Pius XII

Roman Catholic pope (1939-1958)

• Born: March 2, 1876
• Birthplace: Rome, Italy
• Died: October 9, 1958
• Place of death: Castle Gandolfo, near Rome, Italy

Pius XII preserved the Roman Catholic Church as an institution during the crisis of World War II but was deeply criticized for his and the Vatican’s neutrality during the Holocaust. His pontificate upheld traditional Catholic doctrine in an era of difficult economic, political, and social change.

Early Life

Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, was born in Italy. His parents were Filippo Pacelli and the former Donna Virginia Graziosi, and he was the second of their four children. He was baptized March 26, 1876, at the Church of Saints Celso and Giuliano. The Pacellis were an old Roman family with a long tradition of service to the Vatican in key positions. Eugenio’s grandfather Marcantonio Pacelli helped found L’Observatore Romano in 1861 and served as papal minister of the interior. Filippo Pacelli, a lawyer, served as dean of the Lawyers of the Consistory and president of a Catholic action group. His family’s traditions ensured that Pacelli was reared in an atmosphere of religious devotion and scholarship. He continued a long tradition of service to the Vatican.

After finishing studies at the Lyceum Visconti with an excellent academic record, Pacelli decided to become a priest in October, 1894. After further education at the Capranica, a Roman college, the papal Athenaeum of St. Apollinare, and the Gregorian University, he was ordained to the priesthood on April 2, 1899. Although serious health problems had threatened his ability to continue his duties, he had achieved his first major goal. His ordination did not end Pacelli’s education. He added a doctorate in canon and civil laws to the doctorate in sacred theology that he had already received.

Life’s Work

After his ordination, Pacelli served briefly as a substitute canon at the Chapter of St. Mary Major. This period was his only direct experience as a local pastor. In February, 1901, he received an appointment in the Papal Secretariat of State in the section called the Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. This appointment marked the beginning of a long career as a Church diplomat.

Pacelli’s intelligence and hard work received quick recognition, and the future Pius XII rose rapidly in rank. He became a monsignor in 1904 and a domestic prelate in 1905. On May 13, 1917, Pope Benedict XV consecrated him titular archbishop of Sardes. In the reign of Pope Pius XI, the future pope became a cardinal on December 15, 1929. Pacelli was Benedict’s nuncio to Munich, Bavaria, and he became apostolic nuncio of Germany on June 22, 1920, when the nunciature moved to Berlin. He earned the respect of the German people, who regretted his departure for Rome in 1929.

While Pacelli did not secure the approval of the kaiser for a peace proposal supported by Benedict, he did secure a “solemn agreement” between Prussia and the Holy See on June 14, 1929, which was ratified on August 14, 1929. While his critics contend that his German experience biased his later actions, the agreement did give the Vatican certain legal rights, which helped protect Church interests in the Adolf Hitler era. Pius XI used the future Pius XII as cardinal secretary of state from 1930 to 1939. Pacelli did much traveling to represent the Vatican in countries as diverse as Argentina, Hungary, and the United States.

When Pius XI died on February 10, 1939, his successor, Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, called the consistory that was to elect him pope. Pius XI’s trust in the then Cardinal Pacelli had resulted in his appointment as camerlengo. The camerlengo administers the Vatican during an interregnum period. On March 2, 1939, Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli was elected pope. Many observers believed that this election fulfilled the wishes of his predecessor.

Pius XII was soon required to put his diplomatic talents to use. The outbreak of World War II put the Vatican in a difficult position, since it was an island in fascist Italy. As war began Pius XII watched in horror as the devoutly Catholic population of Poland suffered under Nazi occupation. By 1942, the Vatican had clear proof that the Jewish population of Europe was threatened.

Despite his pity for the victims of the Nazis, Pius XII decided that the interests of Catholic Europe required that the Vatican maintain strict neutrality. The Vatican’s firm neutrality angered Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and New York’s Cardinal Francis Joseph Spellman warned the pope that many American Catholics were seriously alienated by Vatican neutrality.

Unfortunately for his historical reputation, Pius’s actions during World War II have obscured his achievement as a scholar, teacher, and theologian. Papal critics who believe that Pius should have been a prophet or martyr during World War II tend to ignore his achievements in other areas and see him as a callous, cold bureaucrat, who preserved the institutional Church at the expense of the ideals of Jesus Christ.

Pius probably took more pleasure in his role as a teacher and theologian than in any other aspect of his papal duties. Among his outstanding pronouncements were Mystici Corporis Christi (1943), Mediator Dei (1947), Humani Generis (1950), Menti Nostrae (1950), Munificentissimus Deus (1950), Musicae Sacrae Disciplina (1955), Haurietis Aquas (1956), and Miranda Prosus (1957). Mystici Corporis Christi attempted to define the nature of the Church’s role as the Mystical Body of Christ. Mediator Dei served to stimulate the liturgical movement. Pius always had a strong interest in the proper forms for Christian worship. Humani Generis hoped to correct what Pius saw as errors in modern theology. In this encyclical, Pius limited the ability of Catholic theologians to question the historical validity of parts of the Old Testament. In Menti Nostrae , Pius stressed the necessity of sound education, obedience to proper authority, and holy living for priests. Munificentissimus Deus , which may have been the most important encyclical of Pius’s reign, proclaimed that the Virgin Mary had been assumed body and soul into Heaven. In this encyclical, Pius broke important doctrinal ground. In Miranda Prosus , Pius considered both the blessings and the problems that radio and television brought to Catholic life. He urged priests to master the use of communication.

