PIO XI, POPE. — Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, born in Desio on 31 May 1857 to Francesco and Teresa Galli, both of modest means, died in the Vatican City on 10 February 1939, just before completing the seventeenth year of his pontificate.
He took care to study with sobriety and rigor the unpublished documents that he was fortunate enough to discover, in relation to the history of the period to which they belonged.
Of his scholarly output, we limit ourselves to recalling: the *Liber diurnus* of the Ambrosian Codex, which he had printed (1889 ff.) but did not publish; the *Acta Ecclesiae Mediolanensis ab eius initiis usque ad nostram aetatem*, I (unpublished), II-IV (Milan 1890, ’92, ’97), a weighty critical collection of the official acts of the Church of Milan up to the end of the eighteenth century; the phototypic edition of the Ambrosian Homer: *Homeri Iliadis pictae fragmenta Ambrosiana* (ibid. 1905), in collaboration with A. M. Ceriani; the *Missale Ambrosianum duplex* (ibid. 1913), published in collaboration with M. Magistretti; the twenty-five articles on St Charles published in the periodical he edited: *S. Carlo Borromeo nel terzo centenario della sua canonizzazione MDCX-MCMX* (1908-10). Part of the material collected by Ratti on the great archbishop of Milan is now in the possession of the Bollandists; his studies on the Cistercian Ermete Bonomi (1895), on Chiaravalle (1895 ff.), on St Agnes of Prague (1896), on the portrait of St Ambrose (1897), on the homiliary attributed to Charlemagne (1900), on Bonvesin de la Riva (1901 ff.), on Leonardo (1907), on Bonacosa of Beccalò (1910). The complete list of Ratti’s scholarly work is found in Malvezzi and Galbiati (q.V. bibliography). Twenty-seven of his historical-literary writings were collected by G. Faraoni and G. Galbiati: *A. Ratti (now P. XI). Scritti storici* (Florence 1932). His writings on mountaineering were collected by G. Robba and F. Mauro: *Scritti alpinistici del sacerdote dottore A. Ratti* (now Pope Pius XI), gathered and published on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Milan section of the Italian Alpine Club (Milan 1923).
III. THE VISITATOR AND APOSTOLIC NUNCIO IN POLAND
Benedict XV abruptly ended Ratti’s scholarly activity by appointing him Apostolic Visitor to Poland and Lithuania, which were on the verge of becoming free and independent nations. At the Vatican Library he was replaced by Giovanni Mercati, later a cardinal, as pro-prefect (May 1918), then prefect (23 October 1919). On 19 May 1918 Ratti left Rome, carrying with him cases of aid for Italian prisoners in Germany, but before reaching Warsaw he stopped in Vienna and Berlin to sound out, on behalf of Benedict XV, the possibilities for peace. On 30 May, Corpus Christi Day, he carried the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Warsaw amid the enthusiasm of the crowd. His mission was strictly religious, so his contacts with the occupying authorities of the Central European Empires were quite limited. After presiding over the Conference of the Bishops of the Warsaw Province (19-21 June), he made a pilgrimage to the national shrine of Jasna Góra near Częstochowa (15 July), thus beginning that long series of arduous and often perilous journeys, accompanied by his collaborator Monsignor E. Pellegrinetti (later a cardinal), with the aim of personally ascertaining the religious and moral needs of those populations, prey to misery and to politico-religious rivalries. Through a sustained and profound psychological analysis of the Polish soul, he sought to discern what might be the prerequisites for solving the grave religious and social problems that the religious authority was called upon to address with the collapse of the three empires and the sudden proclamation of Polish national independence. On 30 March 1919 the Holy See recognized the new state *de iure*, and it immediately requested the establishment of a nunciature and the appointment of Ratti as nuncio. The Holy See assented, and the first nuncio, appointed titular archbishop of Lepanto (3 July), presented his credentials to Head of State Piłsudski (19 July) and was consecrated in Warsaw by Archbishop Kakowski (28 October) in the presence of the President of the Republic, the government, the diplomatic corps, the episcopate, and a cheering crowd. The event took on national significance; meanwhile, Ratti’s position became increasingly delicate due to problems, sometimes made very grave by the uncertainties and errors arising from the inexperience of the government officials, which he was called upon to resolve or to propose solutions to Rome. Some of his decisions, even while seeking to act in harmony with the episcopate, provoked criticism and violent reactions, such as, for example, various episcopal and auxiliary appointments.During his stay in Poland, Ratti worked tirelessly: on the reconstitution of episcopal sees and the appointment of their ordinaries; on the question of Church-State relations (among the opposing tendencies, he proposed a path of bilateral agreement that later culminated in the Concordat); on the endowment of the clergy and religious institutes in relation to the law on agrarian reform (June 1919, July 1920); on the revival of ecclesiastical studies, fostering the foundation of the Pontifical University of Lublin (25 July 1920); and on alleviating the sufferings of countless poor by personally distributing, incognito, the Pope’s aid in the poorer districts of Warsaw or arranging for it to be distributed through the bishops.
