Pius IX

American  

noun

1. Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, 1792–1878, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1846–78.

---

Pius IX British  

noun

1. original name Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti. 1792–1878, Italian ecclesiastic; pope (1846–78). He refused to recognize the incorporation of Rome and the Papal States in the kingdom of Italy, confining himself to the Vatican after 1870. He decreed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and convened the Vatican Council, which laid down the doctrine of papal infallibility (1870)

---

Example Sentences

Paolo Pierobon plays Pius IX as a reptilian, vengeful theocrat with his own deep-seated fears, borne of ceding ecclesiastical dominion to an increasingly progressive anti-papist world.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2024

The longest papacy in recent centuries was that of Pius IX, which lasted more than 31 years between 1846 and 1878.

From Reuters • Mar. 13, 2023

In 1870, Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph the Holy Patriarch Joseph, patron of the Catholic Church, and set his feast day as March 19, so Catholics around the world observe this day.

From Washington Post • Mar. 7, 2023

American sculptor William Wetmore Story carved “Saul” in 1865 in Rome, and it was shown that same year in Dublin after Pope Pius IX paid for it to be exhibited there, Coffey said.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2018

A certain resemblance to Pius IX there is; he is not so amiable as was that good-tempered Pope who was nicknamed by his intimate friend, the Abb� Liszt, Pia Nina, because of his musical proclivities.

From Franz Liszt by Huneker, James