Pius XII

Name Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli Papacy began March 2, 1939 Papacy ended October 9, 1958 Predecessor Pius XI Successor John XXIII Born March 2, 1876 Place of birth Rome, Italy Died October 9, 1958 Place of death Castel Gandolfo, Italy

The Venerable Pope Pius XII, born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (March 2, 1876 – October 9, 1958), reigned as Pope and sovereign of Vatican City from March 2, 1939 to 1958. In the 20th century he was the only pope to exercise his Extraordinary (Solemn) Magisterium (that is, to claim Papal Infallibility) when he formally defined the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in his 1950 encyclical Munificentissimus Deus. Pius's actions or inactions during World War II have become a matter of major dispute. He was proclaimed Venerable, a step on the road to sainthood, by Pope John Paul II in the 1990s. Pope Pius XII This work is copyrighted. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in Leap years). ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... His Holiness Pope Pius XI, born Achille Ratti (May 31, 1857 - February 10, 1939), reigned as Pope and sovereign of Vatican City from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. ... The Blessed Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from October 28, 1958 until his death in 1963. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in Leap years). ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Castel Gandolfo. ... In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Venerable (Greek: Όσιος for men and Οσία for women) is a title attributed to saints that had lived a monastic or eremitic life, and it is considered equal or sometimes superior to plain Saint. In the Church of England, Venerable is the title given to... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in Leap years). ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... The adjective sovereign is used to refer to a state of sovereignty. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is the dogma that the Pope, when he solemnly defines a matter of faith and morals ex cathedra (that is, officially and as pastor of the universal Church), is correct, and thus does not have the possibility of error. ... Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas) is belief or doctrine held by a religion or any kind of organization to be authoritative. ... The Assumption has been a subject of Christian art for centuries According to Roman Catholic theology and the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, the body and soul of Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by these denominations as the Blessed Virgin Mary or... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... In the ancient Church, an encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air. ... In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Venerable (Greek: Όσιος for men and Οσία for women) is a title attributed to saints that had lived a monastic or eremitic life, and it is considered equal or sometimes superior to plain Saint. In the Church of England, Venerable is the title given to... Canonization is the process of making someone into a saint and involves proving that a candidate has lived in such a way that he or she is worthy of sainthood. ... The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef WojtyÅ‚a [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City and of the Holy See for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his... Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ...

Birth and early church career

Pacelli, who was of noble birth, was a grandson of Marcantonio Pacelli, founder of the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, a nephew of Ernesto Pacelli, a key financial advisor to Pope Leo XII, and a son of Filippo Pacelli, dean of the Vatican lawyers. His brother, Francesco Pacelli, became a highly regarded attorney, and was created a marchese by Pius XII. Masthead LOsservatore Romano is the Vaticans newspaper. ... Leo XII, né Annibale della Genga (August 22, 1760- February 10, 1829) was Pope from 1823 to 1829. ... A Marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in Europe and Japan. ...

Pacelli became a Roman Catholic priest in April, 1899. From 1904 until 1916 Fr. Pacelli assisted Cardinal Gasparri in his codification of canon law. Pope Benedict XV appointed the then Father Pacelli as Apostolic Nuncio to Bavaria in April 1917, and on 13 May 1917, Benedict consecrated him as a bishop. This was the very day of the first appearance of the Virgin Mary (to whom Pacelli had a special devotion) to three peasant children at Fatima, Portugal. Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... In Western culture, canon law is the law of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. ... His Holiness Pope Benedict XV, born Giacomo della Chiesa (November 21, 1854 – January 22, 1922), reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from September 3, 1914 to 1922; he succeeded Pope Saint Pius X. // Early life Arms of Benedict XV Della Chiesa was born... A Papal Nuncio (also known as an Apostolic Nuncio) is a permanent diplomatic representative (head of mission) of the Holy See to a state, having ambassadorial rank. ... With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... 1917 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... 1917 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... The term Virgin Mary has several different meanings: For the historical and multi-denominational concept of Mary, see Mary, the mother of Jesus. ... Fatima was originally an Arabic name, but is sometimes used by Catholics in connection with a Portuguese apparition of the Virgin Mary. ...

Eugenio Pacelli, in Berlin, 1929.

