Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI, born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), reigned as Pope and sovereign of Vatican City from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. He issued the encyclical Quas Primas establishing the feast of Christ the King. Its main idea is that the Catholic religion, beliefs, morality, and rule must spread itself to all areas of human living: the home, the city, politics, economics, art, etc.

Diplomacy

Lateran Treaties

Concordat with Germany

Another of Pius XI's objectives was the signing of a concordat with Germany. Negotiations were conducted on his behalf by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who later became Pope Pius XII. The negotiations were completed in 1933 as Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party were in the process of establishing a dictatorship. The concordat was signed by Pacelli and by the German government, and included guarantees of liberty for the Church. However, Hitler and the Nazis never honoured their part of the agreement. In 1937 he issued the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge condemning both the Nazi ideology of racism and Nazi violations of the concordat.

Related Topics:
Concordat - Germany - Pope Pius XII - Adolf Hitler - Nazi Party - Dictatorship - 1937 - Mit Brennender Sorge

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