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Article: Pius IX
- Article from:
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
CopyrightThe Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information)
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Pius IX 1792-1878, pope (1846-78), an Italian named Giovanni M. Mastai-Ferretti, b. Senigallia; successor of
Gregory XVI
. He was cardinal and bishop of Imola when elected pope. For two years he pursued a progressive policy in governing the
Papal States
and granted a constitution. However, in 1848 rioting drove him from Rome to Gaeta, and he returned (1850) to be supported in power only by the forces of Napoleon III. The Italian nationalists were eager for Rome and the Papal States, and in 1860 Victor Emmanuel II seized all but Rome and its neighborhood. In 1870, on the deposition of Napoleon III, the Italians entered Rome, and Pius retired to the Vatican, refusing to recognize the new ...