Pope Pius IX (13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal infallibility. The Pope defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin. Pius IX also granted the Marian title of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a famous Byzantine icon from Crete entrusted to the Redemptorist priests. In addition to this, Pius IX was also the last Pope to rule as the Sovereign of the Papal States, which fell completely to Italian nationalist armies by 1870 and were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. He was beatified in 2000.
Read more about Pope Pius IX: Overview, Early Life and Ministry, Papal Election, Papacy, Sovereign of The Papal States, Policies Toward Other Nations, Plans To Leave Rome, Theology, Last Years and Death, Beatification, Legacy, Photos of Pope Pius IX, Memorabilia
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“It is an error to believe that the Roman Pontiff can and ought to reconcile himself to, and agree with, progress, liberalism, and contemporary civilization.”
—Pope Pius IX (1792–1878)
“what affects our hearts
Is not the exactness of peculiar parts;
‘Tis not a lip, or eye, we beauty call,
But the joint force and full result of all.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“It is an error to believe that the Roman Pontiff can and ought to reconcile himself to, and agree with, progress, liberalism, and contemporary civilization.”
—Pope Pius IX (1792–1878)