Pius IX (1792-1878)

Pope from 1846. He never accepted the incorporation of the papal states and of Rome in the kingdom of Italy. He proclaimed the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin in 1854 and papal infallibility in 1870; his pontificate was the longest in history.

Originally a liberal, he became highly reactionary as papal territories were progressively lost. He refused to set foot outside the Vatican after the Italian occupation of Rome, regarding himself as a prisoner, and forbade Catholics to take any part in politics in Italy. He centred power in the Vatican, refusing compromise with modern spiritual ideas. His devotion inspired a cult following that continues to this day.

The first stage in his canonization was begun in 1985. Pope John Paul II completed the canonization in September 2000. Pope Pius IX had been described by his critics as an anti-Semite, a child-snatcher, an opponent of Italian unification, and criticized for his introduction of the dogma of papal infallibility, and the decision to canonize him was opposed by Jewish groups, liberals, and reformist Catholics.