The 1878 papal conclave, which resulted from the death of Pope Pius IX on 7 February 1878, met from 18 to 20 February. The conclave followed the longest reign of any other pope since

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

. It was the first election of a pope who would not rule the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. It was the first to meet in the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and t ...

in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

because the venue used earlier in the 19th century, the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...

, was now the palace of the King of Italy,

Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

Questions facing the cardinals

When the cardinals assembled, they faced a dilemma. Should they choose a pope who would continue to espouse Pius IX's reactionary religious and political views, and would continue to refuse to accept Italy's ''

Law of Guarantees The Law of Guarantees ( it, Legge delle guarentigie), sometimes also called the Law of Papal Guarantees, was the name given to the law passed by the senate and chamber of the Italian parliament, 13 May, 1871, concerning the prerogatives of the Hol ...

'' guaranteeing the pope religious liberty in the Kingdom of Italy? Or should they turn away from the policies of Pius IX and choose a more liberal pope who could work for reconciliation with the King of Italy? Would choosing such a policy be seen as a betrayal of Pius IX, the self-proclaimed "Prisoner in the Vatican"? Other broader issues included Church-State relations in Italy, the

Third French Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

, Ireland and the United States; the

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

Pope Leo XIII later called Americanism; divisions in the Church caused by the proclamation of

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks '' ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apos ...

by the First Vatican Council; and the status of the First Vatican Council, which had been halted suddenly and never concluded. The length of Pope Pius' reign suggested the cardinals give special consideration to the age and health of the man they elected.

Conclave

Some 61 of 64 cardinals entered the conclave. Two others arrived too late from New York and Dublin to participate and one did not attend for health reasons. Three of the 61 had participated in the previous conclave in 1846: Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso,

Fabio Maria Asquini Fabio Maria Asquini (14 August 1802 – 22 December 1878) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics and Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals. He was born on 14 August ...

, and

Domenico Carafa della Spina di Traetto Domenico Carafa della Spina di Traetto (12 July 1805 – 17 June 1879) was a Catholic Cardinal, Archbishop of Benevento and Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Personal life Carafa was born in Naples, Italy on 12 July 1805. He was the ...

. With what many churchmen believed was the "unstable" and "anti-Catholic" situation in a Rome that was no longer controlled by the Church, some cardinals, notably Cardinal Manning, Archbishop of Westminster, urged that the conclave be moved outside Rome, perhaps even to Malta. However the Camerlengo, Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, advocated otherwise, and an initial vote among cardinals to move to Spain was overturned in a later vote. The conclave finally assembled in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...

in the

on 18 February 1878. Going into the conclave, Cardinal Pecci was the one candidate favored to be elected, in part because many of the cardinals who headed to Rome had already decided to elect him. In addition to Pecci's competent administration as Camerlengo during the brief ''sede vacante'' period up to the conclave, Pecci was seen as the opposite of Pope Pius IX in terms of manner and temperament, and had also had a successful diplomatic career prior to being Archbishop-Bishop of Perugia. Pecci's election was also facilitated in that Alessandro Franchi, the candidate favored by the conservatives, urged his supporters to switch their support to the Camerlengo. One account reported the voting tabulations without providing its source. Pius ix

Ballot 1 (morning 19 February)

On the first ballot, held on the morning of 19 February the votes were * Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci 19 votes *

Luigi Bilio Luigi Maria Bilio, C.R.S.P. (25 March 1826 – 30 January 1884), was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who, among other offices, was Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. Life Bilio was born in Alessandria, Pi ...

6 votes * Alessandro Franchi 4 votes This ballot was ruled invalid because at least one cardinal did not mark his ballot properly.

