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Pius XI

Birth name Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti
Papacy began February 6, 1922
Papacy ended February 10, 1939
Predecessor Benedict XV
Successor Pius XII
Born May 31, 1857(1857-05-31)
Desio, Italy
Died February 10, 1939 (aged 81)
Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
Other popes named Pius

Pope Pius XI (Latin: Pius PP. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Pope Benedict XV ( Latin: Benedictus PP XV) (Benedetto XV ( November 21 1854 &ndash January 22 1922 born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa Pope Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Desio is a town and Comune in the Province of Milan, Italy History In 1277 it was the location of the battle between Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano is a Landlocked sovereign City-state whose territory Ecclesiastical Latin (sometimes called Church Latin) is the Latin dialect as used in documents of the Roman Catholic Church and in its Latin liturgies XI; Italian: Pio XI; May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from February 6, 1922, and as sovereign of Vatican City from 1929 until his death on February 10, 1939. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano is a Landlocked sovereign City-state whose territory Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He issued the encyclical Quas Primas establishing the feast of Christ the King, and took as his papal motto "Christ's peace in Christ's kingdom". An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church Quas Primas (In the first was an Encyclical of Pope Pius XI. Promulgated on December 11, 1925, it introduced the Feast of Christ This article describes the Feast of Christ the King. For the title of Christ see Christ the King.

Contents

Early life and career

The house in which Ratti was born.
The house in which Ratti was born.

Achille Ratti was born in Desio, province of Milan in 1857, the son of the prosperous owner of a silk factory. Desio is a town and Comune in the Province of Milan, Italy History In 1277 it was the location of the battle between The Province of Milan (Provincia di Milano Western Lombard (non-official lmo ''Provincia de Milan''/lmo ''Pruìncia de Milàn'' is a province in the Silk is a natural Protein Fiber, some forms of which can be woven into Textiles The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons A factory (previously manufactory) or manufacturing plant is an industrial Building where workers manufacture goods He was ordained as a priest in 1879 and embarked on an academic career within the Church. He obtained three doctorates (in philosophy, canon law and theology) at the Gregorian University in Rome, and then from 1882 to 1888 was a professor at the seminary in Padua. Pontifical Gregorian University (Pontificia Università Gregoriana (also known as the Gregorianum) is a Pontifical university located in Rome, Italy Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Padua ( Padova 'padova Latin: Patavium, Padoa) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. His scholarly speciality was as an expert paleographer, a student of ancient and medieval Church manuscripts. Palaeography, palæography ( British) or paleography ( American) (from the Greek grc παλαιός palaiós, Eventually, he left seminary teaching to work full time at the Ambrosian Library (the Biblioteca Ambrosiana) in Milan, from 1888 to 1911. The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historical Library in Milan, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana art gallery Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy.

The parents of Pius XI.
The parents of Pius XI.

During this time, he edited and published an edition of the Ambrosian Missal (the rite of Mass used in Milan), and researched and wrote much on the life and works of St. This article is about the history and the current form of Ambrosian Rite for an explanation of the form of this Rite used before the Vatican-II see Traditional Ambrosian Rite A missal is a Liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year Charles Borromeo. Saint Charles Borromeo (Carlo Borromeo Latinized as Carolus Borromeus) ( October 2 1538 – November 3 1584) is an He became chief of the Library in 1907, and undertook an impressively thorough programme of restoration and re-classification of the Ambrosian's collection. The scholar was also an avid mountaineer in his spare time, reaching the summits of Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Presolana. “Alpinist” redirects here See also Alpinist (magazine Mountaineering is the Sport, Hobby or Profession of Monte Rosa is a mountain Massif located in the Italian regions Piedmont and Aosta Valley and in the canton of Valais ( Wallis) "Cervino" redirects here For the Italian town see Cervino (CE. Mont Blanc Massif The Mont Blanc ( French for white mountain) or Monte Bianco ( Italian 'White Mountain' also Presolana (Italian Pizzo della Presolana) is a mountain located in Lombardy, northern Italy, about 35 km north of Bergamo. In 1911, at Pope Pius X's (1903 – 1914) invitation, he moved to the Vatican to become Vice-Prefect of the Vatican Library, and in 1914 was promoted to Prefect. Saint Pius X ( Latin: Pius PP X) ( June 2, 1835 &mdash August 20, 1914) born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the The Vatican Library ( Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the Library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City.

