Editing Pope Pius IX (section)

== Election ==
{{Main|1846 papal conclave}}

The [[conclave]] of 1846, following the death of [[Pope Gregory XVI]] (1831–1846), took place in an unsettled political climate within Italy. The conclave was steeped in a factional division between right and left. The conservatives on the right favoured the hardline stances and [[Absolute monarchy|papal absolutism]] of the previous pontificate, while liberals supported moderate reforms.{{sfn|O'Carroll|2010|p=126}} The conservatives supported [[Luigi Lambruschini]], the late pope's [[Cardinal Secretary of State]]. Liberals supported two candidates: [[Tommaso Pasquale Gizzi]] and the then 54-year-old Mastai Ferretti.{{sfn|Duffy|1997|p=222}}

[[File:Pius ix portrait illustration.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Illustration of Pope Pius IX soon after his election to the papacy in 1846]]
During the first ballot, Mastai-Ferretti received 15 votes, the rest going to Lambruschini and Gizzi. Lambruschini received a majority of the votes in the early ballots but failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority. Gizzi was favoured by the [[July monarchy|French government]] but failed to get further support from the cardinals, and the conclave ended up ultimately as a contest between Lambruschini and Mastai-Ferretti.<ref name="Pirie – Pius 09">{{cite web|title=The Triple Crown: An Account of the Papal Conclaves – Pius IX (Mastai-Ferretti)|url=http://www.pickle-publishing.com/papers/triple-crown-pius-ix.htm|author=Valérie Pirie}}</ref> In the meantime, Cardinal [[Tommaso Bernetti]] reportedly received information that Cardinal [[Carlo Gaetano Gaisruck|Karl Kajetan von Gaisruck]], the Austrian Archbishop of Milan, was on his way to the conclave to [[jus exclusivae|veto]] the election of Mastai-Ferretti on behalf of the [[Austrian Empire]] and [[Clemens von Metternich|Prince Metternich]].{{sfn| Burkle-Young|2000|p=34}} According to historian Valérie Pirie, Bernetti realized that he had only a few hours in which to stop Lambruschini's election.

Faced with a deadlock and urgently persuaded by Bernetti to reject Lambruschini, liberals and moderates decided to cast their votes for Mastai-Ferretti, in a move that contradicted the general mood throughout Europe. On the evening of the second day of the conclave, 16 June 1846, Mastai-Ferretti was elected pope. "He was a glamorous candidate, ardent, emotional with a gift for friendship and a track-record of generosity even towards anti-Clericals and [[Carbonari]]. He was a patriot, known to be critical of Gregory XVI."{{sfn|Duffy|1997|p=222}} Because it was night, no formal announcement was given, just the signal of white smoke.

On the following morning, the Cardinal [[protodeacon]], [[Tommaso Riario Sforza]], announced the election of Mastai Ferretti before a crowd of faithful Catholics. When Mastai-Ferretti appeared on the balcony, the mood became joyous. He chose the name of Pius IX in honour of [[Pope Pius VII]], who had encouraged his vocation to the priesthood despite his childhood epilepsy. However, the new pope had little diplomatic experience and no curial experience at all. Pius IX was crowned on 21 June 1846.

The election of the liberal Pius IX created much enthusiasm in Europe and elsewhere. "For the next twenty months after the election, Pius IX was the most popular man on the Italian peninsula, where the exclamation "Long life to Pius IX!" was often heard.<ref>''In den nächsten zwanzig Monaten war Pius IX. der populärste Mann der Halbinsel; des Rufes "Evviva Pio nono!" war kein Ende mehr.'' (Seppelt –Löffler: ''Papstgeschichte'', München 1933, p. 408). See [https://archive.org/details/papstgeschichtev00sepp archive.org] (download)</ref>
[[English Protestant]]s celebrated him as a "friend of light" and a reformer of [[Europe]] towards freedom and progress.{{sfn|Pougeois|1877a|p=215}} He was elected without secular political influences and in the full vigor of life. He was pious, progressive, intellectual, decent, friendly, and open to all.{{sfn|Schmidlin|1922–1939|p=23}} While his political views and policies were hotly debated in the coming years, his personal lifestyle was above reproach, a model of simplicity and poverty in everyday affairs.{{sfn|Franzen|Bäumer|1988|p=357}}