Ballot 2 (afternoon 19 February)

* Pecci 26 * Bilio 7 * Franchi 2

Ballot 3 (morning 20 February)

* Pecci 44 – elected

Result, implications, and aftermath

The election of Cardinal Pecci, who took the name of ''Leo XIII'', was a victory for the liberals. Pecci had been an effective bishop whose diocese had moved from the Papal States to the Kingdom of Italy successfully, without Church problems. He was seen as a diplomatic pragmatist with the tact and flexibility opponents of the previous pope believed Pius IX lacked. At 68 Leo was also young enough to do the job without hindrance of health problems, but old enough to offer the prospect of a relatively short reign of ten to fifteen years. Whereas Pius IX was seen as having isolated the Church from international opinion (his confining Jews in

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

s and his treatment of minorities had been condemned by world leaders such as Gladstone), Leo was seen as an "internationalist" who could earn back the Vatican some international respect. Though always seemingly in poor health and delicate condition, Leo reigned for 25 years. He had the third longest reign of any pope until that time. When he died on 20 July 1903 at the age of 93 he had lived to be older than any of his known predecessors.

Participants

;Arrived too late to participate * Paul Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin (

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in ...

) *

John McCloskey John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American born Archbishop of New York from 1864 until his death in 1885, having previously served as Bishop o ...

Archbishop of New York The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompass ...

(United States) ;Unavailable through ill-health *Godefroy Brossais-Saint-Marc, Archbishop of Rennes (France) ;Present * Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso,

Dean of the College of Cardinals The dean of the College of Cardinals ( la, Decanus Collegii Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalium) presides over the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, serving as ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals). The position was establi ...

, cardinal-bishop of Ostia and Velletri * Camillo di Pietro, cardinal-bishop of Porto e Santa Ruffina *

Carlo Sacconi Carlo Sacconi J.U.D. (9 May 1808 – 25 February 1889) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Dean of the College of Cardinals. Carlo Sacconi was born in Montalto. He was educated at the seminary of Fermo and later at La Sapienza ...

, cardinal-bishop of Palestrina * Filippo Maria Guidi, cardinal-bishop of Frascati *

, cardinal-bishop of Sabina *

Carlo Luigi Morichini Carlo Luigi Morichini (1805–1879) was a Roman Cardinal. Born on 21 November 1805 in Rome,Bräuer, p. 49. he was the son of the noted Roman physician Domenico Lino Morichini (1773–1837). He studied philosophy and law for seven years (1822– ...

cardinal-bishop of Albano The Diocese of Albano ( la, Albanensis) is a suburbicarian see of the Roman Catholic Church in a diocese in Italy, comprising seven towns in the Province of Rome. Albano Laziale is situated some 15 kilometers from Rome, on the Appian Way. Under ...

Friedrich Johannes Jacob Celestin von Schwarzenberg Friedrich Prince zu Schwarzenberg, or in Czech Bedřich prince ze Schwarzenberg (April 6, 1809 in Vienna, Austria – March 27, 1885 in Vienna, Austria) was a Catholic Cardinal of the nineteenth century in Austria and the Kingdom of Bohemia and a ...

, Prince-Archbishop of Prague (Bohemia, part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

) *

, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics *

, Archbishop of Benevento * Ferdinand-François-Auguste Donnet, Bordeaux * Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, Camerlengo (Papal Chamberlain), Archbishop-Bishop of Perugia (Italy) * Antonio Benedetto Antonucci, Ancona * Antonio Maria Panebianco, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Indulgences and Sacred Relics *

Antonio Saverio De Luca Antonio Saverio De Luca (28 October 1805 – 28 December 1883) was an Italian bishop and prefect of the Pontifical Congregation for Studies as well as Cardinal-Priest of San Lorenzo in Damaso and Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina. Biography Born Br ...

, prefect of the Pontifical Congregation for Studies *

Jean Baptiste François Pitra Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, librarian of the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

* Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, Rouen * Gustav Adolph von Hohenlohe, archpriest of Santa Maria Maggiore * Lucien-Louis-Joseph-Napoleon Bonaparte, cardinal of

Santa Pudenziana Santa Pudenziana is a church of Rome, a basilica built in the 4th century and dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Praxedes and daughter of Pudens (mentioned by Paul the Apostle in ''2 Timothy'', 4: 21). It is one of the national churches in ...

