Pope Pius IX
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Pope Pius IX was head of the Catholic Church from 16 June 1846 until his death in February 1878.
Portrait by Adolphe Braun, 1875
1871 portrait by George Peter Alexander Healy
The birthplace house of Pius IX in Senigallia
Illustration showing Mastai-Ferretti at his first Holy Mass in 1819
Pope
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The pope is the bishop of Rome and the head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope wa
Gregory the Great (c. 540–604), in a painting by Carlo Saraceni, c. 1610, Rome
As part of the Catholic Reformation, Pope Paul III (1534–1549) initiated the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which established the triumph of the papacy over those who sought to reconcile with Protestants or oppose papal claims.
A fresco of Eliakim in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
The Delivery of the Keys, by Pietro Perugino, 1481