Pope Pius IX

Skibbereen, one of the hardest-hit areas, inspired several British relief initiatives during the winter of 1846–47.

In January 1847, the British government abandoned its policy of non-interference, realizing its failure and turning to direct relief measures.

The British Relief Association was founded in January 1847 by prominent bankers and aristocrats to raise money for Irish relief.

The Royal Navy squadron in Cork undertook significant relief operations, distributing supplies from the British Relief Association.

Pope Pius IX issued an encyclical in March 1847 calling the Catholic world to contribute to Irish relief.

In April 1847, the cost of famine relief was announced to be transferred to local taxes in Ireland.

The Poor Relief Act 1847 was passed in June, establishing the principle that Irish property must support Irish poverty.

Conclave held from 14 to 16 June 1846 to elect a successor to Gregory XVI.

Cardinal Mastai-Ferretti elected as Pope Pius IX on 16 June 1846.

Pius IX crowned with the papal tiara on 21 June 1846.

Pius IX promulgated the encyclical Qui pluribus on 9 November 1846, addressing it to all patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops with warnings against rationalism, pantheism, communism, and modernity.

In April 1848 Pius IX issued an allocution refusing to support Piedmont-Sardinia against Austria, leaving Charles Albert's aspiration for unification with papal endorsement unfulfilled.

The Constituent Assembly scheduled direct, universal elections for male citizens over 21 on 21 January 1849.

Annibale de Gasparis discovered asteroid Hygiea at Naples on 12 April 1849, naming it Igea Borbonica to honor King Ferdinand II.

On 30 April 1849, Garibaldi's republican army defeated a numerically far superior French force at Porta San Pancrazio in Rome.

Two Sicilies troops reconquered Palermo on 15 May 1849, crushing the Sicilian republican government.

Direct elections in January 1849 produced a republican assembly because the Pope forbade Catholics from voting, calling the election sacrilegious.

One of the first acts of the Republic was to proclaim the Pope's right to continue as head of the Roman Church.

At a rally in the Teatro Apollo, Abbé Arduini declared the temporal power of popes to be a historical lie and political imposture.

The Constitutional Assembly convened in Rome and proclaimed the Roman Republic after midnight on 9 February 1849, replacing the Papal government.

Pope Pius IX issued the bull to restore the diocesan hierarchy in England and Wales, responding to local petitions.

The UK Parliament passed legislation criminalizing the use of episcopal titles in response to the bull.

Joseph Drew of Weymouth published essays and verses criticizing the Pope in 1851.

Upon returning, Pius IX reversed the Roman Republic's religious freedom laws and re-instituted the Jewish ghetto.

Pius IX returned to Rome on 1 April 1850 after the Roman Republic's suppression by French forces, ending his exile.

The Constituent Congress ratified the constitution on 5 February 1857, establishing individual rights and freedoms.

In late 1857, Bologna's inquisitor learned of a secret baptism performed by a former servant.

Papal police seized Edgardo Mortara in Bologna on 23 June 1858, taking him into custody the following evening.

From July 1858 the affair was reported across Europe, and a British committee on Mortara operated from August to December 1858.

Contrasting narratives emerged regarding Edgardo's wishes during visits by his father in August and September 1858.

After Papal rule ended in Bologna in 1859, inquisitor Feletti was prosecuted but acquitted.

Pope Pius IX erected Gozo as a separate diocese on 16 September 1864, initially exempt from the Archdiocese of Malta.

Michael Franciscus Buttigieg was created the first bishop of the new Diocese of Gozo on 22 September 1864, having been consecrated at Rome on 3 May 1863.

Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli criticized Count Charles Montalembert's Mechelen speeches by letter, received at the end of March 1864.

Quanta cura was prompted by the September Convention of 1864 between the emerging Kingdom of Italy and the Second French Empire of Napoleon III.

Pope Pius IX issued the Syllabus of Errors on 8 December 1864, attached to the encyclical Quanta cura, condemning 80 propositions.

Congress passed legislation on February 28, 1867, prohibiting future funding for US diplomatic missions to the Holy See, causing relations to lapse.

Pope Pius IX established the Apostolic Vicariate of Arizona in 1868, separating its territory from the Diocese of Santa Fe.

The First Vatican Council opened in Rome on 8 December 1869, held in St. Peter's Basilica, correcting legacy venue errors.

Pope Pius IX issued the bull Postquam Dei munere on 20 October 1870, adjourning the First Vatican Council indefinitely.

A preliminary vote on the section on infallibility was held in a general congregation on 13 July 1870.

The final vote on the dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus was taken on 18 July 1870, defining papal infallibility as a dogma.

John McCloskey was created cardinal-priest by Pope Pius IX in the consistory of March 15, 1875, becoming the first American cardinal.

Bismarck ended the Kulturkampf in 1878 to secure Centre Party votes for his anti-socialist campaign, marking a strategic political pivot.

The Reichstag passed the Anti-Socialist Law in October 1878 following assassination attempts on Emperor Wilhelm I, outlawing social democratic organizations.