In January 1920, overcoming no small difficulties, he visited Vilnius and Kaunas, and in March he went as far as Riga, where he opened negotiations with the Latvian government that later resulted in the first concordat he concluded as pontiff. The Finnish government invited him to visit, but given the difficulties of the moment, he was unable to do so; likewise, he was unable to cross into Russia, of which he was also Apostolic Visitor, though he did succeed in securing the release, in 1919, of the Latin-rite archbishop of Mohilev, Eduard von der Ropp, imprisoned by the Soviets. Highly appreciated was Ratti’s stance on the eve of the Soviet invasion (August 1920); he asked the Pope, though without obtaining permission, not to abandon Warsaw even at the risk of falling into Soviet hands. To instill courage in the panic-stricken population, however, he decided not to leave the city until the moment when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sapieha, would do so (cf. Pellegrinetti, *op. cit.* in bibliography, pp. 18-20).
Among the grave problems that Ratti had to face, two were particularly thorny: 1) in 1919, the fratricidal struggle between Poles and Ruthenians and the repression that followed the final Polish victory; he intervened repeatedly to obtain a tempering of the repression and to ensure religious assistance for the Ruthenians; 2) in 1920, his mission as papal commissioner during the plebiscites in Upper Silesia and in East Prussia, in the areas of Marienwerder and Allenstein, to prevent abuses by ecclesiastics in the plebiscitary struggle. Both Germans and Poles demanded more from Ratti than he could do within his very limited powers; the former complained to Rome, while the latter accused him of inertia and pro-Germanism. The situation became tragic from the Polish side when Cardinal Bertram of Breslau issued a measure that seemed to have been agreed with Ratti, though it had not been at all, and thereby paralyzed the participation of Polish ecclesiastics in the plebiscitary struggle. The Poles harbored a very strong resentment against Ratti; parties, the press, and Parliament spared no insults toward the papal commissioner, who, conscious of having always acted impartially, remained silent, bearing the wave of indignation with manly fortitude until it gradually subsided. Benedict XV, who fully approved of his conduct, soon removed him from this awkward position by transferring him to the see of Milan (March 1921).
IV. ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN AND CARDINAL
ACHILLE RATTI intended to leave Poland in July in order to complete some of the matters already underway, but on 19 May he was urgently summoned to Rome because he was to be elevated to the dignity of cardinal in the next Consistory on 4 June 1921. Ratti always retained a fond memory of Poland, and the Polish people remained devoted to him throughout his pontificate. Created cardinal with the title of S. Martino ai Monti on 13 June, on 25 July he retired for a month to Montecassino where he prepared his first two pastoral letters, one in Latin to the clergy and one in Italian to the faithful (15 August).