Ambassadorial duties

Pius XI as a young priest.
Pius XI as a young priest.

Ratti's career took a sharp turn in 1918. Pope Benedict XV (1914 – 1922) asked him to leave the Library and take on a vital diplomatic post: apostolic visitor, (that is, papal representative), in Poland, a state newly restored to existence, but at that time still under effective German and Austro-Hungarian control. Pope Benedict XV ( Latin: Benedictus PP XV) (Benedetto XV ( November 21 1854 &ndash January 22 1922 born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Central Powers' defeat, however, saw Poland become fully independent, though it was immediately threatened by the Soviets. Ratti performed his diplomatic work in this difficult environment well, was given a higher rank as papal nuncio, and was consecrated as a titular archbishop in October 1919. Main article Bishop (Catholic Church A titular bishop is a bishop of the Catholic Church who is not in charge He showed personal courage, refusing to flee from Warsaw when the Red Army was approaching it in August 1920. Warsaw (Warszawa; also known by other names) is the Capital and Largest city of Poland. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya

Elevation to Papacy

Pius XI as Archbishop of Milan.
Pius XI as Archbishop of Milan.

In June 1921 Ratti was recalled to Italy to become Archbishop of Milan. Benedict XV made him a Cardinal at the same time. His had been a fast rise in the world of practical Church affairs after his long years of scholarship. But even greater was to come very soon indeed. In January 1922 Pope Benedict XV died unexpectedly of pneumonia. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal At the ensuing conclave (the longest of the 20th century), Ratti was elected Pope on February 6, 1922 on the fourteenth ballot, taking the name of Pius XI. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. His first act was to revive the traditional public blessing given from the balcony, Urbi et Orbi, ("to the city and to the world"). Urbi et Orbi, literally "to the City Rome and to the World," was a standard opening of His immediate predecessors had refused to do so ever since the loss of Rome from papal hands to the Italian state in 1870. It was an indicator of what was to come – a Pope and a Church determined to influence powerfully the broader world rather than to withdraw from it.

Public teaching: "Christ's Peace in Christ's Kingdom"

Pius XI's first encyclical as Pope was directly related to his aim of Christianising all aspects of increasingly secular societies. Ubi arcano, promulgated in December 1922, inaugurated the "Catholic Action" movement. The idea was to involve lay men and women in an organisation, under the close supervision of the bishops, which would actively spread Catholic values and political ideas throughout society. Pius XI also gave his approval to specialised movements like the Jocists, associations of young Catholic industrial workers who aimed to Christianise the workforce, and provide a Catholic alternative to Communist and socialist trade unions. Similar goals were in evidence in his encyclicals Divini illus magistri (1929), making clear the need for Christian over secular education, and Casti Connubii (1930), praising Christian marriage and family life as the basis for any good society, condemning artificial means of contraception, but also acknowledging at the same time the unitive aspect of intercourse as licit:


Political Teachings

In contrast to some of his predecessors in the nineteenth century, who had favoured monarchy and dismissed democracy, Pius XI took a pragmatic approach toward the different forms of government. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system In his encyclical Dilectissima Nobis (1933), in which he addressed the situation of the Church in Republican Spain, he proclaimed, that the Church is not "bound to one form of government more than to another, provided the Divine rights of God and of Christian consciences are safe", and specifically referred to "various civil institutions, be they monarchic or republican, aristocratic or democratic". [3]

Christian Economy

Pius XI also argued for a reconstruction of economic and political life on the basis of religious values. His best-remembered encyclical today is probably on this subject: Quadragesimo Anno (1931). Quadragesimo Anno is an Encyclical by Pope Pius XI, issued 15 May 1931, 40 years after Rerum Novarum (thus the As indicated by its title, it was written to mark 'forty years' since Pope Leo XIII's (1878 – 1903) encyclical Rerum novarum, and restated that encyclical's distaste for both socialism and unrestrained capitalism. Pope Leo XIII ( March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903) born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 256th Pope Pius XI instead envisioned a truly Christian economy based on co-operation and charity.

