Pope Pius IX

Who he is

In every paragraph tagged here «le pape» / «le Pape» / «le Saint-Père» is Pope Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, 1792-1878, pope from 1846 until his death on 7 February 1878; Wikipedia, «Pope Pius IX»). Marie names him herself: «Pie IX m'a paru plus jeune cette fois» (054.0168), «Pie IX (Mastaï Ferretti)» (062.0575), «Ce Mastaï Ferretti a la vie dure» (062.0827). The Mon Journal indexes list him as «Pie IX» (t.2 p.47; t.6 pp.343-344; t.7; t.8; t.9).

Not the Russian Orthodox priest whom Marie calls «le pope» in Paris in 1878-1884: that is Père Vassilieff.

In the diary

• 1873-09-06 (009.0058): Walitsky's comic story of Mac-Mahon challenging the Pope to a duel.
• 1875-12-19 (050.1055): «J'irai à Rome... je prierai le Pape de prier pour moi.»
• 1876-01-22, first audience at the Vatican (052.0359-0374): he asks whether they are Russians «de Pétersbourg» («Non Saint-Père, de la Petite Russie»), gives a short address in «fort mauvais français», blesses rosaries; Marie finds him much older than in his portraits.
• February 1876, second audience (054.0003; 054.0165-0168): he points at her, «Questa è americana».
• 1876-03-26 (055.1203): Baron Visconti brings her his portrait signed «Pax vobis». She paints his portrait in oils, 28-29 March 1876 (056.0090, 056.0115), and gives it framed to the nuns of the Bon Pasteur on 9 May 1876 (059.0770, 059.0960).
• March-June 1876: the Pope as the obstacle to a marriage with Pietro Antonelli, in Visconti's reported words «le Pape ne permetterà pas» (055.0999; 056.0150-0171).
• 1876-06: Marie's clerical day-dreams and her reading about him (062.0526-0589, 062.0749-0766 clippings; 062.0826-0827).
• 1876-12-11 (067.1603-1615): pasted newspaper obituaries of Cardinal Antonelli, in which Pius IX is named throughout.

Sources

• Marie Bashkirtseff, Journal, paragraphs cited; Mon Journal indexes (t.2, t.6-t.9).
• Wikipedia, «Pope Pius IX».