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TWO THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA MAY 23, 1942 Apostolic Delegate Tells Story of Pope Pius XH’s Twenty-Five Years as Bishop PIUS XII—FROM BOYHOOD TO POPE In these pictures Eugenio Pacelli is shown at the age of nine; as a young Monsignor attached to the Sacred Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, at the Vatican; as an Archbishop, conse crated May 13, 1917, and as Pope Pius XII, crowned the 261st successor of St. Peter, March 12, 1939.— (N. C. IV. C.) By THE MOST REV. AMLETO GIOVANNI CICOGNANI, 'APOSTOLIC DELEGATE TO **THE UNITED STATES (Written for N. C. W. C. News Service) Twenty-five years ago, on April 21, 1917, Benedict XV appointed Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli, then Secretary of the Sacred Congrega tion of Extraordinary Ecclesiasti cal Affairs, as Apostolic Nuncio to Bavaria at the court of the reign ing house of Wittelsbach, repre sented at that time by King Lud wig, III. At the same time the elevated Monsignor Pacelli to the archi- episcopal dignity, assigning to him the titular See of Sardes. On the following May 13th the Holy Father personally conferred the fullness of the priesthood on the new Muncio in the Sistine Chapel, amiu the majestic solemnity char acteristic of Papal ceremonies. THE HORRORS OF THE FIRST WORLD .WAR The first world war had been raging for three years, and the Pope was wholly absorbed in the grave and ever-increasing prob lems of that scourge. With perfect impartiality to wards all the belligerents, as be comes the common Father who loves all his children with equal affection, Benedict XV not only sought by every means to bring that calamity to an end, but at every opportunity, through the vast organization of the Church, he strove to alleviate the honors of war, to lessen its atrocities, to better the conditions of prisoners, to assist them by the exchange of news with their families, to con sole them with articles of piety, by religious assistance and by gifts. His charitable undertakings for the welfare of combatants of all nationalities, for their families, their widows and war orphans knew no limits. His frequent heartfelt appeals for peace, ad dressed to sovereigns and rulers, unfortunately went unanswered. “Day by day the earth is drenched with newly-shed blood and is covered with the bodies of the wounded and of the slain. Who would imagine, as we see them thus filled with hatred of one another, that they are all of one common stock, all of the same nature, all members of the same human society? Who would recog nize brothers, whose Father is in Heaven? . . Such has oeen the change in the ideas and the morals of men, that unless God comes soon to our help, the end of civil ization would seem to be at hand.'’ (Encyclical “Ad Beatissimi”, No vember 1, 1940). THE CHARITY OF BENEDICT XV Distressed by the dreadful spec tacle of this slaughter of human ity, the Vicar of Christ turned to the Bishops of the whole world, asking them to adopt his own pro gram, and dedicate themselves en tirely to tire task of making char ity live in every possible manner and place, and to practice it and to have it practiced ardently and _ unceasingly; “You see, Venerable Bretheren, how necessary it is to strive in every possible way that the char ity of. Jesus Christ should once more rule supreme amongst men. That will ever be Our own aim; that will be the keynote of Our Pontificate. And We exhort you to make that also the end of your ' endeavors.” (Ibidem). Benedict XV fulfilled his pro gram in the most sublime fashion. His great heart appeared worthy of the universal Father, the Head of the Church, already described by St. Ignatius Martyr, at the dawn of the second century, as “universo caritatis coetui praesi- dens”—“presiding over the as sembly of those bound together by charity.” (St. Ignatius Antioch- enus, Epistula ad Romanos, Ihscr.) Literally everything he possessed he gave to the suffering, to com batants and prisoners, to the sick and distressed, and the center of all the activity entailed was his { Secretariate of State, where he personally attended to thousands of details. THE IMMEDIATE PREPARATION In this atmosphere of charity and pastoral solicitude Eugenio Pacelli had spent the last years of his service in the Roman Curia, until the time of his appointment as Apostolic Nuncio. He had co operated in the fulfillment of the Pontifical program by his daily, assiduous and untiring labors in the fulfillment of the Pontifical program by his daily, assiduous and untiring labors in the high of fice of Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Extraordinary Af fairs, to which he had been called in the year 1914 by Pope Pius X, of holy memory. Benedict XV was particularly vigilant in choosing for the rule of dioceses men who possessed qualities that would distinguish them in the practice of charity, so that he might have