November 9, 2025 • 13 mins
Italian armies blast through the walls of Rome, ending over a thousand years of papal temporal rule. Pope Pius the Ninth becomes "the prisoner of the Vatican," losing his earthly kingdom but discovering that spiritual authority might be stronger without political complications.
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Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!
Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories’ with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!
We now have Merch! FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there’s free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.com
Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Calaroga Shark Media, September twentieth, eighteen seventy. Cannon fire echoed
across the Eternal City as Italian troops blasted through the
ancient walls of Rome at Porta Pier. After over one
thousand years as temporal rulers, the Popes were about to
(00:26):
lose their kingdom forever. The last sovereign of the Papal
States watched from his window as the black, white and
red flag of United Italy replaced the Papal banner over
the Castel Santangelo. Pope Pius the ninth had ruled as
an absolute monarch over Central Italy for twenty four years,
commanding armies, levying taxes, and governing millions of subjects. Now
(00:51):
he was about to become what he would dramatically call
the prisoner of the Vatican, confined to a few hundred
acres while the Italian States seized his ancient dominions. This
was the climax of the Risorgimento, the movement to unite
Italy under a single crown. For Italian patriots, it represented
the triumphant completion of national unification. For Catholics worldwide, it
(01:16):
was the theft of territories that rightfully belonged to the
successor of Saint Peter. This is White Smoke, Episode thirty six,
The Last King. The confrontation between papal authority and Italian
nationalism would create a wound that would fester for nearly
sixty years, transforming the pope from temporal ruler into spiritual
(01:39):
exile and creating the modern papacy's complex relationship with political power. Today,
we examine the final chapter of papal temporal authority, when
the last Pope King lost his earthly kingdom and discovered
that spiritual authority might be stronger when stripped of political complications.
(02:00):
Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti had become Pope Pious the Ninth
in eighteen forty six with a reputation as a liberal
reformer who might reconcile papal authority with modern political movements.
His early years seemed to confirm these hopes, as he
granted amnesty to political prisoners, relaxed press censorship, and established
(02:21):
a council of ministers that included Layman alongside clerics. Liberal
Catholics across Europe hailed Pious as the pope who would
finally bridge the gap between Catholic teaching and modern democratic principles.
Italian patriots hoped he might become the leader of a
federation of Italian states that would expel Austrian influence while
(02:43):
preserving papal temporal authority. Yet these liberal expectations fundamentally misunderstood
both Pius's character and the theological constraints of his position.
The man who became known as the Liberal Pope was
actually a deeply conservative theologian who believed that any compromise
with modern political principles would corrupt the purity of Catholic doctrine.
(03:06):
The Revolutions of eighteen forty eight shattered any possibility of
reconciling papal authority with liberal nationalism. When Roman Republicans assassinated
Pius's chief minister and demanded that he declare war against
Catholic Austria, the Pope realized that Italian nationalism was incompatible
with his spiritual responsibilities to Catholics of all nations. Pius's
(03:30):
dramatic flight from Rome in November eighteen forty eight, disguised
as an ordinary priest and escaping under cover of darkness,
marked the end of his liberal experiment. The Pope, who
had been celebrated as the champion of Italian freedom, now
sought refuge, with the reactionary King of Naples begging for
foreign military intervention to restore his temporal authority. The Roman Republic,
(03:55):
proclaimed in eighteen forty nine, represented everything that Pious had
come to fear about the modern political movements. Led by
Giuseppe Mazzini and defended by Giuseppe Aribaldi, the Republic abolished
papal temporal authority, confiscated church property, and proclaimed democratic principles
that challenged traditional Catholic teaching about political authority. The French
(04:18):
military intervention that restored Pious to temporal power in eighteen
fifty demonstrated the papacy's dependence on foreign protection for its survival.
French Bayonets had rescued papal authority, but at the cost
of revealing its fundamental weakness when confronted by popular opposition.