Innocenzo Ferrieri Innocenzo Ferrieri (1810–1887) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Ferrieri was appointed Titular Archbishop of Side on 4 October 1847. He was elevated to Cardinal on 13 March 1868 by Pope Pius IX and appointed Cardinal-Pries ...

, Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals *

Giuseppe Berardi Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...

, Cardinal-Priest of

Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano Santi is used as: People with the surname * Brenden Santi (born 1993), Australian-Italian rugby league player * Domenico Santi (1621–1694), also known as il Mengazzino, Italian painter * Emanuele Santi, Italian economist and political scientist ...

* Juan Ignacio Moreno, Toledo * Raffaele Monaco La Valletta, Cardinal Vicar General of Rome * Inácio do Nascimento de Morais Cardoso,

Patriarch of Lisbon The Patriarch of Lisbon ( la, Patriarcha Olisiponensis, pt, Patriarca de Lisboa), also called the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon once he has been made cardinal, is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon. He is one of the ...

René-François Régnier René-François Régnier (17 July 1794 – 3 January 1881, Rome) was a French cardinal. Biography Cardinal Rengnier was born on 17 July 1794 at Saint-Quentin-les Beaurepaire in the region of Cambrai, France. His parents were François Régn ...

Archbishop of Cambrai The Archdiocese of Cambrai ( la, Archdiocesis Cameracensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe ...

(France) * Flavio Chigi, Grand Prior of Rome of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

* Alessandro Franchi, Prefect of Propagande Fide *

Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert (1802, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône – 1886, Paris) was a French Catholic Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal. He was consecrated by Eugène de Mazenod and was appointed by Pope Gregory XVI as bishop of Viviers in 18 ...

, Archbishop of Paris (France) *

Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano (9 July 1828, Bene Vagienna, Italy – 7 December 1913, Rome, Italy) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church in the late nineteenth century. He was Bishop of Ostia e Velletri and Dean of the Sacred College of Cardi ...

, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Relics *

János Simor János Simor (23 August 1813 – 23 January 1891) was a Hungarian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Esztergom from 1867 until his death in 1891. He was previously Bishop of Győr from 1857 to 1867. He was made a cardinal in 18 ...

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...

Tommaso Martinelli Tommaso Maria Martinelli (4 February 1827 - 30 March 1888) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Congregation of Rites. Tommaso Martinelli was born in the parish of Sant'Anna, Lucca as the son of Cosma Mart ...

, Prefect of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

Ruggero Luigi Emidio Antici Mattei Ruggero Luigi Emidio Antici Mattei (23 March 1811, Recanati, Marche — 21 April 1883) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Latin Patriarch of Constantinople from 1866 to 1875, and was elevated to the cardinalat ...

Pietro Giannelli Pietro Giannelli (11 August 1807 – 5 November 1881) was an Italian prelate who was elevated to the cardinalate The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Chur ...

, cardinal-priest of

Sant'Agnese fuori le mura The church of Saint Agnes Outside the Walls ( it, Sant'Agnese fuori le mura) is a titulus church, minor basilica in Rome, on a site sloping down from the Via Nomentana, which runs north-east out of the city, still under its ancient name. What a ...

* Mieczyslaw Halka Ledóchowski, Archbishop of Gnesen and Posen, (

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, part of the German Empire). *

Henry Edward Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but conv ...

, Archbishop of Westminster (Head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales). * Victor-Auguste-Isidor Deschamps,

Archbishop of Mechelen In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

(

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

). * Giovanni Simeoni, Secretary of State of the Holy See *

Domenico Bartolini Domenico Bartolini (Rome, 26 August 1880 – 5 April 1960) was an Italian politician and civil servant, who served as Minister of Finance of the Badoglio I Cabinet, the first after the fall of the Fascist regime. Biography From 1908 to 19 ...

, Cardinal-Priest of San Marco Evangelista al Campidoglio * Bartolomeo d'Avanzo, Bishop of Calvi e Teano (Italy) * Johann Baptist Franzelin, Jesuit theologian, Cardinal-Priest of

Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio The Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio e(d) Alessio is a basilica, rectory church served by the Somaschans, and titular church for a cardinal-priest on the Aventine Hill in the third prefecture of central Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Boni ...

