Pope Pius XII (1939-1958)

Today marks the death of Pope Pius XII (1939-1958). He was Pius XI’s announced choice for successor. Born Eugenio Pacelli to a noble Roman family, he entered the diplomatic service as a young priest. From 1917 to 1929 he was nuncio to Germany. He then came back to Italy as Pius XI’s secretary of state. Much has been made of his alleged silence during World War II regarding the Holocaust. However, this controversy only started in the 1960’s with the play The Deputy. Jewish leaders praised Pius during and after the war for his efforts to help the Jewish people. He felt that a condemnation would help rather than hurt them, and would jeopardize the good that was being done by the Church in secret. But there’s more to his pontificate than this. In 1950 he proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption. He encouraged biblical scholarship in Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943). He wrote the first encyclical on the liturgy, Mediator Dei (1947), which encouraged active lay participation in Mass. The constitution Christus Dominus (1956) allowed evening Mass and shortened the communion fast. His encyclical on the Mystical Body of Christ, Mystici Corporis (1943) also should be mentioned.