Pius's restoration transformed him from liberal reformer into reactionary defender
(04:41):
of traditional authority. The pope, who had begun his reign
as a champion of progress, now became the most uncompromising
opponent of modern political and intellectual developments. The Syllabus of Errors,
published in eighteen sixty four, represented Pius's systematic rejection of
liberal political principles and modern intellectual trends. This catalog of
(05:05):
condemned propositions declared that the Pope could not and should not,
reconcile himself with progress, liberalism, and modern civilization. The syllabus
shocked liberal Catholics who had hoped for accommodation between Church
teaching and democratic principles. Propositions that seemed obviously true to
modern minds, such as the separation of church and state
(05:27):
or the principle of religious tolerance, were formerly condemned as
incompatible with Catholic doctrine. Yet, Pius's rejection of modern principles
was not mere reactionary obstinacy, but reflected his genuine conviction
that Catholic truth was eternal and unchanging, regardless of contemporary
political fashions. If modern civilization contradicted Catholic teaching, then modern
(05:52):
civilization was wrong, not Catholic doctrine. The declaration of papal
infallibility at the First Vatican County in eighteen seventy represented
the theological culmination of Pious's reign, just as Italian armies
were preparing to seize Rome. The assembled bishops proclaimed that
the Pope possessed supreme authority over the Universal Church and
(06:14):
could not err when teaching on matters of faith and morals.
This extraordinary assertion of papal authority came at the moment
when papal temporal power was about to disappear forever. The Pope,
who was losing his earthly kingdom, was simultaneously claiming unprecedented
spiritual authority over Catholic consciences worldwide. The timing was not coincidental.
(06:37):
Pious understood that the loss of temporal power required compensation
through enhanced spiritual authority. If the Pope could no longer
command armies or govern territories, he must at least possess
absolute authority over Catholic doctrine and morals. The Italian capture
(07:02):
of Rome on September twentieth, eighteen seventy, finally resolved the
Roman question that had dominated European diplomacy for over twenty years.
King Victor Emmanuel the Second's forces encountered only token resistance
from papal troops, who had been ordered not to shed
Italian blood Unnecessarily. The ease of Italian victory revealed how
(07:24):
completely papal temporal authority had depended on foreign protection rather
than popular support. When French troops withdrew to fight the Prussians,
papal rule collapsed within hours, demonstrating that it had been
sustained by foreign bayonets rather than genuine loyalty from papal subjects.
Pious the Ninth's response to the loss of Rome was
(07:46):
characteristically dramatic and uncompromising. He declared himself the prisoner of
the Vatican, refusing to recognize Italian sovereignty or to leave
the Vatican Palace. The Pope, who had ruled over millions
of subjects, now confined himself to a few hundred acres
rather than legitimize what he considered the theft of papal territories.
(08:08):
The Law of Guarantees, passed by the Italian Parliament in
eighteen seventy one, attempted to resolve the anomalous situation of
having the head of a world religion confined within the
capital of a secular state. The law guaranteed papal independence,
provided financial compensation for lost territories, and recognized the pope's
sovereign rights within Vatican City. Pius rejected the Law of
(08:32):
Guarantees entirely, refusing to accept any arrangement that implied Italian
sovereignty over Rome. His intransigent position created a diplomatic crisis
that would persist for nearly sixty years, as Catholic powers
were forced to choose between maintaining relations with Italy and
respecting papal claims. The Pope's self imposed imprisonment in the
(08:54):
Vatican became a powerful symbol for Catholics worldwide who opposed
liberal and nationalists movements. Pious had transformed his political defeat
into moral victory, claiming the role of persecuted innocent rather
than deposed ruler. Yet the loss of temporal power also
freed the papacy from political complications that had compromised its
(09:15):
spiritual authority for centuries. The Pope, who could no longer
favour particular nations or dynasties, could more credibly claim to
represent universal Catholic interests rather than narrow political calculations. The
financial independence provided by Peters pence voluntary contributions from Catholics
worldwide proved more reliable than the taxation of reluctant papal subjects.
(09:39):
The international support that flowed to the imprisoned Pope demonstrated
that spiritual authority could generate more sustainable resources than temporal coercion.
Pius's extraordinary long reign of thirty one years, the longest
in papal history, allowed him to reshape Catholic consciousness in
ways that would outlast the political sur ccumstances of his era.