On 26 August he departed for Lourdes with a large Italian pilgrimage; on 8 September he made his entry into Milan, the only absentee being the socialist municipal administration. In his homily, Cardinal Ratti extolled the figure of the Pope, saying that for him Rome is truly the capital of the world and hinting at the advantages that Italy would derive if due account were taken of its being internationally and supranationally sovereign (Novelli, *op. cit.* in bibl., p. 192). This provoked a violent reaction in liberal and governmental circles, which distorted the text (cf., e.g., *La Tribuna*, 9 September). In response, Ratti had the text of his homily published (cf. *L'Osservatore Romano*, 11 September; *Rivista Diocesana Milanese*, 24 [1921], pp. 326-34). The legacy left by Cardinal Ferrari was not an easy one, which is why Cardinal Ratti, before proceeding to any changes or reforms, limited himself during the five months of his governance to exploring the environment, devoting himself to visits and audiences. Among the notable achievements of that brief period were: the important collective letter of the Lombard episcopate, partly drafted by Ratti (16 November); the organization of catechism instruction in the school classrooms of the city of Milan, despite opposition from the socialist administration; and the inauguration of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart as a papal legacy (8 December). After the funeral and commemoration of Benedict XV (d. 22 January 1922), Cardinal Ratti left for Rome on 24 January, departing forever from his Milan.
V. POPE
On 2 February the Conclave began, concluding on the 14th ballot on 6 February with the election of Cardinal A. Ratti, who took the name PIUS XI. Immediately afterwards, in a gesture that aroused the enthusiasm of the crowd and was interpreted in various ways—given that the "Roman Question" was still unresolved—Pius XI appeared on the external loggia of St Peter’s, which had remained closed since 1870, to give the *Urbi et Orbi* blessing; he repeated this gesture on 12 February on the occasion of his coronation. Thus began the pontificate of Pius XI, which was marked by events of exceptional significance. Suffice it to recall the three Jubilee years: one ordinary (1925), one extraordinary (1929) for his fiftieth anniversary of ordination, and 1933 (for the nineteenth centenary of the Redemption); the Missionary Exposition (1925) and that of the international Catholic press (1936, for the seventy-fifth anniversary of *L'Osservatore Romano*); the resolution of the "Roman Question" through the Lateran Pacts (1929) and the consequent juridical and territorial establishment of the State of the Vatican City. He had two Cardinals as Secretaries of State: Cardinal P. Gasparri until 1 February 1930, and Cardinal E. Pacelli, now Pius XII, from 10 February 1930 onwards, who was sent abroad several times as his legate and who, in October–November 1936, undertook a triumphant journey to the United States.
He chose as the motto of his pontificate *Pax Christi in regno Christi* and set out the cornerstones of his programme in the encyclical *Ubi arcano* (23 December 1922), which found its complement in the encyclical *Quas primas* (11 December 1925) on the kingship of Christ, which necessarily implied "the full freedom and independence of the Church from civil power in the exercise of its divine mission." Pius XI made it his constant rule to survey the happy and sad events of each year of his pontificate, both in the consistorial allocutions and in the Christmas messages. Moreover, to counter the general silence of the secular press on the vital problems of the Church, its difficulties, and the persecutions it faced in various nations, he wished to inform public opinion through frequent references in the countless speeches he delivered at public audiences. As "common father and head of the entire Christian family" (an expression habitual to him), he devoted himself morally and materially to alleviating the sufferings of others: suffice it to recall the aid campaign for Russia, 1922–23, in response to which *Pravda* of 31 March 1923 called for the death sentence against Pius XI (article translated by P.-M. d’Herbigny, in *Orientalia christiana*, 3 [1924], pp. 30–32). He never hesitated to denounce violence or completed acts that were detrimental to human dignity and the supreme interests of the Church, and he spread the word of God abundantly, instructing, comforting, and encouraging all—often several times a day, especially during the three Jubilee years.
It is now fitting to take a rapid overview of his dynamic activity.
### 1. Relations with States
Pius XI continued in his relations with states the methods and approaches of his predecessor Benedict XV, whose Secretary of State, Cardinal Gasparri (q.v.), he retained; yet, given his resolute and energetic character, he was very much his own man in the formulation and resolution of political issues. He intensified diplomatic representation with various governments and initially attempted a beneficial direct action at international political conferences, which were so frequent in that troubled post-war period, in the hope that they might achieve their aims. However, after the failure of the Genoa Economic Conference (10 April–12 May 1922; cf. letters to the archives of Genoa and to Cardinal Gasparri, 7, 29 April), he did not repeat the attempt. Thereafter, he was content to act through nuncios, as at the Lausanne Conference (20 November 1922–24 July 1923) and for the Locarno Pact (October 1925), or to influence public opinion through a document or speech indicating the path to follow, as in the case of the Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr (1923) or the Geneva Disarmament Conference (2 February–23 July 1923). With regard to the treaties concluded with the defeated powers of the 1915–18 war, he advocated their just application, not devoid of social charity (letter to Cardinal Gasparri, 24 June 1923, on reparations due from Germany). He did not generally place excessive trust in the League of Nations and was opposed to participation in it, though he did not exclude the possibility of contributing to it in particular cases.
