Pope Pius IX
1847-1878
Pope Pius IX early life
Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti was born in Senigallia into the noble family of Girolamo dei conti Ferretti, and was baptized on the same day of his birth with the name of Giovanni Maria Giambattista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro. He was educated at the Piarist College in Volterra and in Rome. He was the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church – over 31 years (the longest serving, un-elected pope was Peter the Apostle, posthumously considered the first pope, who was confirmed by Christ in 33 AD and killed by Emperor Nero in 67 AD). During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council (1869–70), which decreed papal infallibility, but the council was cut short due to the loss of the Papal States.
Papacy of Pope Pius IX
The election of the liberal Pius IX created much enthusiasm in Europe and elsewhere, especially following the major upheavals of international European revolutions of the Revolutions of 1848.[citation needed] Although he was not unknown and had done nothing on an administrative level before his election, and although there were no utterances from him, he increased in fame and popularity. For the next twenty months after the election, Pius IX was the most popular man on the Italian peninsula, where the exclamation "Long life to Pius IX!" was often heard