While Vatican II radically changed Catholic life, the teaching of Pius did not lack enduring value. Pius was an important transitional figure who preserved the Catholic Church in an era of economic, political, and social turmoil.

Significance

Pius XII’s career reflected the upheaval experienced by European society during the first half of the twentieth century. As a skilled diplomat, he consistently sought peace. As a pastor, he tried to relieve the sufferings of the poor and the persecuted. Since he did not speak out strongly to condemn Nazi atrocities against Jews during World War II, many postwar writers have condemned his failure to protest fascist actions vigorously and publicly. His critics have contended that strong action by Pius might have saved many Jewish lives.

Pius agonized over his actions in World War II, and he was aware that the strict neutrality maintained by the Vatican during the war angered the Allies and those involved in anti-Nazi movements. His priorities clearly stressed the preservation of the Church as an institution and opposition to the spread of communism. These priorities caused him to believe that condemning Nazi atrocities in the early 1940’s would jeopardize the Church, and he also contended that he could not condemn Nazi atrocities without condemning Soviet atrocities.

Given his priorities, Pius’s actions are understandable. His long-term, historical reputation, however, has suffered greatly from what critics see as pro-German bias, cowardice, and even anti-Semitism. Many historians share the conviction that Pius could have and should have done more to aid the victims of Hitler and defend the European Jewish community.

Bibliography

Alvarez, David J. “The Vatican and the Far East, 1941-1943.” Historian 40 (1978): 508-523. This excellent article focuses on the Vatican’s relations with Japan and its concern for the Philippines.

Cornwell, John. Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII. New York: Viking, 1999. Cornwell reopens the longstanding debate about Pius’s role in the Holocaust, maintaining the pope displayed anti-Semitic tendencies early in his career and later collaborated with fascist leaders. Condemns the Catholic Church as well as Pius for failing to speak out against Nazi persecution.

Dalin, David G. The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis. Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 2005. One of several books that were published in response to John Cornwell’s work. Dalin, a rabbi, argues that Pius XII was a righteous Gentile who worked to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Friedlander, Saul. Pius XII and the Third Reich: A Documentation. Translated by Charles Fullman. New York: Octagon Books, 1980. Friedlander collects German documents from 1939 to 1944. His brief conclusion is unsympathetic to Pius, whom he regards as pro-German and overly anti-Bolshevik. In Friedlander’s view, Pius’s silence over the extermination of Jews is almost inexplicable.

Herber, Charles J. “Eugenio Pacelli’s Mission to Germany and the Papal Peace Proposals of 1917.” Catholic Historical Review 65 (1979): 20-48. Herber provides a solid account of Pius’s role in World War I peace efforts at the behest of Benedict XV.

Hochhuth, Rolf. The Deputy. Translated by Richard Winston and Clara Winston. Preface by Albert Schweitzer. New York: Grove Press, 1964. This critically acclaimed drama attacks Pius for his silence during World War II.

Kent, Peter C. The Lonely Cold War of Pope Pius XII: The Roman Catholic Church and the Division of Europe, 1943-1950. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002. Describes the role of Pius XII and the Catholic Church in shaping postwar Europe.

Kurzman, Dan. A Special Mission: Hitler’s Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius XII. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2007. In September, 1943, Adolf Hitler ordered General Karl Wolff to occupy the Vatican and kidnap the pope, the first step in Hitler’s plans to deport Rome’s Jews to Auschwitz. Recounts how Wolff thwarted the plan.

O’Carroll, Michael. Pius XII, Greatness Dishonored: A Documentary Study. Dublin: Laetare Press, 1980. O’Carroll attempts to defend Pius against Rolf Hochhuth.

Rychlak, Ronald J. Hitler, the War, and the Pope. Columbus, Mo.: Genesis Press, 2000. Written by a trial lawyer and law professor, this work offers a point-by-point refutation of the various charges leveled against Pius XII.

Sanchez, José M. Pius XII and the Holocaust: Understanding the Controversy. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2002. Contains a brief examination of the issues raised in Rolf Hochhuth’s The Deputy, and does so within the broader context of the Vatican’s role during the Holocaust.

Tinnemann, Ethel Mary. “The Silence of Pope Pius XII.” Journal of Church and State 21 (1979): 265-285. In an article focused on Eastern Europe, Tinnemann, a nun, condemns Pius for what she sees as his failure to denounce forcefully Nazi atrocities in Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.