Why did Pope Pius IX grant an amnesty to political prisoners in 1846?

Upon his election in 1846, Pope Pius IX granted an amnesty to political prisoners as part of a series of reforms intended to address the urgent need for change within the Papal States.12

At the beginning of his reign, Pius IX was viewed as a man of liberal and patriotic sympathies who recognized that a new departure was necessary to meet legitimate demands for reform. By granting the amnesty and instituting other measures—such as establishing a council of state, admitting the laity to civil administration, and relaxing press laws—he sought to address the grievances that had fueled previous revolutionary disturbances and to align the papacy with the moderate reformist sentiment of the time. His actions were influenced by the ideas of Vincenzo Gioberti, who advocated for a federation of Italian states under the moral leadership of the papacy.134