He reaffirmed the natural right to private property, but emphasised it must be used with Christian charity. He also endorsed workers' rights to organise, though preferably in purely Catholic organisations under the direction of the local bishop. In place of either pure capitalist individualism or socialist statism he endorsed subsidiarity: small-scale, voluntary organisations (the local parish, trade union or club), local communities, and of course the family were the fundamental units of society, and were best equipped to help the needy. Subsidiarity is an Organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest lowest or least centralized competent authority In a truly Christian society, employer and employee should both put aside selfishness and do their Christian duty to each other: the worker should work hard for his employer, and the employer should pay a fair wage on which a man could decently support a family.

Pius XI was the first Pope to utilise the power of modern communications technology in evangelising the wider world. He established Vatican Radio in 1931, and was the first Pope to broadcast on radio. Vatican Radio ( Radio Vaticana) is the official Broadcasting service of the Vatican.

Internal Church Affairs and Ecumenism

Pius XI, shortly after his consecration.
Pius XI, shortly after his consecration.

In his management of the Church's internal affairs Pius XI mostly continued the policies of his predecessor. Like Benedict XV, he put a great emphasis on spreading Catholicism in Africa and Asia and on the training of native clergy in these "mission territories". Pope Benedict XV ( Latin: Benedictus PP XV) (Benedetto XV ( November 21 1854 &ndash January 22 1922 born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa He ordered every religious order to devote some of its personnel and resources to missionary work.

Pius XI continued the approach of Benedict XV on the issue of how to deal with the threat of modernism in Catholic theology. Modernism in the Roman Catholic Church is a theological viewpoint that usually includes a rationalist approach to the Bible, Secularism and modern The Pope was thoroughly orthodox theologically and had no sympathy with modernist ideas that relativised fundamental Catholic teachings. He condemned modernism in his writings and addresses. However, his opposition to modernist theology was by no means a rejection of new scholarship within the Church, as long as it was developed within the framework of orthodoxy and compatible with the Church's teachings. Pius XI was interested in supporting serious scientific study within the Church, establishing the Pontifical Academy for the Sciences in 1936.

Pius XI strongly encouraged devotion to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor (1928). The Sacred Heart is a religious devotion to Jesus ' physical heart as the representation of the divine love for humanity Miserentissimus Redemptor is the title of an Encyclical by Pope Pius XI, issued on May 8 1928. He canonised some important saints: Bernadette Soubirous, Therese of Lisieux, John Vianney, John Fisher, Thomas More, and John Bosco. Saint Bernadette (born Marie-Bernarde Soubirous January 7 1844 – April 16 1879) was a miller's daughter from the town of Saint Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney ( 1786 - August 4, 1859) was a French parish priest who became a Catholic Saint and the John Cardinal Fisher (c1469 &ndash 22 June, 1535) from 1935 Saint John Fisher, was an English Catholic bishop cardinal and Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535 from 1935 Saint Thomas More, was an English Lawyer, author and statesman who in his lifetime gained Saint John Bosco (born 'Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco' and known in English as Don Bosco ( August 16 1815 &ndash January 31 1888 He also named several new Doctors of the Church: John of the Cross, Albert the Great, Peter Canisius and Robert Bellarmine. Doctor of the Church ( Latin doctor, teacher from Latin docere, to teach is a title given by a variety of Christian Churches to individuals For another saint who lived around the same time and area see John of Avila. Saint Petrus Canisius ( May 8, 1521 &ndash December 21, 1597) was an important Jesuit who fought against the spread of Protestantism Robert Bellarmine ( Roberto Francesco Romolo Cardinale Bellarmino) (4 October 1542 Montepulciano, Siena, Italy – 17 September 1621

Pius XI was the first Pope to directly address the Christian ecumenical movement. Like Benedict XV he was interested in achieving reunion with the Eastern Orthodox (failing that, he determined to give special attention the Eastern Catholic churches). The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See He also allowed the dialogue between Roman Catholics and Anglicans which had been planned during Benedict XV's pontificate to take place at Mechelen. The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism (or sometimes possibly incorrectly High Church &mdashsee below describe people Mechelen ( Mechlin in English is a Dutch-speaking city and municipality in the province of Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. However, these enterprises were firmly aimed at actually reuniting with the Roman Catholic Church other Christians who basically agreed with Catholic doctrine, bringing them back under Papal authority. To the broad pan-Protestant ecumenical movement he took a more negative attitude.

He condemned, in his 1928 encyclical, Mortalium Animos, the idea that Christian unity could be attained by establishing a broad federation of many bodies holding varying doctrines (the widespread view among Protestant ecumenists); rather, the Catholic Church was the one true Church, all her teachings were objectively true, and Christian unity could only be by achieved by non-Catholic Christian denominations rejoining the Catholic Church and accepting the doctrines they had rejected.

