History in Colour: Easter Mass St Peter’s Square Circa 1865

by Admin · June 30, 2022

A snapshot from the past, colourised exclusively for The Southern Cross

Thousands of pilgrims — and a number of horse-drawn carriages — fill St Peter’s Square for Easter Mass around 1865, presided over by Pope Pius IX. Born on May 13, 1792, Pius IX is the Church’s longest-reigning pope — after St Peter’s traditional 35 years. Elected in 1946, Pius reigned for 31 years, until his death at 85 on February 7, 1878. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 2000.

Pope Pius’ reign was eventful: he called the First Vatican Council of 1868, which centralised power in the Church in the Vatican; he proclaimed the dogma of the

Immaculate Conception in 1854; and he presided over the loss of the Papal States when these territories became part of the newly-unified Italy in 1870.

At the time this photo was taken, Rome was still under papal control, even after a failed revolution in 1848. After the unification of Italy, Pope Pius IX would refuse to leave the Vatican, declaring himself a prisoner. All his successors did likewise, until the Lateran Treaty of 1929 established the Vatican as an independent state.