He was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the German Weimar Republic in June, 1920. Pacelli was created a cardinal on 16 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI. Within a few months, on 7 February 1930 Pope Pius appointed Pacelli Cardinal Secretary of State. During the 1930s Cardinal Pacelli arranged concordats with Bavaria, Prussia, Austria and Germany. He also made many diplomatic visits throughout Europe and the Americas, including an extensive visit to the United States in 1936. Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, leaving the Presidential Palace in Berlin (1929). ... Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, leaving the Presidential Palace in Berlin (1929). ... The period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (Pronounced Vye-Mar, and in German it is known as the Weimarer Republik). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German monarchy... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... The word cardinal comes from the Latin cardo for hinge and usually refers to things of fundamental importance, as in cardinal rule or cardinal sins. ... December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... His Holiness Pope Pius XI, born Achille Ratti (May 31, 1857 - February 10, 1939), reigned as Pope and sovereign of Vatican City from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. ... February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Cardinal Secretary of State presides over the Secretariat of State, which is the most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global depression. ... A concordat is an agreement between the pope and a government or sovereign on religious matters. ... With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Pacelli and the Concordat with Germany

In June 1933 Adolf Hitler had signed a peace agreement with most of Europe, called the Four-Power Pact. Hitler later wrote to Rome to negotiate a statewide concordat with Rome. As Secretary of State to Pius XI, Pacelli signed a concordat with Germany (see image). This was shortly after Germany had signed similar agreements with all Protestant churches in Germany. 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Imperial chancellor) of Germany from 1933 to his death. ... Pact signed on July 15, 1933. ... Pius XI (born Achille Ratti May 31, 1857 - Rome, February 10, 1939) was Pope from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

The signing of the actual concordat has always been controversial, described by some historians, and by critics of the Roman Catholic Church, as giving acceptance to Hitler's regime. In his 3 June encyclical Dilectissima Nobis Pius XI stated that the Church finds no difficulty in adapting herself to various civil institutions, be they monarchic or republican, aristocratic or democratic, provided the divine rights of God and of Christian consciences are safe. Others argues that Pius XI had to make the best of the situation, in order to ensure some amount of protection for the Church in Germany. June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... Pius XI (born Achille Ratti May 31, 1857 - Rome, February 10, 1939) was Pope from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. ...

The strongest criticism in the still remaining dispute about the concordat rests on the terms which enabled the concordat and with Cardinal Pacelli's negotiations with the Nazi party through the Catholic Centre Party or Zentrum. A series of meetings for negotiation are on record which defined the concordat, the self-dissolution of the Centre Party, and the passing of the German Enabling Act that gave Hitler's government legislative powers. The accusation of complicity is that this was a quid-pro-quo, and that Hitler would not have achieved his "legally instituted dictatorship" without the Zentrum's votes in his acquiring the vital two-thirds parliamentary majority required. The Catholic Church has yet to release documents for the relevant period, but the accusation is that the Zentrum vote elevated Hitler to power much more quickly than Hitler's preferred legal entry to power might have otherwise required. Reports of complicity towards restoration of the monarchy suggest great care by the Vatican to avoid evidential remains. The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... The German Centre Party (Deutsche Zentrumspartei or merely Zentrum), often called the Catholic Centre Party, was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. ... The Enabling Act (in German: Ermächtigungsgesetz) was passed by the Reichstag on March 23, 1933. ...

The Holy See signs a concordat with Germany. Cardinal Pacelli, representing the Holy See, signs the "Reichskonkordat" on July 20, 1933 in Rome. From left to right: German Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen, representing Germany, Giuseppe Pizzardo, Pacelli, Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, Rudolf Buttmann

Cardinal Pacelli allegedly played a large part in the internal affairs of Germany all his life. He was the Papal Nuncio in Bavaria from 1917, before becoming Secretary of State. As Nuncio, in a letter dated November 14, 1923, to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, Pacelli denounced the National Socialist movement as an anti-Catholic and anti-Hebrew threat and remarks that Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich had condemned acts of persecution against Bavaria's Jews. However, in 1933 during March 20-23, the Enabling Act negotiations were undertaken by Pacelli's close friend Monsignor Ludwig Kaas, leader of the Zentrum party. Kaas followed this by immediately reporting to Cardinal Pacelli in the Vatican before then returning by 2 April for a private meeting with Hitler. Faulhaber was also prevailed upon to accede by public recomendation of the Führer preceding the plebiscite for the withdrawal of Germany from the League of Nations. Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, signs the Reichskonkordat with the national socialist government under Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1933. ... The Reichskonkordat is the concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich, signed in 1933. ... July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Franz von Papen (October 29, 1879–May 2, 1969) was a German politician and diplomat associated with the Centre Party. ... Giuseppe Cardinal Pizzardo (July 13, 1877-August 1, 1970) was named a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in the consistory of 1937. ... Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani (October 29, 1890 - August 3, 1979) was Secretary of the Holy Office of the Roman Curia from 1953 to 1966 when that dicastery was reorganized as the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, in which he served as Pro-Prefect, until 1968. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München (pronounced listen) is the state capital of the German Bundesland of Bavaria. ... Monsignor Ludwig Kaas (23 May 1881-15 April 1952) was a Catholic priest and a prominent German politician during the Weimar Republic. ... 2 April is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... The League of Nations was an international organization founded after the First World War at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. ...