Diplomacy

Coat of Arms of Pope Pius XI
Coat of Arms of Pope Pius XI

Pius XI's reign was one of busy diplomatic activity for the Vatican. The Church made advances on several fronts in the 1920s, improving relations with France and, most spectacularly, settling the Roman question with Italy and gaining recognition of an independent Vatican state. The Roman Question was a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929

Relations with France

France's republican government had long been strongly anti-clerical. The Law of Separation of Church and State in 1905 had expelled many religious orders from France, declared all Church buildings to be government property, and had led to the shutting down of most Church schools. Since that time Pope Benedict XV had sought a rapprochement, but it was not achieved until the reign of Pope Pius XI. Pope Pius XI ( Latin: Pius PP XI; Italian: Pio XI; May 31 1857 &ndash February 10 1939) born In Maximam Gravissimamque (1924) many areas of dispute were tacitly settled and a bearable coexistence made possible.

In 1926 Pius XI condemned Action Française, the monarchist movement which had until this time operated with the support of a great many French Catholics. The Action Française is a French Monarchist ( Orléanist) Counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and The Pope judged that it was folly for the French Church to continue to tie its fortunes to the unlikely dream of a monarchist restoration, and found the movement's tendency to defend the Catholic religion in merely utilitarian and nationalistic terms, as a vital contributing factor to the greatness and stability of France, unorthodox.

Although the condemnation caused great heartache for many French Catholics, most obeyed and Action Française never really recovered.

Relations with Italy and the Lateran Treaties

Boundary map of Vatican City, taken from the annex of the Lateran Treaty.
Boundary map of Vatican City, taken from the annex of the Lateran Treaty. Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano is a Landlocked sovereign City-state whose territory The Lateran Treaty is one of the Lateran Pacts of 1929 or Lateran Accords, three agreements made in 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy

Pius XI aimed to end the long breach between the papacy and the Italian government and to gain recognition once more of the sovereign independence of the Holy See. This goal led to one of his signature achievements, the signing in 1929 of the Lateran Treaty with the Italian government and the establishment of an independent Vatican City State.

Most of the Papal States had been seized by the forces of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (1861 – 1878) in 1860 at the foundation of the modern unified Italian state, and the rest, including Rome, in 1870. Victor Emmanuel II King of Italy ( Vittorio Emanuele II; March 14, 1820 – January 9, 1878) was the King of Italian Unification ( Italian: il Risorgimento, or "The Resurgence" was the political and social movement that unified different states of the Italian The Papacy and the Italian Government had been at loggerheads ever since: the Popes had refused to recognise the Italian state's seizure of the Papal States, instead withdrawing to become prisoners in the Vatican, and the Italian government's policies had always been anti-clerical. A prisoner in the Vatican is what Pope Pius IX claimed to be after the army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome ( September 20 Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes Religious (generally Catholic institutional power and influence real or alleged in all aspects of public and political Now Pius XI thought a compromise would be the best solution.

To bolster his own new regime, Mussolini was also eager for an agreement. After years of negotiation, in 1929, the Pope supervised the signing of the Lateran Treaties with the Italian government. The Lateran Treaty is one of the Lateran Pacts of 1929 or Lateran Accords, three agreements made in 1929 between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy According to the terms of the first treaty, Vatican City was given sovereignty as an enclave of the city of Rome in return for the Vatican relinquishing its claim to the former territories of the Papal States. Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano is a Landlocked sovereign City-state whose territory Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Pius XI thus became a head of state (albeit the smallest state in the world), the first Pope who could be termed as such since the Papal States fell after the unification of Italy in the 19th century. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest A second treaty, the concordat with Italy, recognised Roman Catholicism as the official state religion of Italy, gave the Church power over marriage law in Italy (ensuring the illegality of divorce), and restored Catholic religious teaching in all schools. In return, the clergy would not take part in politics. A third treaty provided financial compensation to the Vatican for the loss of the Papal States. During the reign of Pius XI this money was used for investments in the stock markets and real estate. To manage these investments, the Pope appointed the lay-person Bernadino Nogara, who through shrewd investing in stocks, gold, and futures markets, significantly increased the Catholic Church's financial holdings. Bernardino Nogara (June 17 1870 &mdash November 15 1958 was the financial advisor to the Vatican between 1929 and 1954 appointed by Pope Pius XI and retained by Pope Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 However contrary to myth it did not create enormous Vatican wealth. The compensation was relatively modest, and most of the money from investments simply paid for the upkeep of the expensive-to-maintain stock of historic buildings in the Vatican which previously had been maintained through funds raised from the Papal States up until 1870. The Papal States, State(s of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa

