The First Vatican Council was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church called by Pope Pius IX, held in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Its main task was to respond to rationalism, liberalism and the loss of the Church's temporal power, and it issued a constitution on faith and reason. It is best known for the decree Pastor Aeternus, which defined the primacy of the pope's jurisdiction and the dogma that the pope is infallible when he teaches on faith and morals in his official capacity. The doctrine was opposed by a minority of bishops, and some German and Swiss Catholics broke away to form the Old Catholic churches. The council was suspended when Italian troops took Rome in 1870 and was never formally resumed, although the Second Vatican Council took up its unfinished agenda.
Before and after
- 8 October 1869Death of Franklin Pierce
- 17 November 1869Construction of Suez Canal
- 22 November 1869Birth of André Gide
- 27 November 1869Discovery of 11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR
- from 8 December 1869 to 20 October 1870First Vatican Council
- 31 December 1869Birth of Henri Matisse
- 1870Founding of Commerzbank AG
- 1870Construction of Metropolitan Museum of Art
- from c. 1870s to 1900sGilded Age
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1863Origins of Baháʼí Faith
- 26 November 1865Publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- 1871The Internationale
- from 1886 to 1905Rise of Post-impressionism
- 31 March 1889Construction of Eiffel Tower
- from 6 April 1896 to 15 April 18961896 Summer Olympics
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.