in them faith ful collaborators. He wished to have diplomatic representatives of the same qualities, two of whom were the subsequent Sovereign Pontiffs, Pius XI and Pius XII. As soon as Eugenio Pacelli was raised to the high office of Nun cio or Missus Dominicus he re vealed himself as the very eyes, hands and heart of the Pope. In fact, the characteristic task of a Pontifical representative is “ger- ere personam Pontificis,” “to act personally for the Pontiff,” with Governments and with the Bishops and faithful. When the represen tative is not accredited to the civil government he is called Apostolic Delegate rather than Apostolic Nuncio. In either case, however, the supreme purpose of his mission is spiritual; and for this reason also it is customary for the Pontifical representative to be invested with the episcopal dig nity. MISSUS DOMINICUS Archbishop Pacelli. from his first dealings in his new capacity, as Nuncio, appeared more than a high official in the diplomatic field. He was truly an humble priest, desirous of spreading the eternal word of the Gospel, an angel of charity for the relief of the many miseries caused by the war. It was not easy for a diplo mat in that tempestuous period and in an atmosphere filled with suspicion to win respect and af fection. There was a tendency to misconstrue the most simple ac tions and to seek everywhere hid den purposes. Archbishop Pacelli soon exper ienced all these difficulties. At the direction of Benedict XV he visited the Emperor of German) and presented to him a letter in which the Pontiff beseeched Wil helm II to cooperate for peace. Germany still felt strong, and in deed seemed an invincible colos sus, even w-hen the Austrian Em pire had begun to show signs of disintegration. To mention to the Kaiser the olive branch of peace at that time seemed an attempt to prevent the victory so long in his dreams. Unfavorable com ment and resentment were the lot of the bearer of the letter. Nevertheless there soon arose in regard to Monsignor Pacelli a general conviction that he was a true priest and Bishop, and his popularity increased among the great and small in Bavaria and in Germany, where he was Nuncio from 1920 to the end of 1929. The Nuncio had grave and pre occupying problems of a diplo matic nature in that turbulent period, but nevertheless he ap peared outwardly always so serene and paternal that it was remarked that his thoughts seemed fixed upon the salvation of souls; he was always seen immersed in works of charity. “On behalf of Christ we are act ing as ambassadors”. (2 Cor., V, 20). It was said repeatedly that he acted in unison with the activ ity and office of the Supreme Pon tiff. Being a Bishop himself he felt a strict obligation of dedi cating himself “ad labores et sol- lieitudines pro Gloria Dei.” (Cone. Trid., Sess. XXV, de Ref. cap. 1). His humility and piety left no doubt whatsoever about the pur poses of his activity; and even those alien or indifferent to sac red things came finally to admire in him the priest, the Bishop and the good shepherd of souls. “THE LOVE OF CHRIST IMPELS” In reality the most frequent ap pearances of the Nuncio were those motivated by the sacred ministry. Visits to prisoners of war were a favorite form of'his charity. He went not only for special occas ions, but at any other time that it was possible. He conveyed to them the blessing and the person al gifts of the Holy Father. To this great comfort he added another intimate and treasured one; for hours he listened to indi vidual cases, receiving every rec ommendation, petition and com plaint, and undertaking to send news to beloved ones of the pris oners far away. Then he spoke pastoral words of consolation, counsel and hope, and often per formed the sacred rites. As in the concentration camps, so did he go through the hospitals and prisons with the same zeal and with the same heart of a priest and Bishop impelled by the words of-the Apostle Paul, which now, in the midst of the present desolations of war, are so fre quently on his august lips: “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not inflamed?” (2 Cor. XI, 29). In preaching he saw a great means of assisting souls spiritual ly, and however occupied in the tasks of his office, he generally lent himself to announce the word of the Lord, realizing that “the of fice of preaching belongs chiefly to Bishops” (Cone. Trid. XXIV s., Reform, ch. IV) and that for the continuation of the work of the Apostles, Our Lord had command ed them: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt. XXVIII, IP). All Germany heard him on occas ions great and small, at national meetings and at intimate celebra tions of parishes, schools, Institu tions, on the occasion of Blessings, First Communions and Confirms tions. His words, spiritual and salutary, simple yet profound, made such a deep impression on the hearts of those who heard them that tbe people were accus tomed to consider the Nuncio as one of their own Bishops, who spoke with great love and under standing about their fatherland, their families and their problem. THE CONCORDATS A great part of his mission in Bavaria and in Germany consist ed in the negotiations with those Governments leading to two Con cordats, that with the Bavarian Republic signed on May 29, 1942, and ratified January 24, 1925, anil that with Prussia signed on June 14, 1929, and ratified on August 13. 