The Vatican's relationship with Mussolini's government deteriorated drastically in the following years as Mussolini's totalitarian ambitions began to impinge more and more on the autonomy of the Church. For example, the Church's youth groups were dissolved in 1931 to allow Mussolini's fascist youth groups complete dominance. As a consequence Pius issued the encyclical Non Abbiamo Bisogno in 1931, in which he criticized the idea of a totalitarian state and Mussolini's treatment of the Church. An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church Relations with Mussolini continued to worsen throughout the remainder of Pius XI's pontificate.

Relations with Germany and the Concordat of 1933

Signing of the Reichskonkordat on July 20, 1933. From left to right: German Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen, representing Germany, Monsignor Giuseppe Pizzardo, Cardinal Pacelli, Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, German ambassador Rudolf Buttmann.
Signing of the Reichskonkordat on July 20, 1933. The Reichskonkordat is the Concordat between the Holy See and Nazi Germany. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From left to right: German Vice-Chancellor Franz von Papen, representing Germany, Monsignor Giuseppe Pizzardo, Cardinal Pacelli, Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, German ambassador Rudolf Buttmann. (29 October 1879 2 May 1969 was a German nobleman Catholic monarchist Politician, General Staff officer and Diplomat Giuseppe Cardinal Pizzardo ( July 13, 1877 &mdash August 1, 1970) was an Italian Prelate of the Roman Catholic Pope Alfredo Ottaviani, PhD, STD, JCD ( October 29, 1890 &mdash August 3, 1979) was an Italian Cardinal Rudolf Buttmann was a German ambassador to the Vatican.

Pius XI was eager to negotiate concordats with any country that was willing to do so, thinking that written treaties were the best way to protect the Church's rights against governments increasingly inclined to interfere in such matters. Twelve concordats were signed during his reign with various types of governments, including some German state governments, and with Austria. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich When Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and asked for a concordat, Pius XI accepted. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Negotiations were conducted on his behalf by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who later became Pope Pius XII (1939 – 1958). Pope The Reichskonkordat was signed by Pacelli and by the German government in June 1933, and included guarantees of liberty for the Church, independence for Catholic organisations and youth groups, and religious teaching in schools. The Reichskonkordat is the Concordat between the Holy See and Nazi Germany.

Pius XI responded by issuing in 1937 the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge condemning the Nazi ideology of racism and totalitarianism and Nazi violations of the concordat. Mit brennender Sorge ( German for "With burning Concern" is a Roman Catholic Church Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, published Copies had to be smuggled into Germany so they could be read from the pulpit (Manners 2002, p. 374)

As the extreme nature of Nazi racial antisemitism became obvious, and as Mussolini in the late 1930s began imitating Hitler's anti-Jewish race laws in Italy, Pius XI made his position clear, both in Mit brennender Sorge and in a public address in the Vatican to Belgian pilgrims in 1938: "Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility Mit brennender Sorge ( German for "With burning Concern" is a Roman Catholic Church Encyclical of Pope Pius XI, published The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. Abraham ( Ashkenazi   Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: 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. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all Semites" (Marchione 1997, p. 53). These comments were subsequently published worldwide.

At the end of his pontificate, an encyclical with the name Humani Generis Unitas was prepared on his orders; it contained an open condemnation of antisemitism and all racism. Humani generis unitas ( Latin for On the Unity of the Human Race) was a planned Encyclical of Pope Pius XI before his death List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that The encyclical was ready in September 1938, but never published, as Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, cardinal secretary of state of the Holy See, judged that it might provoke anti-Catholic retaliation, especially in Nazi Germany, and that an open attack on racial policy and the internal affairs of Germany and Italy would render the Holy See's claim to impartiality patently false. Pope The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for Discrimination, hostility or Prejudice directed at the Roman Catholic Church or its followers Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers [4]

