen/07627a.htm">Idaho</a>, and <a href="../cathen/04129a.htm">Colorado</a> in 1868; Arizona in 1869; Brownsville in <a href="../cathen/14543a.htm">Texas</a> and Northern Minnesota in 1874. He encouraged the convening of provincial and <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">diocesan</a> <a href="../cathen/14388a.htm">synods</a> in various countries, and established at <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> the Latin American College in 1853, and the College of the <a href="../cathen/15156a.htm">United States of America</a>, at his own private expense, in 1859.</p> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>His was the longest pontificate in the history of the <a href="../cathen/11451b.htm">papacy</a>. In 1871 he celebrated his twenty-fifth, in 1876 his thirtieth, anniversary as <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a>, and in 1877 his golden episcopal jubilee. His <a href="../cathen/14773b.htm">tomb</a> is in the church of San Lorenzo fuori le mura. The so-called <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">diocesan</a> process of his <a href="../cathen/02364b.htm">beatification</a> was begun on 11 February, 1907.</p> <p>[<em>Note:</em> Pope Pius IX was <a href="../cathen/02364b.htm">beatified</a> on September 3, 2000.]</p> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-bottom' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <div class="cenotes"><h2>Sources</h2><p class="cenotes"><em>Acta Pii IX</em> (Rome, 1854-78); <em>Acta Sancta Sedis</em> (Rome, 1865 sq.); RIANCEY, <em>Recueil des allocutions consistoriales</em> (Paris, 1853 sq.); <em>Discorsi del Sommo Pont. Pio IX</em> (Rome, 1872-8); MAGUIRE, <em>Pius IX and his Times</em> (Dublin, 1885); TROLLOPE, <em>Life of Pius IX</em> (London, 1877); SHEA, <em>Life and Pontificate of Pius IX</em> (New York, 1877); BRENNAN, <em>A Popular Life of Our Holy Father Pope Pius IX</em> (New York, 1877); O'REILLY, <em>Life of Pius IX</em> (New York, 1878); MCCAFFREY, <em>Hist. of the Cath. Church in the Nineteenth Century,</em> I (Dublin, 1909); LYONS, <em>Dispatches resp. the condition of the Papal States</em> (London, 1860); BALLERINI, <em>Les Premiéres pages du pontificat de Pie IX</em> (Rome, 1909); POUGEOIS, <em>Histoire de Pie IX, son pontificat et son siècle</em> (Paris, 1877-86);VILLEGRANCHE, <em>Pie IX, sa vie, son histoire, son siècle</em> (Paris, 1878); SAGèS, <em>SS. Pie IX, sa vie, ses écrits, sa doctrine</em> (Paris, 1896); ROCFER, <em>Souvenirs d'un prélat romain sur Rome et la cour pontificale au temps de Pie IX</em> d(Paris, 1896); VAN DUERM, <em>Rome et la Franc-Maçconnerie</em> (Brussels, 1896); GILLET, <em>Pie IX, sa vie, et les actes de son pontificat</em> (Paris, 1877); RÜTJES, <em>Leben, wirken und leiden Sr. Heiligkeit Pius IX</em> (Oberhausen, 1870); HÜLSKAMP, <em>Papst Pius IX in seinem Leben und Wirken</em> (Münster, 1875); STEPPISCHNEGG, <em>Papst Pius IX und seine Zeit</em> (Vienna, 1879); WAPPMANNSPERGER, <em>Leben und Wirken des Papst Pius IX</em> (Ratisbon, 1879); NÜRNBERGER, <em>Papsttum und Kirchenstaat,</em> II, III (Mainz, 1898-1900); MAROCCO, <em>Pio IX</em> (Turin, 1861-4); MOROSI, <em>Vita di SS. Pio papa IX</em> (Florence, 1885-6); BONETTI, <em>Pio IX ad Imola e Roma—Memorie inedite di un suo famgiliare segreto</em> (Rome, 1892); CESARE, <em>Roma e lo stato del Papa dal ritorno di Pio IX al 20 Settembre</em> (Rome, 1906).</p></div> <div class="pub"><h2>About this page</h2><p id="apa"><strong>APA citation.</strong> <span id="apaauthor">Ott, M.</span> <span id="apayear">(1911).</span> <span id="apaarticle">Pope Pius IX.</span> In <span id="apawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="apapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company.</span> <span id="apaurl">http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12134b.htm</span></p><p id="mla"><strong>MLA citation.</strong> <span id="mlaauthor">Ott, Michael.</span> <span id="mlaarticle">"Pope Pius IX."</span> <span id="mlawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="mlavolume">Vol. 12.</span> <span id="mlapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company,</span> <span id="mlayear">1911.</span> <span id="mlaurl"><http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12134b.htm>.</span></p><p id="transcription"><strong>Transcription.</strong> <span id="transcriber">This article was transcribed for New Advent by WGKofron.</span> <span id="dedication">With thanks to St. Mary's Church, Akron, Ohio.</span></p><p id="approbation"><strong>Ecclesiastical approbation.</strong> <span id="nihil"><em>Nihil Obstat.</em> June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.</span> <span id="imprimatur"><em>Imprimatur.</em> +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.</span></p><p id="contactus"><strong>Contact information.</strong> The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster <em>at</em> newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.</p></div> </div> <div id="ogdenville"><table summary="Bottom bar" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"><center><strong>Copyright © 2023 by <a href="../utility/contactus.htm">New Advent LLC</a>. 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