He set himself the task of creating an atmosphere of collaboration between the Church and States, especially those created by the Treaty of Versailles, both to work for peace and to safeguard the rights and interests of the Church. To none did he refuse his hand, and, «after a struggle» (to use his own words), he always showed himself ready for generous conciliation, hoping that the commitments undertaken would be loyally fulfilled, of which he gave constant example. To achieve his purpose he employed various methods, but he especially favoured the concordatory system, considering, in view of its solemnity as a bilateral pact, that it was better suited to provide greater juridical guarantees for the Church, even in the face of the non-Catholic part of the contracting nation (v. CONCORDATS).
The first concordat signed by Pius XI was that with Latvia (30 May 1922); the last, which did not meet with a favourable outcome because it was not approved by the Senate, was the laborious one with Yugoslavia (1931-38). Among the concordats that caused Pius XI the deepest distress was the one concluded with the Reich of Hitler (20 July 1933), which the National Socialist government violated in every way, provoking repeated protests from Pius XI, who finally published the very severe encyclical *Mit brennender Sorge* (14 March 1937) and adopted an attitude of proud intransigence on the occasion of the diplomatic démarche of the Reich against the declarations of Cardinal Mundelein on German ecclesiastical policy (24-29 May 1937) and of Hitler’s visit to Rome (3-8 May 1938). Besides the perfidious persecution instituted in the Reich of Hitler, compared to that of Julian the Apostate (cf. discourse to the congressists of the IV International Congress of Christian Archaeology, 20 Oct. 1938), during the pontificate of Pius XI the Church was subjected to harassment and persecution in Russia (from 1922 onwards), in Mexico (from 1923 onwards), and in Republican (1931-33) and Red Spain (1936-39), which he denounced to the world in various encyclical letters (1926, 1932, 1933, 1937) and on numerous occasions in speeches.
Relations with France were good, especially after the Statute granted to diocesan associations (v.), though difficulties arose at the time of his attitude towards German reparations (June 1923), the advent of the Herriot government which sought to suppress the French embassy at the Holy See (January 1925), and the condemnation of *Action française* (5 Sept., 29 Dec. 1926). Pius XI also encountered serious difficulties with other States such as Czechoslovakia (especially in 1924-25) and the Philippines (1937), which had been influenced by Mexican trends; he also worked intensively to try to halt the process of secularization underway in various nations, such as those in Central and South America. Pius XI agreed to act as arbiter in the Dominican-Haitian conflict, which ended with the agreement of 31 January 1938, ratified at the nunciature in Port-au-Prince on 26 February following (cf. messages between the President of Santo Domingo and Pius XI, in *Osservatore Romano*, 28 Feb. – 1 March 1938).