Relations with the Soviet Union and Communism

Pius XI was horrified by Communist persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 He made clear the Church's total philosophical opposition to Communism as inherently atheistic and totalitarian. Nevertheless, he made repeated attempts to get the Soviet Government to soften its attitude. (Stalin's contemptuous reply was "The Pope – how many divisions has he got?" and the persecution continued unabated). Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party In 1937 the Pope issued the encyclical Divini Redemptoris, which was a scathing condemnation of Communism and the Soviet regime as "intrinsically perverse. "

Relations with Mexico and Spain

The government of Mexico in the 1930s embarked on severe anti-clerical measures. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. (Disputes related to the Catholic Church had long been part of the history of Mexico. Mexico is a country in North America and the largest Spanish -speaking country in the world ) In the state of Tabasco the Church was in effect outlawed altogether. Tabasco is a state in Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the west Chiapas to the south and Campeche to the Pius XI condemned the Mexican government in his 1932 encyclical Acerba Animi. By the end of his reign the situation had improved somewhat.

The republican government which had come to power in Spain in 1931 was also strongly anti-clerical, secularising education and expelling the Jesuits from the country. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order This encouraged Catholics to support the military coup against the Republican government in 1936 led by General Francisco Franco. Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid The Republicans responded by murdering priests and nuns.

Pius XI gave support to Franco and the Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 – 1939. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of The Pope distinguished Franco from the totalitarian, anti-religious fascists like Hitler and Mussolini, seeing him as an old-fashioned authoritarian Catholic conservative. In any case, Pius XI concluded a Nationalist victory was necessary for the Church's sake.

Death

The stone sarcophagus of Pope Pius XI
The stone sarcophagus of Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI, who had been in declining health for some years, died at 5:31 A. M. (Rome Time) on February 10, 1939, aged 81. Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Rumors of Murder

A prominent French cardinal, Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, made a sensational claim in his personal diary. Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant ( March 24, 1884 &mdash February 21, 1972) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Pius XI had been scheduled to deliver a blunt strongly worded address attacking fascism and anti-semitism on February 11, 1939. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. According to Tisserant, twenty-four hours before delivering this address, the Pope was given an injection by Dr. Francesco Petacci, who worked as the medical practitioner for the Vatican, and whose daughter Clara Petacci was the long-term mistress of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Clara Petacci ( Claretta Petacci) ( 28 February 1912 &ndash 28 April 1945) was an upper class Roman who became Italian dictator As a result of the injection, the Pope reportedly died hours before delivering his historic attack on Mussolini and European fascism.

Whereabouts of the Anti-Fascist Speech

The whereabouts of his draft speech remains a mystery, though papal policy traditionally dictated that planned policies and proposed speeches not executed at the moment of a Pope's death lapse automatically. It is possible that the speech was misfiled within the vast Vatican Archives after his death, that it became lost among the move of all his private papers from the Papal Apartments, or that some curial official, as has been done in past papacies, simply incinerated all draft speeches, undelivered speeches and uncompleted documents of the late pontiff.

Such destruction had been carried out in the past for fear that a new Pope could be pressured into following the policies of his predecessor, were some of the late Pope's plans to be made public by late Pope's supporters if they thought that the new Pope "would not be true to the memory of the late Holy Father".

In all cases either the documents were later found, having been misfiled, were discovered to have been destroyed quietly on the late Pope's orders, or in the aftermath of a papal death an aide had kept the document as a memento of the late Pope, not realising its importance. Amid the multitude of papal secretaries, papal aides, members of the papal court and family members who have the task of removing possessions of a late Pope after his death, confusion over who took what is all too regular and does not in itself prove, in the case of the proposed papal speech on fascism, either that the speech was destroyed to hide its existence, or that there was necessarily something suspicious in the timing of Pius XI's death.

