Pope Pius IX and Germany

During the pontificate of Pius IX, the Catholic Church began to flourish and to expand after the 1848 German Revolution caused additional religious freedoms in Protestant areas.

The German laity formed Pius Vereine and numerous other organizations loyal to the papacy and wanted to practice Catholic teachings in everyday life.

The Protestant rulers of the Grand Duchy of Baden claimed the right to appoint not only bishops but also parish priests and other positions in the Catholic Church.

Despite protests by Pius IX, Archbishop Hermann von Vicari, who was 80 years old, refused and went through a criminal trial resulting in his round-the-clock government surveillance by the Prussian State Police.

[1] After the death of Pius IX, Bismarck attempted to make peace with the more diplomatic successor, Pope Leo XIII, and over time rescinded most of the discriminatory legislation against the Catholic Church and populations.