31 Facts About Pope Pius IX

1. The Pope Pius IX had to make a decree that Native Americans were "rational beings with souls" and not to be enslaved in 1537.

2. Pope Pius IX reigned for another eight years, during which he became further estranged from the Italian government and witnessed a general outbreak of anticlericalism in western Europe.

3. Pope Pius IX intervened decisively to alter the procedure of the council on February 20, 1870, and again on April 29.

4. Pope Pius IX was appalled by the Convention, claiming it left the wolves to guard the sheep.

5. Pope Pius IX died on 7 February 1878, aged 85, concluding the longest pontificate in papal history, after that of St Peter whom tradition holds had reigned for 37 years.

6. Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin.

7. Pope Pius IX promoted the foundations of Catholic Universities in Belgium and France and supported Catholic associations, with the aim of explaining the faith to non-Catholics.

8. Pope Pius IX was adamant about his role as the highest teaching authority in the church.

9. Pope Pius IX would have to grant it as ruler of ten million Catholic subjects who would desire to see the head of their Church protected.

10. Pope Pius IX thinks all Prussia would be perverted and he himself would be obliged to become a Catholic.

11. Pope Pius IX approved on 7 February 1847 the unanimous request of American bishops that the Immaculate Conception be invoked as the Patroness of the United States of America.

12. Pope Pius IX's sought refuge with the pope, and she would eat and drink only what was prepared for him, fearful that everything else might be poisoned.

13. Pope Pius IX had blessed Maximilian and his wife Charlotte of Belgium before they set off for Mexico to begin their reign.

14. Pope Pius IX decided to move his residence from the Quirinal Palace inside Rome to the Vatican, where popes have lived ever since.

15. Pope Pius IX visited the hospitals to comfort the wounded and sick but he seemed to have lost both some of his liberal tastes and his confidence in the Romans, who had turned against him in 1848.

16. The Pope Pius IX, claiming to be above national interests, refused to go to war with Austria, which totally reversed the up to now popular view of him in his native Italy.

17. Pope Pius IX ordered the strengthening of the Colosseum, which was threatened with collapse.

18. Pope Pius IX recognized that much had to be done and instituted a reform commission in 1851.

19. Pope Pius IX improved the transportation system by building roads, viaducts, bridges and seaports.

20. Pope Pius IX showed himself hostile to Austrian influences, greatly to the delight of the Italian patriots, who hailed Pio Nono as the coming redeemer of Italy.

21. Pope Pius IX appointed an able and enlightened minister, Rossi, to administer the Papal States.

22. Pope Pius IX canonized a total of 52 saints during his pontificate.

23. Pope Pius IX was a bit shy, but he valued initiative within the church and created several new titles, rewards, and orders to elevate those who in his view deserved merit.

24. Pope Pius IX fought against what he perceived to be anti-Catholic philosophies in countries like Italy, Germany and France.

25. Pope Pius IX was elected without political influences from outside and in the best years of his life.

26. Pope Pius IX initially worked as the rector of the Tata Giovanni Institute in Rome.

27. Pope Pius IX threw himself at the feet of Pius VII, who elevated him and supported his continued theological studies.

28. Pope Pius IX was the ninth child 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.

29. Pope Pius IX was beatified on 3 September 2000 after the recognition of a miracle.

30. Pope Pius IX refused to leave Vatican City, declaring himself a "prisoner of the Vatican".

31. Pope Pius IX was the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving for over 31 years.