Francisco de Paula Benavides y Navarrete Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

Patriarch of the West Indies The Titular Patriarchate of the West Indies ( la, Patriarchatus Indiarum Occidentalium) is a Latin Rite titular patriarchate of the Roman Catholic Church. It is vacant since the death of its last holder in 1963.

* Francesco Saverio Apuzzo, Archbishop of Capua * Emmanuele Garcia Gil, Zaragoza *

Edward Henry Howard Edward Henry Howard (13 February 1829 – 16 September 1892) was an English Catholic priest and archbishop, who was made a cardinal in 1877. He was a relative of the Dukes of Norfolk. Life Howard was the son of Edward Gyles Howard, by his marri ...

, Protector of the

English College at Rome The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English College ...

* Miguel Payá y Rico, Santiago de Compostella * Louis-Marie Caverot, Lyon *

Luigi di Canossa Luigi di Canossa SJ (20 April 1809 – 12 March 1900) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Verona from 1861 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1877. Biography Born in Verona, he wa ...

, Verona * Luigi Serafini, Viterbo * Josip Mihalovic, Zagreb * Johann Rudolf Kutschker,

Archbishop of Vienna The Archbishop of Vienna is the prelate of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna who is concurrently the metropolitan bishop of its ecclesiastical province which includes the dioceses of Eisenstadt, Linz and St. Pölten. From 1469 to 1513, bi ...

Lucido Parocchi Lucido Maria Parocchi (13 August 1833 – 15 January 1903) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office from 5 August 1896 until his death. Biography Luci ...

, Bologna * Vincenzo Moretti, Ravenna *

Antonio Pellegrini Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (29 April 1675 – 2 November 1741) was one of the leading Venetian History painting, history painters of the early 18th century. His style melded the Renaissance style of Paolo Veronese with the Baroque of Pietr ...

, cardinal-deacon of

Santa Maria in Aquiro Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located on Piazza Capranica. The church is ancient – it was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century, and thus must have existed before ...

* Prospero Caterini, Protodeacon, Secretary of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

. *

Teodolfo Mertel Teodolfo Mertel (9 February 1806 – 11 July 1899) was a lawyer, deacon, and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the last cardinal not to have been ordained at least a priest. Life He was born in the town of Allumiere, in the Provinc ...

, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura; the last cardinal to not be ordained to the priesthood * Domenico Consolini, Prefect of the Pontifical Roman Seminary of Sts. Peter and Paul for the Foreign Missions *

Edoardo Borromeo Edoardo Borromeo (3 August 1822 – 30 November 1881) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was ''Maestro di Camera'' to Pius IX and was Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Vito, Modesto e Crescenzio from 1868 to 1878. He was the seventh ...

, President of the

Fabric of Saint Peter The Fabric of Saint Peter (, ) is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church responsible for the conservation and maintenance of St. Peter's Basilica and exercising vigilance over its sacred character and the organization of visitors. While it ...

* Lorenzo Ilarione Randi, Vice-Camerlengo of the Apostolic Camera * Bartolomeo Pacca il Giovane, Cardinal-Deacon of

Santa Maria in Campitelli Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico (''Santa Maria in Portico di Campitelli'') is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the narrow Piazza di Campitelli in Rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy. The church is served by the Clerics Re ...

* Lorenzo Nina, Prefect of the Congregation for Studies * Enea Sbarretti, Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria dei Martiri (the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

) * Frédéric de Falloux du Coudray, Cardinal-Deacon of

Sant'Agata de' Goti Sant'Agata de' Goti is a ''comune'' (municipality) and former Catholic bishopric in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 35 km northeast of Naples and about 25 km west of Benevento near the Monte Taburn ...

Notes

References

External links

L’Osservatore Romano article revealing ballots in 1878 conclave
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1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Bat ...

Pope Pius IX 19th-century Catholicism 1878 in Christianity February 1878 events