Some observers regard the Church relationship towards the Nazi regime as not substantially different to that it established with other non-communist states, regimes and governments. Dr. Eamon Duffy, a historian of the papacy, observed that the Church under Pius XI followed a normal policy of establishing concordats with individual states during the 1920s and the 1930s. This included concordats with Latvia (1922), Bavaria (1924), Poland (1925), Romania (1927), Lithuania (1927), Italy (1929), Prussia (1929), Baden (1932), Austria (1933), Germany (1933), Yugoslavia (1935) and Portugal (1940). These concordats were aimed at regularising relationships between the Holy See and the states, and at protecting Roman Catholic-run schools, hospitals, charities and third level institutions (all often run with public funds, including in Germany) from state seizure or persecution. Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America as the Roaring Twenties. // Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy gun John Logie Baird invents the first working television system (1925) Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly... // Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global depression. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... Baden was a territory in the southwest of what later became unified Germany. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state which existed from December 1, 1918 to mid-April 1941. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In particular the concordats were aimed at ensuring the Church's canon law had some status and recognition within its own spheres of concern (e.g., church decrees of nullity in the area of marriage) among new or emerging states with new legal systems. Duffy suggests that the concordats provided technical procedures through which formal complaints to the states could be made by the Holy See. In Western culture, canon law is the law of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. ... In linear algebra, the nullity of a matrix M is the number of columns of M minus the rank of M. If the m by n matrix M is regarded as a linear transformation Rn → Rm, then the nullity is equal to the dimension of the kernel of this linear... Marriage is a relationship and bond between two individuals that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ...

There have been accusations that the German Concordat - a concordat which remains in force to this day - allowed for the induction of Catholic priests into the armed forces during hostilities. However, as Article 27 of the concordat states, in part, "The Church will accord provision to the German army for the spiritual guidance of its Catholic officers, personnel and other officials, as well as for the families of the same...The ecclesiastical appointment of military chaplains and other military clergy will be made after previous consultations with the appropriate authorities of the Reich by the army bishop." The clear reference here is the drafting of priests not as soldiers, but as chaplains. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Between the German Concordat's signing in 1933 and 1939, Pope Pius XI made three dozen formal complaints to the Nazi government, which were drafted by Pacelli but which show only a gradual realisation of the gravity of the Nazi situation and misuse of the concordat. The strongest condemnation of Hitler's ideology and ecclesiastical policy was the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge, issued in 1937. Mit brennender Sorge (German for With deep anxiety) is an encyclical of pope Pius XI, published on March 10, 1937 (but bearing a date of Passion Sunday, 14 March), about the condition of the Catholic Church of Germany under Hitlers Government. ...

Pope Pius XII, wearing the 1877 Papal Tiara, is carried through St. Peter's Basilica on a sedia gestatoria circa 1955.

Both Hitler and Pacelli saw the Reichskonkordat as a victory for their respective sides. Hitler told his cabinet on 14 July: "An opportunity has been given to Germany in the Reichskonkordat and a sphere of influence has been created that will be especially significant in the urgent struggle against international Jewry." Pacelli in a two page article in L'Osservatore Romano on 26 July and 27 July dismissed Hitler's assertion that the concordat in any way represented or implied approval for national socialism, much less moral approval of it. He argued that its true purpose had been "not only the official recognition (by the Reich) of the legislation of the Church (its Code of Canon Law), but the adoption of many provisions of this legislation and the protection of all Church legislation."² On the other hand, the Concordat prohibited clerics from engaging in any political activity whatsoever. This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1834 Tiara of Pope Gregory XVI The Papal Tiara, also known as the Triple Tiara, in Latin as the Triregnum, or in Italian as the Triregno,[1] is the three-tiered jewelled papal crown of Byzantine and Persian origin that is the symbol of the papacy. ... Pope John Paul I being carried on the Sedia Gestatoria The sedia gestatoria is the portable throne on which Popes are sometimes carried. ... The Reichskonkordat is the concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich, signed in 1933. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ...

