The Italian Catholic Electoral Union (Unione Elettorale Cattolica Italiana, UECI) was a political organization designed to coordinate the participation of Catholic voices in Italian electoral contests. It was formed in 1905 after the suppression of the Opera dei Congressi following the encyclical Il fermo proposito of Pope Pius X. It was headed 1909-16 by Count Ottorino Gentiloni. The Gentiloni pact of 1913 briought many new Catholic voters into politics, where they supported the Liberal party of Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti. By the terms of the pact, the Union directed Catholic voters to Giolitti supporters who agreed to favor the Church's position on such key issues as funding private Catholic schools, and blocking a law allowing divorce.