Papa Pacelli. Venerable Pope Pius XII.

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English: His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, seated in the Sedia Gestatoria.

Deutsch: Papst Pius XII., Krönung.

Date: 2009. Own Scan from own old colour print, from 1939.

Source: Own work.

Author: Joachim Specht.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Papa Pacelli on the day of his Ordination, 2 April 1899.

Source: From Sr. Marchione's book "Shepherd of Souls: 

A Pictorial Life of Pope Pius XII",

Paulist Press/ Urbi et Orbi, 2002.

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

To watch a wonderful video about Pope Pius XII,

go to YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofjBxXhDYOs&feature=share&list=PLJ5sh8OKgJ8qAu890E0myETPoDPCp5AxM.

Pope Pius XII, born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (2 March 1876 – 9 October 1958), was the Head of the Roman Catholic Church from 2 March 1939 to his death in 1958. He is the most recent Pope to take the Pontifical name of "Pius", upon his election. His Pontificate coincided with the Second World War and commencement of the Cold War.

Before election to the Papacy, Papa Pacelli served as Secretary of the Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Papal Nuncio to Germany (1917 – 1929), and Cardinal Secretary of State, in which capacity he worked to conclude treaties with European and Latin American nations, most notably the Reichskonkordat with Nazi Germany, with which the Vatican sought to protect the Church in Germany, and Hitler sought the destruction of 'political Catholicism'.

A pre-war critic of Nazism, Pius XII lobbied world leaders to avoid war and, as Pope at the outbreak of war, issued Summi Pontificatus, expressing dismay at the invasion of Poland, reiterating Church teaching against racism and calling for Love, Compassion and Charity to prevail over war.

English: Members of the Canadian Royal 22e Regiment,

in audience with Pope Pius XII, following the 1944 Liberation of Rome.

Français: Des membres du Royal 22e Régiment, 

participant à la libération de l'Italie, en audience avec le pape Pie XII en 1944.

Photo: 4 July 1944.

Source: This image is available from Library and Archives Canada under the reproduction reference number PA-166069 and under the MIKAN ID number 3192383.

This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons: Licensing for more information.

Library and Archives Canada does not allow free use of its copyrighted works. See Category: Images from Library and Archives Canada.

Author: Canada. Dept. of National Defence.

(Wikimedia Commons)

While the Vatican was officially Neutral during the war, Pius XII maintained links to the German Resistance, used diplomacy to aid the victims of the war and lobby for peace, and spoke out against race-based murders and other atrocities. The Concordat of 1933, and Pius' leadership of the Catholic Church during World War II - including allegations of "silence" in public about the fate of the Jews - remain the subject of controversy.

After the war, Pius XII advocated peace and reconciliation, including lenient policies towards Axis and Axis-satellite nations. The Church experienced severe persecution and mass deportations of Catholic Clergy in the Eastern Bloc. In light of the Pope's overt involvement in Italian politics — anyone who voted for a Communist candidate in the 1948 elections was threatened with automatic excommunication — Pius XII became known as a staunch opponent of the Italian Communist Party.

Joseph Mueller, German lawyer and Resistance member (1896-1979).

Josef Müller, of the German Resistance, obtained help from Pope Pius XII, 

in a 1940 plot to persuade the German Military to depose Hitler, 

prior to Hitler's invasion of the Low Countries.

This work has been released into the public domain by the 

copyright holder. This applies worldwide.

This File: 20 November 2005.

User: Wiggy!

(Wikipedia)

Pius XII explicitly invoked ex cathedra Papal infallibility with the Dogma of the Assumption of Mary in his 1950 Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. His Magisterium includes almost 1,000 addresses and radio broadcasts. His forty-one Encyclicals include Mystici Corporis, the Church as the Body of Christ; Mediator Dei on Liturgy Reform; and Humani generis on the Church's positions on theology and evolution. He eliminated the Italian majority in the College of Cardinals in 1946.

In the process toward Sainthood, he was made a Servant of God by Pope John Paul II in 1990. Furthermore, Pope Benedict XVI declared Pius XII Venerable on 19 December 2009.

The signature of Pope Pius XII never changed.

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transfer was stated 

to be made by User:Milk's Favorite Cookie. 

2003-03-23 upload date on en:Wikipedia byJtdirl.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Pope Pius XII's Coat-of-Arms.

Polski: Herb Piusa XII.

Date: 21 August 2007.

Source: Own work.Author: User:mAgul.

(Wikimedia Commons)