Pius Ix

(born May 13, 1792, Senigallia, Papal States—died Feb. 7, 1878, Rome; beatified Sept. 3, 2000; feast day February 7) Pope (1846–78).

He became an archbishop in 1827, a cardinal in 1840, and pope on the death of Gregory XVI (1831–46). He set out to make liberal reforms, but the revolutionary fervour of 1848 frightened him into extreme conservatism. He proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and convened the First Vatican Council (1869–70), which promulgated the doctrine of papal infallibility. After losing temporal power to Victor Emmanuel II upon Italian unification, he regarded himself as a “prisoner in the Vatican” and refused any contact with the Italian government. Pius's pontificate was the longest in history. He was beatified in 2000 by Pope John Paul II (1978–2005).

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