Pope Pius VIII

Pope Pius VIII
Bishop of Rome
Portrait by Clemente Alberi, c. 1830 (oil on canvas, 100 x 75 cm, Pinacoteca Civica di Forlì)
Church	Catholic Church
Papacy began	31 March 1829
Papacy ended	30 November 1830
Predecessor	Leo XII
Successor	Gregory XVI
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Montalto delle Marche (1800–1816) Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Traspontina (1816–1821) Bishop of Cesena (1816–1821) Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary (1821–1829) Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati (1821–1829) Prefect of the Congregation of the Index (1821–1829)
Orders
Ordination	17 December 1785 by Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj
Consecration	17 August 1800 by Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphilj
Created cardinal	8 March 1816 by Pius VII
Personal details
Born	Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni (1761-11-20)20 November 1761 Cingoli, Marche, Papal States
Died	30 November 1830(1830-11-30) (aged 69) Quirinal Palace, Rome, Papal States
Signature
Coat of arms
Other popes named Pius

Pope Pius VIII (Italian: Pio VIII; born Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni; 20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in November 1830.

Pius VIII's pontificate was the shortest of the 19th century, and is likely the least remembered. His brief papacy witnessed the Catholic Emancipation in the United Kingdom in 1829, which he welcomed, and the July Revolution in France in 1830, which he reluctantly accepted.^[1] Pius VIII is often remembered for his writings on marriages between Catholics and Protestants: in the 1830 brief Litteris altero abhinc, he declared that a marriage could only be properly blessed if proper provisions had been made to ensure the bringing up of children in the Catholic faith. His death, less than two years after his election to the papacy, has led to speculation of a possible murder.