(10:02):
The pope, who lost temporal power succeeded in centralizing spiritual
authority to an unprecedented degree. The generation of Catholics who
grew up during Pius's imprisonment learned to see the papacy
as a purely spiritual institution persecuted by secular powers, rather
than as another European dynasty pursuing political advantage. This transformation
(10:25):
of papal image would prove crucial for the Church's adaptation
to the modern world. The cult of papal personality that
developed around the imprisoned Pious created new forms of Catholic
devotion that bypassed traditional ecclesiastical hierarchies. Catholics worldwide felt personal
connection to the suffering Pope that enhanced papal authority more
(10:47):
effectively than any amount of temporal power could have achieved.
Pius's death in eighteen seventy eight, after eight years of
self imposed imprisonment, marked the end of an era in
papal history. The last pope king had died without ever
leaving the Vatican, maintaining his protest against Italian unification until
his final breath. Yet, Pius's legacy extended far beyond his
(11:12):
personal martyrdom to transform the fundamental nature of papal authority.
The Pope who had lost temporal power had succeeded in
creating a new model of spiritual leadership that would prove
more enduring and influential than medieval papal monarchy. The prisoner
of the Vatican had demonstrated that papal authority could survive
and even flourish without territorial sovereignty. The spiritual empire that
(11:36):
Pious bequeathed to his successors would prove more extensive and
durable than any of the temporal kingdoms that previous popes
had ruled. The irony of Pious the Ninth's reign was
that his greatest political defeat became the foundation for his
most lasting achievement. The pope who lost his earthly kingdom
discovered that spiritual authority was strongest when purified of political
(12:00):
ambitions and temporal complications. The last king of the Papal
States had involuntarily created the first truly modern pope, demonstrating
that the successor of Saint Peter could exercise global influence
without governing a square mile of territory. The prisoner of
the Vatican had shown the world that spiritual power could
transcend political boundaries in ways that temporal authority never could.
(12:24):
The transformation of the papacy from temporal monarchy to spiritual
authority would define Catholic Christianity for the next century and beyond,
proving that institutional defeat could become the foundation for unprecedented
moral influence when guided by uncompromising conviction and sustained by
international solidarity. White Smoke is a production of Calaroga Shark media,
(12:49):
portions of which were made with the help of a narration,
but still written and produced by real podcasters Mark Francis
and John McDermott. S
Calaroga Shark Media, September twentieth, eighteen seventy. Cannon fire echoed
across the Eternal City as Italian troops blasted through the
ancient walls of Rome at Porta Pier. After over one
thousand years as temporal rulers, the Popes were about to
(00:26):
lose their kingdom forever. The last sovereign of the Papal
States watched from his window as the black, white and
red flag of United Italy replaced the Papal banner over
the Castel Santangelo. Pope Pius the ninth had ruled as
an absolute monarch over Central Italy for twenty four years,
commanding armies, levying taxes, and governing millions of subjects. Now
(00:51):
he was about to become what he would dramatically call
the prisoner of the Vatican, confined to a few hundred
acres while the Italian States seized his ancient dominions. This
was the climax of the Risorgimento, the movement to unite
Italy under a single crown. For Italian patriots, it represented
the triumphant completion of national unification. For Catholics worldwide, it
(01:16):
was the theft of territories that rightfully belonged to the
successor of Saint Peter. This is White Smoke, Episode thirty six,
The Last King. The confrontation between papal authority and Italian
nationalism would create a wound that would fester for nearly
sixty years, transforming the pope from temporal ruler into spiritual
(01:39):
exile and creating the modern papacy's complex relationship with political power. Today,
we examine the final chapter of papal temporal authority, when
the last Pope King lost his earthly kingdom and discovered
that spiritual authority might be stronger when stripped of political complications.
(02:00):
Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti had become Pope Pious the Ninth
in eighteen forty six with a reputation as a liberal
reformer who might reconcile papal authority with modern political movements.
His early years seemed to confirm these hopes, as he
granted amnesty to political prisoners, relaxed press censorship, and established
(02:21):
a council of ministers that included Layman alongside clerics. Liberal
Catholics across Europe hailed Pious as the pope who would
finally bridge the gap between Catholic teaching and modern democratic principles.