1929. Obviously for such negotiations it is necessary to have consum mate experience, knowledge of places, affairs and traditions, as well as great tact. In Concordats the Holy See, while on the one hand tending to grant favors, priv ileges and recognition of particu lar rights and customs, is never theless most solicitious for the recognition of the rights of God and of souls, especially regarding freedom in the practice of relig ion, in ecclesiastical discipline, in the choice of pastors of the Church, in the matters oi religi ous instruction and of schools. The Nuncio, Archbishop Pacelli, succeeded in obtaining all those things by his graciousness and calm, by his forcefulness and full understanding with the other con tracting party. The Concordat with Bavaria, the first after the great war, especially in regard to religious education and instruc tion, could not be more precise and complete. In fact it guaran teed to the youth of primary and higher schools an excellent spirit ual, moral and religious training. To those who congratulated ihe Nuncio on these results, he humb ly responded that if he could not enjoy the happiness of a Bishop engaged in the pastoral ministry, at least he was consoled in the thought—which was uppermost in his mind during the long negotia tions—that through the Concordat thousands of youths would be guaranteed the means and the op portunity of ‘becoming food Christians. When later Monsignor Pacelli was elevated by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius XI, to the dignity of the cardinalate In the Consistory of November 16, 1929, although many foresaw that he would be the next Secretary of State, not a few others insisted that Cardinal Pacelli would prefer the sacred ministry in the administration of a diocese. These were conjec tures of his admirers who well knew his ardor for the apostolate. AT THE SIDE OF PIUS XI His appointment as Secretary of State followed after a short time. The Supreme Pontiff, Pius XI, whose years had not diminished his constant and vigilant adminis tration of the Church, on the re signation of the illustrious Cardin al Pietro Gasparri from the high office of Secretary of State, de cided to choose the newly appoint ed Cardinal Pacelli as his succes sor, for the continuation of his enlightened and energetic pro gram. The work of Pius XI, so intense and rich in every field of eccles iastical activity, was inspired en tirely by the highest religious mo tives. It was noted for its achieve ments in the field of diplomacy, in the impulse given to the sciences, to studies and to everything beau tiful and useful. But it was literal ly sublime for its imprint upon that which is the priestly and episcopal ministry properly so called; parochial life, preaching, missions. Catholic Action, cate chetical instruction, religious in struction to adults, frequent re ception of the Sacraments, Eu charistic piety, every form of charity, social assistance inspired by love of God and neighbor, and everything apt to bring souls to the fulfillment of the command ments of the Lord, to illuminate them and to raise them to God in the bond of grace. Pius XI had a marvelous way of knowing how to avail himself of the various offices and means of the Holy See, the Episcopate, Re ligious Orders and even of the laity for realization of this pro gram, which is truth was- clearly marked with the sign of greatness. The volumes of the Acta Apostol- icae Sedis, from 1922 to 1939, are an index of his providential and wonderful activity, yet they rep resent but a portion of it in the official form destined for the pub lic. It is the Cardinal Secretary of State who, by the nature of his office, is ever at the side of the Pope. It i: well known that Card inal Pacelli was the attentive, zealous collaborator, and faithful interpreter of the wishes of the August Pontiff, both in affairs of State and in the apostolate. The preparation of these acts, the pre sentation of them to Bishops and faithful, and the explanation of their true meaning, comprised a great part of the activity of Card inal Pacelli in cooperation with the Supreme Pontiff. In fact a new aspect was noted in the devoted work of Cardinal (Continued on Page Eight) Non-Speculative Insured INVESTMENTS FOR • Trust Funds • Life and Fire Insurance Funds • Corporation Reserves • Endowment Funds • Personal Funds First Federal I SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION OT ATLANTA roATT-six mo» sraitr.** GEORGE W. WEST. PRESIDENT