Prisoner in the Vatican the Basilica of St. John Lateran, situated on the opposite side of the city of Rome, and to travel regularly to their summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, from Rome. Prisoner in the Vatican A prisoner in the Vatican or prisoner of the Vatican (; ) is how Pope Pius IX was described following the capture of Rome by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy on 20 September 1870. Part of the process of Italian unification, the city's capture ended the millennial temporal rule of the popes over central Italy and allowed Rome to be designated the capital of
Mariology of the popes and the veneration of the Blessed Virgin. They made decisions not only in the area of Marian beliefs (Mariology) but also Marian practices and devotions. Popes promulgated Marian veneration and beliefs by authorizing: new Marian feast days, Marian prayers and initiatives, acceptance and support of Marian congregations, indulgences and special privileges, and support for Marian devotions. The formal recognition of Marian apparitions (such as at Lourdes and Fatima) has also been influential. Since Pope Leo XIII, popes have promoted Marian devotion through encyclicals, Apostolic Letters and with two dogmas (Immaculate Conception and Assumption), the promulgation of Marian years (Pius XII,