2. Relations with Italy
Pius XI had a deep love for his native land, and Italy received more than one proof of this. At the beginning of his pontificate he sought to reconcile minds and intervened repeatedly to put an end to the violence that socialists, communists, and Fascists were committing against persons and institutions of the Church (letters to the Ordinaries of Italy of 6 Aug. and 28 Oct. 1922). To this end he repeatedly forbade priests from belonging to political parties, including the Partito Popolare (cf. circulars of 2 Oct. 1922, 10 Feb. and 23 Sept. 1924). *L’Osservatore Romano* (12 July 1923) commented in noble terms on the resignation of Don Luigi Sturzo as political secretary of the Partito Popolare, and Pius XI subsequently did not fail to give assistance to some of the leading exponents of the Party who were persecuted by Fascism. He appreciated the efforts made by the government authorities to ensure order and transport services on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1925 and various measures taken in favour of the Church (concorsional allocution, 14 Dec. 1925; A. Giannini, in *Chiesa e Stato* [V. BIBLICA.], II, pp. 497-510), but he protested that he could not accept the draft of the Minister of Justice Rocco for the revision of ecclesiastical legislation unless the Roman Question was first resolved (letter to Cardinal Gasparri of 18 Feb. 1926). The Minister then let it be known that the government was willing to negotiate the Roman Question. From an incident there developed the study of a solution that was to have exceptional historical significance. Pius XI wished it to be resolved solely through the direct intervention of the two High Parties concerned. He himself directed the work personally (about 200 sittings in his presence, cf. Pellegrinetti [V. BIBLICA.], p. 27) with the collaboration of Cardinal Gasparri and the lawyer F. Pacelli, later Marquis. The drafting, the official ratification by the legislative organs of the nation, and the subsequent application both of the Treaty and of the Concordat, which Pius XI insisted were inseparably linked (v. LATERAN TREATIES), passed through truly tragic moments that culminated, after the attacks on Catholic Action, in the encyclical *Non abbiamo bisogno* (29 June 1931); this was followed by a clarification after Mussolini’s visit to Pius XI (12 Feb. 1932). During the conflict and the Italo-Ethiopian military campaign (1935-36), the Pope made only sporadic references to the situation in Ethiopia so as not to be misunderstood, as he declared in the concorsional allocution of 16 Dec. 1935 (cf. speeches to nurses and ex-servicemen, 27 Aug., 7 Sept. 1935). However, this outward attitude—inasmuch as the diplomatic action then undertaken is not known—was the object of criticism abroad. He did not fail to protest firmly against the ever closer ideological union between Italy and Germany (cf. discourse to the College of Propaganda, 28 July 1938), against the racial measures approved by the Grand Council of Fascism (6 Oct. 1938), and against those relating to marriages with non-Aryans (Nov.-Dec. 1938).3. Action for Peace
It has already been said that from the beginning of his pontificate Pius XI worked to pacify minds by advocating an equitable application of the treaties. In the years 1930-32, at the time of the financial crisis in which Europe was immersed and the arms race, he intervened with wise suggestions and an appeal for a crusade of charity (Christmas discourses of 1930 and 1934; encyclical *Nova impendet*, 2 Oct. 1931). Among the enemies of peace he placed in the forefront immoderate nationalism, which he reproved on several occasions, especially with the condemnation of *Action Française* (1926) and National Socialism (1937) and the class struggle instituted by Marxist socialism and communism. On several occasions he spoke out against atheistic communism, which subverted public order and persecuted the Church, and finally condemned it in the encyclical *Divini Redemptoris* (19 March 1937). Faced with the danger of war due to the growing aggressive spirit of National Socialism and the spread of its neo-pagan ideologies, he called for a Marian crusade with the encyclical *Ingravescentibus malis* on the pious practice of the Rosary (29 Sept. 1937; cf. discourse of 1 Oct. following to the Sacred Rota) and sent to the world the radio message of 29 Sept. 1938, in which he offered to God the gift of his own life. The Minister N. Chamberlain gave public testimony in the Commons to the work of Pius XI for peace (cf. *Osservatore Romano*, 2 Feb. 1939).VI. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH
Pius XI, besides ensuring and increasing the prestige of the Church in the eyes of the nations, provided for its progress through wise reforms and constant encouragement.4. The Missions
