Bl Pius IX

Pius IX
The Man and the Myth
by Yves Chiron

Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti is one of the most interesting and complex individuals to ever become Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in 1792, during the French Revolution, lived through the Napoleonic conquests of Europe, and witnessed the unification of both Italy and the Prussian Empire.

His pontificate included the proclamation of the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility, the convocation of the First Vatican Council, the publication of the Syllabus of Errors, the beginnings of Catholic Action, and the development of the foreign missions.

Chapters include:

• The First Years
• Difficult Path to the Priesthood
• From Tata Giovanni to Chile
• Bishop of Spoleto
• Bishop and Cardinal of Imola
• Sovereign Pontiff
• From Reform to Revolution
• The Pope in Exile
• Resistance and Renewal
• The Pope of the Immaculate Conception
• Pius IX and Italy
• The Pope of the Syllabus
• The Roman Question
• The Vatican Council
• The "Prisoner of the Vatican"
• Towards the Canonization