1878 AD., France, religious medal on the death of pope Pius IX, silvered brass.

France, religious medal on the death of pope Pius IX, 1878 AD.,
Medal (28-38 mm / 6,05 g), silvered brass, oval shape, with hanger,
Obv.: MAGIS MAXIMUS EST MORTUS QUAM VIVENS / DEPOSE , pope Pius IX, reclined and holding cross, flanked by angels, winged tiara above, rosette beneath.
Rev.: MORT DE S. SAINTETÉ PIE IX N. T. S. PÉRE LE PAPE INFAILLIBLE // PONTIFEX / MAXIMUS / ANN. / 1846 - 1878 / N´N / LE 13 MAI 1792 / MORT / LE 7 FÉVRIER 1878 , 8 lines text in inner oval, rosette beneath.
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Pope Pius IX (13 May 1792, Senigallia – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal infallibility. The Pope defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin. Pius IX also granted the Marian title of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a famous Byzantine icon from Crete entrusted to the Redemptorist priests. In addition to this, Pius IX was also the last Pope to rule as the Sovereign of the Papal States, which fell completely to Italian nationalist armies by 1870 and were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. He was beatified in 2000.