February 7, 2024 / 10:01 AM
During the pontificate of Blessed Pius IX (1846-1878), whose feast day is celebrated every February 7, the ideologies and political-military interests in Europe caused the Pope to live through a time of radical changes that even forced him to escape from Rome to save his life.
Anti-clerical, liberal ideas that considered the regions of Italy as a single nation gained more strength.
In Piedmont (in the north), for example, monasteries were suppressed, religious orders were expelled and several bishops were arrested. In other European governments the concordats (agreements with the papacy) were abolished.