“Under the direction of Pius IX, an emotionally unstable man untroubled by intellectual doubt who evinced the symptoms of a psychopath, the medieval Counter-Reformation Catholic fortress was now built up against modernity with all available powers. The chill of religious indifference, hostility to the church, and a lack of faith might prevail outside in the modern world. But within, papalism and Marianism disseminated the warmth of home: emotional security through popular piety of every kind, from pilgrimages through devotions for the masses to the May prayers to Mary.”

Küng, Hans. The Catholic Church: a Short History. New York: The Modern Library, 2003, page 161.