L'Osservatore Romano is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role reserved for the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, which acts as a government gazette. The views expressed in the Osservatore are those of individual authors unless they appear under the specific titles "Nostre Informazioni" or "Santa Sede".
Under Pope Leo XIII, the Holy See acquired ownership of L'Osservatore in 1885.
Giornale di Roma (27 November 1852)
L'Osservatore Romano: front page of 15 May 1891, publishing the encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII.
L'Osservatore Romano cover (19 August 2015)
Pope Pius IX was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of 32 years is the second longest of any pope in history, behind that of Saint Peter. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican Council in 1868 and for permanently losing control of the Papal States in 1870 to the Kingdom of Italy. Thereafter, he refused to leave Vatican City, declaring himself a "prisoner in the Vatican".
Pius IX in 1875
Portrait by George Peter Alexander Healy, 1871 (oil on canvas, 73.6 × 43.1 cm; Museo Pio IX)
The birthplace house of Pius IX in Senigallia
Illustration showing Mastai Ferretti at his first Holy Mass in 1819
