Pius IX (1792-1878) was elected pope of the Roman Catholic Church in 1846. He enjoyed the longest reign in papal history. His early acts as pope promised a liberal and popular government for the Papal States. He pardoned political prisoners, admitted lay people to the government, and promised a constitution. He fled Rome in 1848 when revolutionists made the city a republic. After his restoration in 1850, Pius followed a highly conservative policy in government matters.
In 1854, Pius defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary as an article of Roman Catholic dogma (see Immaculate Conception ). Ten years later, he issued the Syllabus of Errors, a collection of propositions that gave the impression that Pius was opposed to all progress and to modern civilization.
The outstanding event of Pius IX’s reign was the assembling of Vatican Council I in 1869, the first general council since the 1500’s. The council declared that the pope had primacy of jurisdiction–that is, he was first in importance–over the whole church. The council also approved the doctrine of papal infallibility. For a description of this doctrine, see Vatican Council I.
Italy took the Papal States and Rome by force during the unification in the 1860’s and 1870’s. Pius became a voluntary prisoner in the Vatican. He refused any accord that did not recognize him as a sovereign ruler. He believed that he would be looked on as “the Italian king’s chaplain” if he settled for anything less. See Italy (Italy united) .
Pius was born on May 13, 1792, in Senigallia, Italy. His given and family name was Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti. He was ordained a priest in 1819, created an archbishop in 1827, and made a cardinal in 1840. As archbishop of Imola, he was noted for his liberal sympathies and his criticism of the conservative Pope Gregory XVI. Pius died on Feb. 7, 1878.
