The pope Don Bosco had to deal with for most of his life was Blessed Pius IX, who was Pope from 1846 to 1878.

What particularly characterises the spirituality of Pope Pius IX, and makes him more like Don Bosco, is his humanity. His spirituality was formed on the writings of St. Francis de Sales and St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori and his devotion to them. He proclaimed both of them Doctors of the Church.

We know how these two saints influenced the formation and the spirituality of Don Bosco especially during his years at the Ecclesiastical Institute, and the style that distinguished his pastoral and educational approach. During the pontificate of Pius IX rigorous Jansenism was greatly reduced.

The Pope's pastoral style spread throughout the world raising the prestige of the papacy among Christian people to a level never reached by previous popes.