During his long, extraordinary and eventful reign, Pio Nono laid the foundations of the modern papacy. He was the longest-serving pope to date with a reign of thirty-one years. When his sovereignty was lost, his supporters rallied to his side, allowing the papacy to become more centralized within Rome. He was known as a politically conservative pope and opposed to modern ideas, although he was also a reformer and innovator within the Catholic Church. The end of his reign saw the separation of the papacy from world political powers. His infallible decision on the Immaculate Conception marked the lasting history of the Church, while another contribution of his is the opening of that of the Vatican which resulted in the definition of papal infallibility. After his return from exile in Rome in 1850, Pio Nono had reinforced his ultra-conservative views, he projected his condemnation of the Roman republic onto liberalism and modern civilization. This led him to punish revolutionaries, deny his people the right to vote, and condemn all modern thinking. As head of the Church, Pius IX adhered to the principles of ultramontane thought. Pius IX was considered by many to be the enemy of the freedoms of the modern world, and through his infamous Syllabus of Errors, he condemned all that was right in modern thought. In this, Pius claimed for the Church control of all culture and science, as well as the entire educational system. It rejected the freedom of faith, conscience and worship enjoyed by other faiths; and bid farewell easily to the idea of ​​tolerance. Pius IX was also the last pope to reign as ruler of the Papal States, which fell completely to the Italian nationalist armies in 1870 and was...... middle of paper ...... Arthur, William. The modern Jupiter; a review of the collected speeches of Pio Nono. 1st ed. (London: Hamilton, Adams, 1873)Bulman, Raymond F and Frederick J Parrella. From Trent to Vatican II. 1st ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.) Coppa, Frank J. Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli and Papal Policy in European Affairs. 1st ed. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990)Duffy, Eamon. Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes. 3rd ed. (Wales: Yale University Press, 1997). Hales, EEY Pio Nono. 1st ed. (New York: PJ Kenedy, 1954) Riccards, Michael P. Faith and Leadership. 1st ed. (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2012) Strachey, Lytton. Cornerstones: portraits of four eminent Victorians. 1st ed. (London: Fireship Press, 2009)Tomkins, Stephen. A Brief History of Christianity. 1st ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006)