Pope Pius IX decrees excommunication for "sinful insurrection" in the Papal States during 1859
Pope Pius IX issued Letters Apostolic that excommunicated all those who had last year instigated or taken part in "sinful insurrection" in the Papal States of Italy. Several of the Pope's provinces had suffered serious upset and revolt during the unrest surrounding the war between France and Sardinia and the Austrian Empire during 1859. The Pope's instructions sought to invoke divine judgement in such cases. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Joseph Irving, The Annals of Our Times .... (London: MacMillan and Company, 1869), 415.