As reigning sovereign of the Papal States Pius IX. had passed through a "liberal period": as head of the Church, he had never been liable to attacks of liberalism. Nevertheless, his return from exile left its mark on his spiritual administration. For from this period onwards he set his face against the influence of modernism on ecclesiastical life; showed his displeasure at and distrust of the scientific theology and philosophy which marked a moderate ad vance (Gunther, Frohschammer and Dellinger) ; and, entrenched in the stronghold of mediaeval ideals, combated the transforma tions of the new order of society, and the changes in the relation ship between Church and state, which obtained in most countries of Europe since the French Revolution. After long and careful consultation, the adverse criticisms which he had expressed on various occasions were published on Dec. 8, 1864, together with the encyclical Quanta cura, under the title Syllabus complectens praecipuos nostrae aetatis errores. (See SYLLABUS.) In this Pius claimed for the Church the control of all culture and all science, and of the whole educational system. He rejected the liberty of faith, conscience and worship enjoyed by other creeds; and bade an easy farewell to the idea of tolerance. He claimed the complete independence of the Church from state control; upheld the necessity of a continuance of the temporal power of the Roman See; and finally, in the last clause, declared that "the pontiff neither can be nor ought to be reconciled with progress, liberalism and modern civilization." The publication of this syllabus created a profound impression: for it declared war on modern society, and committed the papacy to the principles of Ultramontanism (q.v.). But, as any attempt to translate its precepts into practice would entail a disastrous conflict with the existing regime as established by law, Roman Catholic circles have frequently shown a tendency to belittle the significance of the manifesto and to deny that its rules are absolutely binding. But these well-meant explanations, however comprehensible, are refuted by the unequivocal pronouncements of Pius IX., Leo XIII., and many recognized ecclesiastical au thorities—e.g., Cardinal Manning, archbishop of Westminster, who described the syllabus as an emanation from the highest doctrinal authority in the Church.
Infallibility.—The zenith of Pius's pontificate was attained on July 18, 187o, when the Vatican council proclaimed the in fallibility of the pope and the universality of his episcopate, thus elevating him to a pinnacle which none of his predecessors had reached and at the same time fulfilling his dearest wish. That, personally, he laid great stress on the acceptance of the dogma, was a fact which he did not attempt to conceal during the long preliminary deliberations of the council; and his attitude was a not inconsiderable factor in determining its final resolutions. But
the loss of the Papal States, immediately afterwards, was a blow from which he never recovered. Whenever he brought himself to speak of the subject—and it was not rarely—he repeated his protest in the bitterest terms, and, to the end of his days, refused to be reconciled with the "sacrilegious" king of Italy. When, in Germany, the situation created by the Vatican council led to the outbreak of the Kulturkampf, Pius IX. failed to display the tact peculiar to his successor. For, in the encyclical Quod numquam (Feb. 5, 1875), he took the rash step of declaring invalid the Prussian laws regulating the relationship between Church and state—the only result being that the feud was still further embittered.
In these later years the dark days of his "captivity" were amply compensated by the proofs of reverence displayed by Ro man Catholic Christianity, which accorded him magnificent ova tions as his period of jubilee began to fall due. The twenty-fifth anniversary of his pontificate was celebrated with great splendour on June 16, 1871; for he was the first pope who had thus reached the traditional "years of Peter." In 1872 his Both birthday gave occasion for new demonstrations; and 1875 was a so-called "year of jubilee." Finally, in 1877, the fifty years of his priesthood were completed : an event which brought him innumerable expressions of loyalty and led to a great manifestation of devotion to the Holy See from all the Roman Catholic world. He will be remembered as the pope who re-established the hierarchy in England. On Feb. 7, 1878 Pius IX. died. His successor was Leo XIII. (C. MI.; X.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.—F. Hulskamp, Papst Pius IX. in seinem Leben and Wirken (2nd ed. Munster, 187o) ; J. F. Macguire, Pontificate of Pius the Ninth (being the 3rd ed. of Rome and its Ruler. 187o) ; J. M. Villefranche, Pie IX. sa vie son histoire, son siecle (2nd ed. 1876) ; A. Pougeois, Histoire de Pie IX. et de son pontificat (6 vols., 86) ; L. Wappmannsperger, Leben and Wirken des Papstes Pius des Neunten (Regensburg, 1878) ; J. M. Stepischnegg, Papst Pius IX. and seine Zeit (2 vols., Vienna, 1879) ; R. de Cesare, Roma e lo Stato del Papa (2 vol. 1907. Eng. trans. abridged by H. Zimmern as The Last Days of Papal Rome, 1850-187o, 1909) ; P. R. Ballerini, Les premieres pages du pontificat de Pie IX. (19o9). SOURCES: Acta Pii IX., 4 vol. (Rome, 1854 etc.) ; Acta Sanctae Sedis (Rome, 1865 etc.). A selection of the documents for the history of Pius IX. will be found in C. Mirbt, Quellen zur Geschichte des Papsttums and des romischen Katholi,:smus, pp. 361-390 (2nd ed. Tubingen, igoi). See also ULTRAMONTANISM. See the Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v.