The questions arising from the concordat have re-surfaced of late because of the moves toward canonisation for Pope Pius XII, and recent reference to the Enabling Act in the book Memory and Identity by Pope John Paul II, who cites it as an example of the dangers present even in a democracy. Critics cite the danger of the destabilisation of a democracy by a church. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City and of the Holy See for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his...

Becoming Pope Pius XII

Following the death of Pius XI, Cardinal Pacelli was elected Pope by the conclave on 2 March 1939, his 63rd birthday, and took the name Pius XII. He was the first Secretary of State to become pope since Clement IX in 1667. Pius XII's papal coronation was the grandest for over a hundred years. March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Categories: Christianity-related stubs | 1600 births | 1669 deaths | Popes ... Events January 20 - Poland cedes Kyiv, Smolensk, and eastern Ukraine to Russia in the Treaty of Andrusovo that put a final end to the Deluge, and Poland lost its status as a Central European power. ... Pope Pius XII, in coronation robes and wearing the 1877 Papal Tiara, is carried through St. ...

World War II

Pope Pius' Coat of Arms

Pius' pontificate began on the eve of the Second World War. During the war, Pope Pius XII followed a policy of public neutrality mirroring that of Pope Benedict XV during the First World War. However, as Cardinal Pacelli, Pius XII was against the Nazis' increasing political power in Germany and in August 1933 wrote to the British representative to the Holy See his disgust with the Nazis and "their persecution of the Jews, their proceedings against political opponents, the reign of terror to which the whole nation was subjected." Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... His Holiness Pope Benedict XV, born Giacomo della Chiesa (November 21, 1854 – January 22, 1922), reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from September 3, 1914 to 1922; he succeeded Pope Saint Pius X. // Early life Arms of Benedict XV Della Chiesa was born... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

When he was told Hitler was a strong leader to deal with the communists, Archbishop Pacelli responded that Hitler and his Nazis were infinitely worse. [ref]

Pius XII established diplomatic relations with the Japanese Empire in March 1942. As the war was approaching its end in 1945, Pius XII advocated a lenient policy by the Allied leaders for the vanquished in an effort to prevent the mistakes made at the end of World War I. He attempted to negotiate an early German and Japanese surrender, but his initiatives failed. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito of Japan The Emperor of Japan (天皇, tennō) is Japans titular head of state and the head of the Japanese imperial family. ... March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

Pius XII's role during World War II has been a source of controversy. Critics accuse him of remaining silent towards the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes. Though the Pope actually did speak out, e.g., in his Christmas message of 1942, he did so in a careful manner. Pius's main argument for that policy was twofold. That public condemnation of Hitler and Nazism would have achieved little of practical benefit, given that his condemnation could effectively be censored and so unknown to German Catholics (who in any case had been told as early as the early 1930s by the German Roman Catholic hierarchy that Nazism and Catholicism were incompatible). Secondly, Pius argued that had he condemned Nazism more aggressively, the result would have been reprisals within Germany and countries occupied by her, making the Church's efforts against Nazi policies at the parish level difficult. Indeed such a reprisal occurred, when the Dutch bishops protested against the deportation of the country's Jewish population. The occupants retaliated by singling out Jewish converts to the Church for deportation, the most notable example being Edith Stein. Accordingly, the Pope mostly concentrated on practical measures, such as hiding Jews in convents. Also an "underground railroad" of secret escape routes had been set up by prominent Catholics such as Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who operated under the tacit, if not implicit, approval of Pope Pius XII (as portrayed in the 1983 TV-movie "The Scarlet And The Black"). Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... A parish is a subdivision of a diocese or bishopric within the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, and of some other churches. ... Edith Stein (October 12, 1891 - August 9, 1942), known after her reception into the Carmelite Order as Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and canonized under the latter name in 1998, was a philosopher, feminist, Carmelite nun, and martyr who died at Auschwitz. ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

According to the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, "Preserving Vatican neutrality, and the capability of the Church to continue to function where possible in occupied Europe and Nazi-allied states, was a far better strategy to save lives than Church sanctions on a regime that would have merely laughed at them."