On 20 March 1923, in a discourse to the Superior Council of the Propagation of the Faith, Pius XI declared that the apostolate is the truest and most precious substance of the Roman Pontificate. He therefore gave a broad impetus to the spread of the Church in mission lands: on 3 May 1923 he transferred the work of the Propagation of the Faith to Rome, thus inaugurating a new era for the Pontifical Missionary Works (v.); he celebrated with solemnity the Third Centenary of Propaganda Fide (June 1923); and he promoted the Missionary Exposition (1925), which he made permanent by establishing the Ethnological Missionary Museum of the Lateran and by providing the College and the Urban Athenaeum of Propaganda Fide with a grand new seat on the Janiculum (1931). Of great importance for the missions were the encyclical *Rerum Ecclesiae* (28 February 1926), which dealt chiefly with the indigenous clergy, the letter of 15 June of the same year on the missions in China, and the three recommendations to the procurators of the missions of 6 December 1929. In accordance with the principles laid down in these documents, he initiated the formation of the indigenous episcopate by the consecration in St Peter’s of six Chinese bishops (28 October 1926), followed by further consecrations on 28 October 1928 and 5 June 1933. He promoted Catholic Action in mission countries (cf. message to the Chinese bishops, 1 August 1928; other documents in A. Cavagna, *La parola del Papa* [V. BIBLICA.], pp. 280–84).5. The Eastern Churches
He likewise showed lively concern for the Eastern Churches, both united and separated, on whose problems he was deeply and directly informed. He addressed their issues, both regarding union and rites, in various documents, such as the encyclicals *Ecclesiam Dei* (12 November 1923, for the Third Centenary of the martyrdom of St Josaphat), *Mortalium animos* (6 January 1928, condemnation of pan-Christianism), *Rerum Orientalis* (8 September 1928, institute and Oriental studies), and the *motu proprio* of 25 March 1938 on the jurisdiction of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church. He promoted the printing of various liturgical books (cf. I. Cecchetti [V. BIBLICA.], pp. 67–73); received into the Church the archbishop Mar Ivanios, a Jacobite, together with a large group of faithful (September 1930); declared autonomous the Commission for Russia (6 April 1930) and erected the Russicum (15 August 1929); and established the Commission for the Codification of Oriental Canon Law (2 December 1929), which became pontifical on 17 July 1937 with the task of drafting the Code of Oriental Canon Law (v. COMMISSIONI PONTIFICE).Faithful to the principle he had laid down of ‘knowing and loving one another’ (discourse to the FUCI, 16 January 1927), he ensured that in all seminaries the history, liturgy, and theology of the East were taught (cf. circular letters of the Sacred Congregation of Studies and Universities of 28 August 1929 and 27 January 1935).
6. Formation of the Clergy
The sanctification of the clergy and their adequate intellectual formation likewise occupied a central place in the concerns of Pius XI. To this end he issued norms for the studies and spiritual formation of clerics in seminaries (cf. *Enchiridion clericorum*, Vatican City 1938, pp. 602–841) and promoted the erection, especially in Italy, of regional seminaries (cf. *Elenchus Seminariorum*, ibid. 1934). He gave strong impetus to higher ecclesiastical studies and fostered the establishment of new scientific institutions, regulating their academic organization with the constitution *Deus scientiarum Dominus* (24 May 1931). To be of greater service to the salvation of souls, as he declared on 1 March 1938 to the pastors and Lenten preachers of Rome, upon the death of Cardinal Bisleti, prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Studies and Universities, he wished to reserve for himself the prefecture of that Congregation (cf. letter to Cardinal Pacelli, 3 September 1937). The most significant documents in which he set forth his guiding principles on the clergy are: the letter to Cardinal Bisleti of 10 August 1922; the encyclical *Studiorum ducem* (29 June 1923, for the Fourth Centenary of the canonization of St Thomas Aquinas); the letter to superiors of religious orders of 19 March 1924; and the discourses delivered on the occasion of the international pilgrimage of seminarians (21–25 July 1929). But the document which Pius XI, almost on the eve of his death (cf. letter to the episcopate of the Philippines, 18 January 1939, published in *L’Osservatore Romano* on the day of his death), considered most important on this subject is the encyclical *Ad Catholici sacerdotii* (20 December 1935); together with the encyclical *Mens nostra* (20 December 1929) on spiritual exercises, it constitutes the memorial which Pius XI wished to leave to the clergy on the occasion of his priestly jubilee. The documents issued by Pius XI for religious are collected in the *Enchiridion de statibus perfectionis*, I, Rome 1949, pp. 384–530.4. Catholic Action and Related Problems. From the collective letter of the Lombard episcopate (1921)
he elevated labour socially, and the Catholic press, the *arma veritatis*. He took pains to elucidate each of these great problems in accordance with the doctrine of the Church. To the first he devoted two encyclicals: *Divini illius Magistri* on the education of youth (31 December 1929) and *Vigilanti cura* on the moralization of the cinema (29 June 1936), as well as countless references in his discourses. To the second he devoted the encyclical *Casti connubii* on the dignity and sanctity of marriage (31 December 1930) and by receiving and kindly entertaining, from the conclusion of the Concordat with Italy, newly-weds passing through Rome (he received about 200,000 couples: Fontenelle, op. cit. in bibl., p. 488). To the third he devoted *Quadragesimo anno* (15 May 1931) on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of *Rerum novarum*. To the fourth he devoted the encyclical *Rerum omnium* (26 January 1923, for the Third Centenary of the death of St Francis de Sales, whom he proclaimed patron of Catholic writers) and various references in his discourses, including that for the inauguration of the International Exhibition of Catholic Press (12 May 1936).
