# @uss_constitution on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DM2u-3ysQ0L
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/33055364-uss-constitution-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e7c5e4669f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-08-02T14:00:57.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** USS Constitution (@uss_constitution) — https://gondola.cc/uss_constitution

## Caption

Did you know the first pope to set foot on American territory did so aboard USS Constitution?

While Pope Paul VI’s 1965 visit to New York is often remembered as the first papal trip to the United States, that distinction technically belongs to Pope Pius IX. On Aug. 2, 1849, he boarded Old Ironsides in Gaeta, Italy. Because commissioned U.S. Navy ships are considered sovereign American territory, his visit officially counts.

At the time, USS Constitution had been deployed to the Mediterranean amid widespread revolution across Europe. Her mission: protect American citizens and interests in the region. During a port call near Naples, Capt. John Gwinn welcomed both Pope Pius IX and King Ferdinand II aboard the ship. The crew manned the yards, fired a 21-gun salute, and even received papal blessings on the gun deck.

The visit was deeply meaningful to the ship’s Catholic sailors and a notable moment in diplomatic history. However, it also sparked controversy. Commodore Charles W. Morgan, the squadron commander, had explicitly forbidden any such engagement—leading to a political firestorm that outlasted Capt. Gwinn himself, who died just weeks later.

This little-known chapter in Constitution’s storied past marks the ship as the first piece of “American soil” ever visited by a sitting pope—126 years before a pontiff would touch down on the U.S. mainland.

#USSConstitution #Boston #PopePiusIX #NavyHistory #OTD #OldIronsides #AmericasNavy250

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## Tags

otd, americasnavy250, boston, oldironsides, popepiusix, navyhistory, ussconstitution

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