Although Pius XII is fiercely condemned by the press today for not condemning Nazism explicitly enough, it is estimated that about 300,000 Jews were saved through the Vatican during World War II. After the war had ended, Pius XII was praised by numerous Jewish organizations. The head rabbi of Rome (Israel Zolli) converted to Catholicism, citing as his reason Pius XII's witness to religious fraternity. :See Semicha for article about ordination of rabbis. ...

Pope Pius XII's critics' view

Pius XII praying

Critics suggest that if Pius had spoken out publicly in strong enough terms against Nazism, an explicit condemnation by the Pope could have seriously undermined Hitler and Nazism among Germany's many Catholics. While the world was divided politically and geographically, many Catholics are united behind their Pope. Had Pope Pius XII denounced Nazism in the strongest possible terms, it is possible that it could have not only caused unrest amongst Catholics in the German army, but it could have also caused Catholics working in German war factories to undermine German army support and logistics systems. This would have dealt a serious blow to the German war effort. Conversely, such action probably would have caused heavy suppression of Catholics, given that Nazism was more focused on Protestantism in the first place. Pope Pius XII praying. ... Pope Pius XII praying. ...

Counter-point to Pope Pius XII's critics

The counter-point to the critics' argument is that these critics base their opinion upon a Catholic stereotype hundreds of years out of date by vastly overrating the influence of a Papal speech on the opinions of modern Catholics, especially in a pre-dominantly Protestant country as Germany.

Furthermore, on September 6, 1938, in a statement which – though barred from the Fascist press – made its way around the world, Pius XI said:

"Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we are all Semites."

This statement was made while the most powerful nation in Europe had an officially anti-Semitic government and was poised only a few hundred miles to the north of Rome. Everyone understood their significance, especially the victims. In January 1939, The National Jewish Monthly reported that "the only bright spot in Italy has been the Vatican, where fine humanitarian statements by the Pope have been issuing regularly."

For more information and for a more detailed rebuttal to the aforementioned allegations, please see the Catholic League's special report on Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust.

Hitler's views

Adolf Hitler said "[Pius] is the only human being who has always contradicted me and who has never obeyed me." Historians in general differ as to whether or not Pope Pius XII did enough to prevent the Holocaust and save lives, and indeed whether any intervention by him would have any impact on the number of deaths caused by Nazi policies. Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Imperial chancellor) of Germany from 1933 to his death. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ...

Joseph Goebbels was clear about the Reich's attitudes toward the Roman Catholic Church. His 26 March 1942 entry in his diary reads, "It's a dirty, low thing to do for the Catholic Church to continue its subversive activity in every way possible and now even to extend its propaganda to Protestant children evacuated from the regions threatened by air raids. Next to the Jews these politico-divines are about the most loathsome riffraff that we are still sheltering in the Reich. The time will come after the war for an over-all solution of this problem." (Lochner, The Goebbels Diaries, 1948, p. 146) Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) was Adolf Hitlers Propaganda Minister (see Propagandaministerium) in Nazi Germany. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

A recent report in the Italian newspaper Avvenire suggested that Hitler ordered SS General Karl Wolff, a senior occupation officer in Italy, to kidnap Pius, but he refused. SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... Karl Wolff (right) with Benito Mussolini Karl Wolff (May 13, 1900 - July 17, 1984) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi SS. He held the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. Wolff was born in Darmstadt, Germany and joined the German Army during World...

Pope Pius' encyclicals

Pius XII at his coronation of 1939.

Among his most prominent encyclicals were: Pope Pius XII wearing his Papal Tiara. ... Pope Pius XII wearing his Papal Tiara. ...

