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In the South, numerous families were Catholic and were held in high regard and deep respect for the Church and her institutions, especially her schools. Most families sent their children to them simply because they were the best available during the time period. The correspondence between the Confederacy and Pope Pius IX began when the Union was set on trying to get mercenaries from European Catholic lands, like Ireland. President Davis wrote the Pope Pius IV to exercise his powers to stop the recruiting effort. Pius told many of his followers and fellow priests that the risk of recruitment would only deepen the American conflict. He recognized Jefferson Davis as the title of “Honorable” and in doing so, he effectively recognized the Confederate States as a separate entity from the United States of America. When Jefferson Davis was imprisoned after the war, he again heard from the Pope. The Pope sent Davis a portrait of Pope Pius IX , self autographed with words from Sacred Writ: "if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”