Pope Pius XII

About Pope Pius XII

Eugenio Pacelli was born in Rome in 1876, into a family tied for generations to the service of the Holy See. He was nuncio in Germany for twelve years and Vatican secretary of state, which made him the best-prepared diplomat of his day — and the man who signed, before becoming pope, the documents protesting against Nazism.

He was elected in March 1939, months before the invasion of Poland. He led the Church through the war years and the reconstruction, opening Rome, the Vatican and religious houses to refugees, the persecuted and hidden Jews — historians estimate thousands of lives were saved through that network, while the weight of his public silence about the extermination is still debated today.

In 1950 he proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of Our Lady, the last dogma the Church has defined. He was also the first pope to appear on television. He died in 1958.

A message from Pius XII is sent to those with an interest in twentieth-century Church history, for birthdays and Marian feast days.

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