• Mystici Corporis Christi: On the Mystical Body, 29 June 1943
• Communium Interpretes Doloraum: An Appeal for Prayers for Peace, 15 April 1945
• Fulgens Radiatur: Encyclical on Saint Benedict, 21 March 1947
• Mediator Dei: On the Sacred Liturgy, 20 November 1947
• Auspicia Quaedam: On Public Prayers For World Peace And Solution Of The Problem Of Palestine, 1 May 1948
• In Multiplicibus Curis: On Prayers for Peace in Palestine, 24 October 1948
• Redemptoris Nostri Cruciatus: On the Holy Places in Palestine, 15 April 1949
• Anni Sacri: On A Program For Combating Atheistic Propaganda Throughout The World, 12 March 1950
• Humani Generis: Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine the Foundations of Catholic Doctrine, 12 August 1950
• Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950 (on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven) This particular encyclical is considered infallible. Perhaps contrary to popular conceptions, it is very rare for a pope to invoke papal infallibility. This was one of those rare occasions—the only one in the 20th century.
• Ingruentium Malorum: On Reciting the Rosary: Encyclical promulgated on 15 September 1951
• Fulgens Corona: Proclaiming a Marian year to Commemorate the Centenary of the Definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, 8 September 1953
• Ad Caeli Reginam: On Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary, Encyclical promulgated on 11 October 1954
• Datis Nuperrime: Lamenting the Sorrowful Events in Hungary, and Condemning the Ruthless Use of Force, 5 November 1956
• Miranda Prorsus: On the Communications Field: Motion Pictures, Radio, Television, 8 September 1957

Additionally, as Papal Secretary of State, Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli wrote Mit brennender Sorge (With Burning Anxiety) for His Holiness Pope Pius XI. June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in Leap years). ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Assumption has been a subject of Christian art for centuries According to Roman Catholic theology and the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, the body and soul of Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by these denominations as the Blessed Virgin Mary or... Blessed Virgin Mary A traditional Catholic picture sometimes displayed in homes. ... In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is the dogma that the Pope, when he solemnly defines a matter of faith and morals ex cathedra (that is, officially and as pastor of the universal Church), is correct, and thus does not have the possibility of error. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in Leap years). ... 1954 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mit brennender Sorge (German for With deep anxiety) is an encyclical of pope Pius XI, published on March 10, 1937 (but bearing a date of Passion Sunday, 14 March), about the condition of the Catholic Church of Germany under Hitlers Government. ... His Holiness Pope Pius XI, born Achille Ratti (May 31, 1857 - February 10, 1939), reigned as Pope and sovereign of Vatican City from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. ...

Beatifications, canonisations, and teachings

During his reign, Pius XII canonized eight saints, including Pope Pius X, and beatified five people. He consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942. Pope Saint Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto (2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914), was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII. He was the first pope since the Counter-Reformation Pope St. ... The Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic doctrine which asserts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved by God from the stain of original sin at the time of her own conception. ...

In 1950, Pius XII infallibly defined the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. This doctrine teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken into Heaven body and soul after the end of her earthly life. This belief had been held by Catholic and Orthodox Christians since the early centuries of the Church (for example, by St. Gregory of Tours), but it had never been formally defined as a dogma until 1950. In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is the dogma that the Pope, when he solemnly defines a matter of faith and morals ex cathedra (that is, officially and as pastor of the universal Church), is correct, and thus does not have the possibility of error. ... The Assumption has been a subject of Christian art for centuries According to Roman Catholic theology and the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, the body and soul of Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by these denominations as the Blessed Virgin Mary or... Blessed Virgin Mary A traditional Catholic picture sometimes displayed in homes. ... The heavens are the sky, the celestial sphere, or outer space. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... Gregory of Tours (c. ...

Pope Pius and the College of Cardinals

Only twice in his pontificate did Pius XII hold a consistory to create new cardinals, a decided contrast to Pius XI, who had done so seventeen times in seventeen years on the papal throne. The first occasion has been known as the "Great Consistory", of February 1946; it was the largest in the history of the Church up to that time, and brought an end to over five hundred years of Italians constituting a majority of the College. By his appointments then and in 1953 he substantially reduced the proportion of cardinals who belonged to the Roman Curia. Antiquity Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply sitting together, just as the Greek syn(h)edrion (from which the biblical sanhedrin was a corruption). ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Curia, inside the Forum The Curia of ancient Rome was the place where the Senate met to discuss the making of laws and take decisions about the affairs of the Republic. ...

Pope Pius in later life and after his death

Pius XII lying in state.

Pius was dogged with ill health later in life, largely due to a charlatan, Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, who posed as a medical doctor and won Pius's trust. His treatments for Pius gave the Holy Father chronic hiccups and rotting teeth. Though eventually dismissed from the Papal Household, this man gained admittance as the pope lay dying and took photographs of Pius which he tried, unsuccessfully, to sell to magazines. Pope Pius XII lying-in-state. ... Pope Pius XII lying-in-state. ... A charlatan is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money or advantage by false pretenses. ... Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi (1891 - 1968) was an Italian doctor who served as Pope Pius XIIs personal physician from 1939 until Pius death in 1958. ... A hiccup is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm; typically this repeats several times a minute until some home remedy is applied. ...

