1849-1860 History of Italy Papacy 1871-1890






Papal State and Papacy, 1860-1871



The events of 1860 had left Pope Pius IX. with a Papal State reduced to Lazio, under the protection of French troops. Cardinal Antonelli continued in the function of secretary of state.
The Pope faced a number of diplomatic offers requesting him to give up his temporal powers in return for complete control of church affairs in Italy, offers he rejected. The Pope persisted in his refusal to recognize the unilateral annexion of the Romagna, the Marches and Umbria by Italy (1860) and declared the excommunication of those who were responsible for it; he also threatened those who were to participate in the Italian elections with communication. However, his influence even over Italy's clergy was limited, as a request signed by 8943 Italian priests, asking him to give up his temporal powers and to reconcile the Italian church with the state (1862) shows.
Garibaldi undertook repeated plots aiming at toppling the administration of the Papal State. In 1862 he was stopped by Italian forces in the Aspromonte Mountains; in 1867 the Italian administration was able to stop Garibaldi in the last moment, but his supporters invaded the Papal State. Held up by Papal State forces, they were defeated when the French appeared on the battlefield at Monte Libretti (October 12th).
When, in the course of the Franco-German War, the French were defeated in the Battle of Sedan, the French forces were withdrawn from the Papal State. Italian forces moved in and took Rome under artillery fire; after a little over two hours, Rome surrendered (Sept. 22nd 1870). Rome was annexed into Italy and declared her capital. The Papal State had ceased to exist; Pope Pius IX,, being assured free disposal over the Vatican, Lateran and Castel Gandolfo, persisted in refusing to recognize political reality.
In the final days of the Papal State, the First Vatican Council was held; the hitherto best-frequented church council adopted the claim of Papal Infallibility. The dominating christian philosophy of the time was Neoscholasticism.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Biography of Pius IX., from Catholic Encyclopedia 1911 edition
Biography of Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli, from Encyclopedia of the 1848 Revolutions, from Catholic Encyclopedia
Article Vatican Council, from Catholic Encyclopedia
Pauselijke Zouaven 1860-1870 (Papal Zuaves (mercenaries), 1860-1870, from Het Belgisch Leger 1830-1914 (The Belgian Army 1830-1914), in Dutch
Pauselijke Zouaven uit de Liemers (Papal Zouaves from de Liemers), from Genealogisch Archief, in Dutch
Battaglia dell'Aspromonte, from Cronologia, in Italian
La Questione Romana, from Risorgimento, in Italian
La Legge delle Guarantigie (1871), from Risorgimento, in Italian
Aspromonte (1862), Garibaldi e i Revoluzionari Romani (1867), Intervento Francese e Italiano nella Stata Pontificio, Territorio Pontificio (1870) from Cronologia, in Italian
Article Neoscholasticism, from infoplease
Article Guarantees, Law of, from Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910 edition
DOCUMENTS Papal Encyclicals Online, scroll down for Pius IX. (40 texts)
Encyclical of Pius IX. : Syllabus Errorum (1864), from Reformation Online
Encyclical of Pius IX. : Ubi Nos (1871, on the Papal State), from Papal Encyclicals Online
Decrees of the First Vatican Council, from St. Michael Depot
De nationale orden en medailles van de Pauselijke Zoeaven. (The National Medals of the Papal Zouaves), from Het Belgisch Leger 1830-1914, in Dutch
REFERENCE Book Reviews : Papal State, from History Book Reviews

Franz Xaver Seppelt, Georg Schwaiger, Geschichte der Päpste (History of the Popes), München : Kösel 1964, 572 pp., in German [G]
Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi, Lo Assedio di Roma (The Siege of Rome, 1864), posted by Gutenberg Library Online, in Italian



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on August 31st 2002, last revised on October 28th 2007

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