Burial

Pius XI was buried in the crypt at St. Peter's Basilica, in the main chapel, close to the Tomb of St. Peter. The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St Saint Peter's tomb is a site believed by Roman Catholics to be the burial place of Saint Peter, beneath the high altar of St

Future Information

Pope Benedict XVI has decreed that from September 18, 2006, all documents related to the pontificate of Pope Pius XI be made available to researchers. Pope Benedict XVI ( Latin: Benedictus PP XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

According to a communique made public on June 30, 2006, signed by Frs. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Marcel Chappin, S. J. and Sergio Pagano B. , respectively keeper of the Historical Archives of the Secretariat of State and prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, "this opening, which had already been desired by John Paul II . . . makes available to historical research, within the limits of the regulations, all documentary sources up to February 1939 conserved in the various series of archives of the Holy See, and principally in the Vatican Secret Archives and in the Archives of the Second Section of the Secretariat of State (formerly the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs). "

The media has speculated that the material to be released may include an encyclical that Pius XI commissioned to denounce racism and the violent nationalism of Germany. The encyclical was titled "Humani Generis Unitas", or "The Unity of the Human Race", but Pius died before releasing it. Humani generis unitas ( Latin for On the Unity of the Human Race) was a planned Encyclical of Pope Pius XI before his death It was never made public.

Legacies

A signed photograph of Pius XI.
A signed photograph of Pius XI.

A Chilean glacier bears Pius XI's name. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the [5]

The Achille Ratti Climbing Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded by Bishop T. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located B. Pearson in 1940 and was named after Monsignor Achille Ratti.

Pius XI will be remembered as the pope who reigned between the two great wars of the 20th century. He was a mountain climber and many peaks in the Alps were named after him, he having been the first to scale them[6]. The onetime librarian also reorganized the Vatican archives. Nevertheless, Pius XI was hardly a withdrawn and bookish figure.

Pius XI fought the two ascendant ideologies of communism and fascism. His success in fighting them was limited and there is much controversy over the concordats he entered with European regimes to improve the situation of the Catholic Church. At the outset, it was clear that he found communism to be the greater of the two evils but in his later years, there is no doubt that he was repelled by the momentum of Nazi Germany, not only in its opposition to the Catholic Church but also in the ferocity of its attacks on the Jewish people.

Whatever the results of his activism, Pius XI did not sit by idly and was fully engaged until the end. A theological conservative, he strove to improve the condition of the Church, through the negotiation of the concordats (treaties) in Europe and to increase its strength worldwide through vigorous missionary work. He also reiterated the social teachings of Leo XIII in his encyclical Quadregesimo Anno, issued in 1931.

This pope was determined to increase the profile of the papacy from the time of his Urbi et Orbi blessing following his election, the first of its kind since Pius IX became a prisoner of the Vatican. After the Vatican had regained its status as a state in 1929, he flexed its muscles through the treaties he negotiated and by raising his voice in protest when the terms were violated, albeit to little avail.

A man of stature, he possessed an iron will and did not hesitate to assert his position. The strong-willed pontiff was succeeded by his charismatic Secretary of State, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (Pius XII), a diplomat who would continue Pius XI's struggle against fascism as a prisoner of the Vatican during World War II.

See also

References

  1. ^ seeCasti Connubii
  2. ^ seeCasti Cunnubii
  3. ^ Vatican website information re pontificate and policies of Pius XI
  4. ^ First lines, containing 'Humani generis unitas' at Encyclopedia Britanica.
  5. ^ Durango Herald report on glacier bearing Pius XI's name
  6. ^ The New York Times. Tuesday, 7th February, 1922, Page 1 (continued on page 3), 3059 words. This article contains a list of Encyclicals of Pope Pius XI. Pope Pius XI issued 31 Papal Encyclicals during his reign as Pope: Casti Connubii was a Papal encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius XI on December 31, 1930.

Sources

External links

Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Andrea Cardinal Ferrari		 Archbishop of Milan
1921 – 1922		 Succeeded by
Eugenio Tosi
Preceded by
Benedict XV		 Pope
1922 – 1939		 Succeeded by
Pius XII


Persondata
NAME Pope Pius XI
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ratti, Ambrogio Damiano Achille
SHORT DESCRIPTION Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
DATE OF BIRTH May 31, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Desio, Italy
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1939
PLACE OF DEATH Apostolic Palace, Vatican City

Foreign relations of the Holy See

His Most Reverend Eminence Andrea Carlo Cardinal Ferrari (13 August 1850 - 2 February 1921 was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and was Eugenio Tosi ( May 6, 1864 &mdash January 7, 1929) was an Italian Cardinal. Pope Benedict XV ( Latin: Benedictus PP XV) (Benedetto XV ( November 21 1854 &ndash January 22 1922 born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Pope Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Desio is a town and Comune in the Province of Milan, Italy History In 1277 it was the location of the battle between Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano is a Landlocked sovereign City-state whose territory The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic
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