When Pius died, then Galeazzi-Lisi turned embalmer. Rather than slow the process of decay, the doctor-mortician's self-made technique sped it up, leading the Holy Father's corpse to disintegrate rapidly, turning purple, with the corpse's nose falling off. The stench caused by the decay was such that guards had to be rotated every 15 minutes, otherwise they would collapse. The condition of the body became so bad that the remains were secretly removed at one point for further treatments before being returned in the morning. This caused considerable embarrassment to the Vatican and one of the first acts of Pius' successor, Pope John XXIII, was to ban the charlatan from Vatican City for life. Embalming, in most modern cultures, is a process used to temporarily preserve a human cadaver to forestall decomposition and make it suitable for display at a funeral. ... The Blessed Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from October 28, 1958 until his death in 1963. ...

Pope Pius XII became a candidate for sainthood under Pope John Paul II in the 1990s. He has been raised to Venerable, an early step through the process of sainthood. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City and of the Holy See for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his...

Footnotes

• Note 1: Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes p.341.
• Note 2: John Cornwell, Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII pp.130-131.
• Note 3: On the question of Pius XII's attitude toward the Nazi persecutions, see also the New York Times editorial page for Christmas Day of 1941 and 1942.

The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Additional reading

• Ronald J. Rychlak, Hitler, the War, and the Pope (Our Sunday Visitor; 2000). ISBN 0879732172
• Anonymous, Persecution of the Catholic Church in the Third Reich (Publisher: Pelican Pub Co; February 2003). ISBN 1589801377 (originally published in 1941)
• Eugenio Zolli, Before the Dawn (Roman Catholic Books; Reprint edition, February 1997). ISBN 0912141468 (author is the former wartime chief rabbi of Rome who took the name "Eugenio" at his Baptism in honor of Pope Pius XII)
• John Cornwell, Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII (Viking, 1999) ISBN 0670876208
• Sr. Margherita Marchione, Pope Pius XII: Architect for Peace (Paulist Press, 2000). ISBN 080913912X
• Karl Scholder, The Churches and the Third Reich (London, 1987)
• Susan Zuccotti,Under his very Windows, The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000). ISBN 0300084870

External links

• Latest Attempts to Smear Pope Pius XII Continue to Fail
• The Vatican and Nazism in Germany and Croatia: A Photo Essay
• Hitler's Pope Plot Ignored
• "Hitler's Pope" by John Cornwell
• The Holy See vs. the Third Reich
• Jewish Historian Praises Pius XII
• The Good Samaritan: Jewish Praise for Pope Pius XII
• Did Pius XII Remain Silent?
• Summi Pontificatus Pope Pius XII's wartime Encyclical condemning Nazism's racism and Communism's atheism
• Mit Brennender Sorge anti-Nazi encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius XI, written by future Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli), 14 March 1937. This is the only encyclical to have been originally published in German
• Cornwell's Cheap Shot at Pius XII
• Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope" - the excerpt published by Vanity Fair - Read it and judge for yourself
• Pius XII and the Jews: The War Years, as reported by the New York Times
• Pope Pius XII: Victim of False History Right Reason
• Righteous Gentile: Pope Pius XII and the Jews Rabbi David Daljin, Ph.D.
• The Usefulness of Daniel Goldhagen The Weekly Standard
• Document on Jewish recognition of Pope Pius XII's support during WWII
• Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust - Jewish Virtual Library
• Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust - defence of Pius XII
• Simon Wiesenthal Center Learning Center Online - on Pope Pius XII
• website promoting Pope Pius XII's cause for sainthood. (Also contains image of Pope Pius lying-in-state)
• Complete Text of the Concordat between the Vatican and Germany

March 14 is the 73rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (74th in Leap years) with 292 days remaining in the year. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

His Holiness Pope Pius XI, born Achille Ratti (May 31, 1857 - February 10, 1939), reigned as Pope and sovereign of Vatican City from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. ... For a graphical representation of this list, see list of popes (graphical). ... The Blessed Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from October 28, 1958 until his death in 1963. ...