Italian patriots hoped he might become the leader of a
federation of Italian states that would expel Austrian influence while
(02:43):
preserving papal temporal authority. Yet these liberal expectations fundamentally misunderstood
both Pius's character and the theological constraints of his position.
The man who became known as the Liberal Pope was
actually a deeply conservative theologian who believed that any compromise
with modern political principles would corrupt the purity of Catholic doctrine.
(03:06):
The Revolutions of eighteen forty eight shattered any possibility of
reconciling papal authority with liberal nationalism. When Roman Republicans assassinated
Pius's chief minister and demanded that he declare war against
Catholic Austria, the Pope realized that Italian nationalism was incompatible
with his spiritual responsibilities to Catholics of all nations. Pius's
(03:30):
dramatic flight from Rome in November eighteen forty eight, disguised
as an ordinary priest and escaping under cover of darkness,
marked the end of his liberal experiment. The Pope, who
had been celebrated as the champion of Italian freedom, now
sought refuge, with the reactionary King of Naples begging for
foreign military intervention to restore his temporal authority. The Roman Republic,
(03:55):
proclaimed in eighteen forty nine, represented everything that Pious had
come to fear about the modern political movements. Led by
Giuseppe Mazzini and defended by Giuseppe Aribaldi, the Republic abolished
papal temporal authority, confiscated church property, and proclaimed democratic principles
that challenged traditional Catholic teaching about political authority. The French
(04:18):
military intervention that restored Pious to temporal power in eighteen
fifty demonstrated the papacy's dependence on foreign protection for its survival.
French Bayonets had rescued papal authority, but at the cost
of revealing its fundamental weakness when confronted by popular opposition.
Pius's restoration transformed him from liberal reformer into reactionary defender
(04:41):
of traditional authority. The pope, who had begun his reign
as a champion of progress, now became the most uncompromising
opponent of modern political and intellectual developments. The Syllabus of Errors,
published in eighteen sixty four, represented Pius's systematic rejection of
liberal political principles and modern intellectual trends. This catalog of
(05:05):
condemned propositions declared that the Pope could not and should not,
reconcile himself with progress, liberalism, and modern civilization. The syllabus
shocked liberal Catholics who had hoped for accommodation between Church
teaching and democratic principles. Propositions that seemed obviously true to
modern minds, such as the separation of church and state
(05:27):
or the principle of religious tolerance, were formerly condemned as
incompatible with Catholic doctrine. Yet, Pius's rejection of modern principles
was not mere reactionary obstinacy, but reflected his genuine conviction
that Catholic truth was eternal and unchanging, regardless of contemporary
political fashions. If modern civilization contradicted Catholic teaching, then modern
(05:52):
civilization was wrong, not Catholic doctrine. The declaration of papal
infallibility at the First Vatican County in eighteen seventy represented
the theological culmination of Pious's reign, just as Italian armies
were preparing to seize Rome. The assembled bishops proclaimed that
the Pope possessed supreme authority over the Universal Church and
(06:14):
could not err when teaching on matters of faith and morals.
This extraordinary assertion of papal authority came at the moment
when papal temporal power was about to disappear forever. The Pope,
who was losing his earthly kingdom, was simultaneously claiming unprecedented
spiritual authority over Catholic consciences worldwide. The timing was not coincidental.
(06:37):
Pious understood that the loss of temporal power required compensation
through enhanced spiritual authority. If the Pope could no longer
command armies or govern territories, he must at least possess
absolute authority over Catholic doctrine and morals. The Italian capture
(07:02):
of Rome on September twentieth, eighteen seventy, finally resolved the
Roman question that had dominated European diplomacy for over twenty years.
King Victor Emmanuel the Second's forces encountered only token resistance
from papal troops, who had been ordered not to shed
Italian blood Unnecessarily. The ease of Italian victory revealed how
(07:24):
completely papal temporal authority had depended on foreign protection rather
than popular support. When French troops withdrew to fight the Prussians,
papal rule collapsed within hours, demonstrating that it had been
sustained by foreign bayonets rather than genuine loyalty from papal subjects.