7. Canonizations, Liturgical Feasts, Congresses
Pius XI conducted forty beatifications, numbering 494 blesseds (v. BEATIFICAZIONE), and sixteen canonizations, numbering thirty-two saints (v. CANONIZZAZIONE). On the occasion of the reading of the decrees *coram sanctissimo* (of which one hundred concerned heroic virtue) for beatification and canonization causes, he delivered 101 discourses from 2 April 1922 to 3 May 1936 (partially collected by C. Testore, *Invito all’eroismo*, 3 vols., Rome 1941–42); only fifteen readings were not accompanied by discourses owing to the Pope’s precarious state of health. He introduced the feasts of Christ the King (1925), of the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the occasion of the centenary of the Council of Ephesus (encyclical *Lux veritatis*, 25 December 1931), and of several saints into the Calendar of the Universal Church (v.). He proclaimed four Doctors of the Church (v.) and gave a new office to the feast of the Sacred Heart (1929), toward which he inculcated the duty of reparation in the encyclical *Miserentissimus Redemptor* (12 March 1928). For liturgical decorum he took a particular interest in sacred music, as is evident from the constitution *Divini cultus sanctitatem* of 20 December 1928 and from various discourses; he took an interest in the thirteenth (1923) and fourteenth (1928) national congresses of the Italian Saint Cecilia Association.He was represented by legates at the International Eucharistic Congresses (v.) and at those of the Kingship of Christ, the first national congress of which was held in Milan (20–23 May 1926); the most grandiose congress of this kind was that held in Poznań (25–29 June 1937).
VII. PATRON OF THE ARTS AND STUDIES
As has already been said, Pius XI was a humanist in the true sense of the word, and therefore a lover of art, of learning, and of all who devoted themselves seriously to these pursuits. The architectural organization of the State of the Vatican City is in this regard an irrefutable testimony, even though artists and technicians did not always succeed in interpreting the Pope’s thought. Pius XI was deeply concerned that his small State should be in the vanguard of technical perfection in its installations, such as, for example, the radio station, which he built with the personal collaboration of G. Marconi (q.v.) and inaugurated with a solemn message to the world (12 Feb. 1931). Particular care was devoted to the following: the Picture Gallery (new premises, with the collaboration of L. Beltrami, inaugurated on 28 Oct. 1932); the Museums (a genuine helical ramp designed by Pius XI and executed by the architect Momo, 7 Dec. 1932); the Library and the Archive, the former equipped with about 20 km. of metal shelving and the latter with 13 km. Notable among the restorations are those of the Villa of Castel Gandolfo (q.v.), the triumphal arch of S. Maria Maggiore, and the vault of the Sistine Chapel.Pius XI gave strong impetus to higher studies and to specialized scientific research. He established the Pontifical Central Commission for Sacred Art in Italy (1 Sept. 1924: see ART, XI; SACRED ART, Pontifical Central Commission for the 1st) and expressed his thought on sacred art in the discourse inaugurating the Picture Gallery; the Institute of Christian Archaeology (motu proprio of 11 Dec. 1925); the Faculty of Ecclesiastical History (1929) and the Chair of Missiology (1933) in the Pontifical Gregorian University, which was provided with a new and grandiose building (1930); the historical section of the Sacred Congregation of Rites (q.V. ROMAN SACRED CONGREGATIONS. VIII. C. OF RITES) with the collaboration of Dom H. Quentin (motu proprio of 6 Feb. 1930); the Scientific Missionary Institute at the Pontifical Urban Athenaeum de Propaganda Fide (10 Sept. 1933) and the Missionary Library at the Sacred Congregation “de Propaganda Fide” (1926); the Abbey of S. Girolamo for the revision and correction of the Vulgate (Constitution Inter praecipuas of 15 June 1933); the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (motu proprio of 29 Oct. 1936; on 18 Dec. 1938 he delivered one of his last and most elevated discourses); and finally he reorganized and provided with new premises