The Story of Blessed Pope Pius IX, Whose Feast Day in 2016 Is Sunday, February 7

[mdgspencer]

see catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/blessed-pope-pius-ix-feast-day-7th-february
The story of this little-known 19th-Century Pope is surprising. He was the longest-serving Pope ever, since Saint Peter, 32 years. He provided the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary as an official belief of the Church. He called an ecumenical council, the first Vatican Council, the only one in four hundred years. (There has been only one since then.) He created the title Our Mother of Perpetual Help. He had epilepsy when he was a boy, but this stopped. Things were going crazy in Europe then. Governments were assailing the Catholic Church. Rome was invaded by foreign armies and taken over by revolutionaries, when there was no separate, sanctuary of the Vatican State. One time he had to flee in disguise. In fact, right when the Vatican Council that he had called was occurring, Rome was invaded by an army, and the council was disbanded. “He had a difficult pontificate, but precisely because of that he was a great Pope, certainly one of the greatest.” His last words before he died were a prayer, “Guard the Church I loved so well and so sacredly.”
He was beatified in 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II.

 

[7_Sorrows]

thanks for sharing!

 

[Don_Ruggero]

see catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/blessed-pope-pius-ix-feast-day-7th-february
The story of this little-known 19th-Century Pope is surprising. He was the longest-serving Pope ever, since Saint Peter, 32 years. He provided the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary as an official belief of the Church. He called an ecumenical council, the first Vatican Council, the only one in four hundred years. (There has been only one since then.) He created the title Our Mother of Perpetual Help. He had epilepsy when he was a boy, but this stopped. Things were going crazy in Europe then. Governments were assailing the Catholic Church. Rome was invaded by foreign armies and taken over by revolutionaries, when there was no separate, sanctuary of the Vatican State. One time he had to flee in disguise. In fact, right when the Vatican Council that he had called was occurring, Rome was invaded by an army, and the council was disbanded. “He had a difficult pontificate, but precisely because of that he was a great Pope, certainly one of the greatest.” His last words before he died were a prayer, “Guard the Church I loved so well and so sacredly.”
He was beatified in 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Thank you for making others aware about Pius IX and his feast day. He is in my genealogy of ordination. A most interesting man living in most interesting times. He did many things in the history of the Church in the United States and should be remembered in a forum so populated by Americans.

 

[Jon_Mallory]

Thank you for making others aware about Pius IX and his feast day. He is in my genealogy of ordination. A most interesting man living in most interesting times. He did many things in the history of the Church in the United States and should be remembered in a forum so populated by Americans.

Yes. There is an interesting story of one of his guards throwing the Melkite patriarch to the floor and Pope pius ix stepping on his face. He widened the rift between Catholics and Orthodox. We have a lot to remember him for.

 

[Lormar]

see catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/blessed-pope-pius-ix-feast-day-7th-february
The story of this little-known 19th-Century Pope is surprising. He was the longest-serving Pope ever, since Saint Peter, 32 years. He provided the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary as an official belief of the Church. He called an ecumenical council, the first Vatican Council, the only one in four hundred years. (There has been only one since then.) He created the title Our Mother of Perpetual Help. He had epilepsy when he was a boy, but this stopped. Things were going crazy in Europe then. Governments were assailing the Catholic Church. Rome was invaded by foreign armies and taken over by revolutionaries, when there was no separate, sanctuary of the Vatican State. One time he had to flee in disguise. In fact, right when the Vatican Council that he had called was occurring, Rome was invaded by an army, and the council was disbanded. “He had a difficult pontificate, but precisely because of that he was a great Pope, certainly one of the greatest.” His last words before he died were a prayer, “Guard the Church I loved so well and so sacredly.”
He was beatified in 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Thank you. Unfortunately, I just saw this. Too late to celebrate his feast day.

As Don Ruggero said, he was an interesting man. His pontificate wasn’t an easy one.