Pious the Ninth's response to the loss of Rome was
(07:46):
characteristically dramatic and uncompromising. He declared himself the prisoner of
the Vatican, refusing to recognize Italian sovereignty or to leave
the Vatican Palace. The Pope, who had ruled over millions
of subjects, now confined himself to a few hundred acres
rather than legitimize what he considered the theft of papal territories.
(08:08):
The Law of Guarantees, passed by the Italian Parliament in
eighteen seventy one, attempted to resolve the anomalous situation of
having the head of a world religion confined within the
capital of a secular state. The law guaranteed papal independence,
provided financial compensation for lost territories, and recognized the pope's
sovereign rights within Vatican City. Pius rejected the Law of
(08:32):
Guarantees entirely, refusing to accept any arrangement that implied Italian
sovereignty over Rome. His intransigent position created a diplomatic crisis
that would persist for nearly sixty years, as Catholic powers
were forced to choose between maintaining relations with Italy and
respecting papal claims. The Pope's self imposed imprisonment in the
(08:54):
Vatican became a powerful symbol for Catholics worldwide who opposed
liberal and nationalists movements. Pious had transformed his political defeat
into moral victory, claiming the role of persecuted innocent rather
than deposed ruler. Yet the loss of temporal power also
freed the papacy from political complications that had compromised its
(09:15):
spiritual authority for centuries. The Pope, who could no longer
favour particular nations or dynasties, could more credibly claim to
represent universal Catholic interests rather than narrow political calculations. The
financial independence provided by Peters pence voluntary contributions from Catholics
worldwide proved more reliable than the taxation of reluctant papal subjects.
(09:39):
The international support that flowed to the imprisoned Pope demonstrated
that spiritual authority could generate more sustainable resources than temporal coercion.
Pius's extraordinary long reign of thirty one years, the longest
in papal history, allowed him to reshape Catholic consciousness in
ways that would outlast the political sur ccumstances of his era.
(10:02):
The pope, who lost temporal power succeeded in centralizing spiritual
authority to an unprecedented degree. The generation of Catholics who
grew up during Pius's imprisonment learned to see the papacy
as a purely spiritual institution persecuted by secular powers, rather
than as another European dynasty pursuing political advantage. This transformation
(10:25):
of papal image would prove crucial for the Church's adaptation
to the modern world. The cult of papal personality that
developed around the imprisoned Pious created new forms of Catholic
devotion that bypassed traditional ecclesiastical hierarchies. Catholics worldwide felt personal
connection to the suffering Pope that enhanced papal authority more
(10:47):
effectively than any amount of temporal power could have achieved.
Pius's death in eighteen seventy eight, after eight years of
self imposed imprisonment, marked the end of an era in
papal history. The last pope king had died without ever
leaving the Vatican, maintaining his protest against Italian unification until
his final breath. Yet, Pius's legacy extended far beyond his
(11:12):
personal martyrdom to transform the fundamental nature of papal authority.
The Pope who had lost temporal power had succeeded in
creating a new model of spiritual leadership that would prove
more enduring and influential than medieval papal monarchy. The prisoner
of the Vatican had demonstrated that papal authority could survive
and even flourish without territorial sovereignty. The spiritual empire that
(11:36):
Pious bequeathed to his successors would prove more extensive and
durable than any of the temporal kingdoms that previous popes
had ruled. The irony of Pious the Ninth's reign was
that his greatest political defeat became the foundation for his
most lasting achievement. The pope who lost his earthly kingdom
discovered that spiritual authority was strongest when purified of political
(12:00):
ambitions and temporal complications. The last king of the Papal
States had involuntarily created the first truly modern pope, demonstrating
that the successor of Saint Peter could exercise global influence
without governing a square mile of territory. The prisoner of
the Vatican had shown the world that spiritual power could
transcend political boundaries in ways that temporal authority never could.
(12:24):
The transformation of the papacy from temporal monarchy to spiritual
authority would define Catholic Christianity for the next century and beyond,
proving that institutional defeat could become the foundation for unprecedented
moral influence when guided by uncompromising conviction and sustained by
international solidarity. White Smoke is a production of Calaroga Shark media,
(12:49):
portions of which were made with the help of a narration,
but still written and produced by real podcasters Mark Francis
and John McDermott. S
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