the Lateran Athenaeum (1937), and equipped the Specola with the most modern apparatus, transferring it to Castel Gandolfo (29 Sept. 1935). Other matters to which he gave special attention were the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan; the magnificent Seminary of Milan at Venegono; the establishment of diocesan museums (1924); and the creation of a centre for studies and research in the fields of ethnology, history of religions, and missiology, attached to the Ethnological Missionary Museum of the Lateran (1926), with its specialized library and the now well-known scientific journal, the Annali Lateranensi (1937 ff.), and the School of Library Science (q.v.) at the Vatican Library (1934). He granted substantial financial aid for the publication of historical, scientific, and artistic works: it is enough to mention the aid given to P. F. Kehr (q.v.) for the preparation and publication of the Regesta Romanorum Pontificum, whose continuation is now assured by the Piusstiftung; to Frs. G. Schmidt, Schebesta, Schumacher, Vanoverbergh, and to the Lebzelter couple for scientific expeditions among the most primitive peoples of the earth; and various scholarships for priests desirous of specializing in particular disciplines.
VII. HIS DEATH
From Dec. 1936 Pius XI’s health was profoundly shaken, and his painful illness lasted for several months in 1937, but he never ceased working. His last ardent desire was to be able to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the reconciliation with Italy with a strong discourse (drafted but kept secret) to the Italian episcopate, whom he had summoned to Rome for the occasion. But his state of health rapidly deteriorated, and at dawn on 10 Feb. 1939 he expired, thus bringing to an end a glorious pontificate which only future historians will be able fully to evaluate. His remains repose in the Vatican Grottoes in a rich sarcophagus of Candoglia marble.IX. SOME STATISTICS
He created 76 cardinals. He signed 18 concordats, agreements, and modus vivendi. He increased the number of the Holy See’s diplomatic representations to 37 (in 1922 there had been 25) and to 23 those without diplomatic character. The States maintaining diplomatic representations at the Holy See rose to 37 (in 1922 there had been 26). He created 128 archiepiscopal and episcopal sees, 24 abbacies and prelatures nullius, 116 apostolic vicariates, 113 apostolic prefectures, and 10 missions and sui iuris districts.### IX. SOME STATISTICS
He created 76 cardinals. He signed 18 concordats, agreements, and modus vivendi. He increased the number of the Holy See’s diplomatic representations to 37 (there were 25 in 1922) and those without diplomatic character to 23. The number of states maintaining diplomatic representations accredited to the Holy See rose to 37 (26 in 1922). He established 128 archiepiscopal and episcopal sees, 24 abbacies and prelatures *nullius*, 116 apostolic vicariates, 113 apostolic prefectures, and 10 missions and *sui iuris* districts.
### VIII. HIS DEATH
From December 1936, Pius XI’s health was gravely shaken, and his painful illness persisted for several months in 1937, yet he never ceased working. His final ardent wish was to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the reconciliation with Italy with a strong address (drafted but kept secret) to the Italian episcopate, whom he had summoned to Rome for the occasion. However, his condition rapidly deteriorated, and at dawn on 10 February 1939 he expired, thus bringing to an end a glorious pontificate whose full value only future historians will be able to assess. His remains rest in the Vatican Grottoes in a rich marble sarcophagus of Candoglia.
### IX. SOME STATISTICS
He created 76 cardinals. He signed 18 concordats, agreements, and modus vivendi. He increased the number of the Holy See’s diplomatic representations to 37 (there were 25 in 1922) and those without diplomatic character to 23. The number of states maintaining diplomatic representations accredited to the Holy See rose to 37 (26 in 1922). He established 128 archiepiscopal and episcopal sees, 24 abbacies and prelatures *nullius*, 116 apostolic vicariates, 113 apostolic prefectures, and 10 missions and *sui iuris* districts.