In Honor of the Extraordinary Life and Achievements of His Holiness Pope Pius XI
      In my view, a sadly often overlooked pontiff, Pope Pius XI deserves a great deal more attention and appreciation than he receives. His reign is often passed over between Benedict XV of World War I and Pius XII of World War II. However, the pontificate of Pius XI was crucial in a number of ways and illustrates his position as one of the greatest servants of God to ever sit on the Papal Throne. During his reign, the Church decided firmly whether or not it was going to go into the world and do battle with sin on enemy territory, how the Church would view political extremism and whether or not Church and State could ever be reconciled on the Italian peninsula. As usual in historic moments such as this, God sent the right man at the right time.

       His Holiness Pope Pius XI was born on March 13, 1857 as Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti in the Italian town of Desio. He served as Archbishop of Milan before being elected to the Throne of St Peter to succeed H.H. Pope Benedict XV on February 6, 1922. His was to be a crucial reign in Church history. When Pope Pius XI received the Triple Tiara, Europe was still recovering from the devastation of World War I. Communism had emerged as a major threat to Christianity, secularism and cynicism were on the rise and the Pope remained a prisoner in the Vatican, surrounded by an illegitimate Kingdom of Italy which the Church did not recognize. The Great War also immediately set the stage for another world conflict, which Pius XI was determined to stop by working for a "Pax Christiana"
      
       One of the things Pope Pius XI immediately set out to do, especially in light of the events of St Pius X and Benedict XV's reigns, was to show how education and scientific advancement were not opposed to true religion. He worked to improve the Vatican Library, founded the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology and in 1936 founded the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 1931 Pius XI opened the first radio station in the Vatican and tried to emphasize that, while modernism was still sinful, not everything new or modern was a sin. Rather, modern advancements should be used to reinforce truth and goodness rather than to undermine them. It was in this vein that he had the forsight to write the encyclical Vigilanti Cura on the new motion picture industry, which was particularly growing in the United States. In it, he called for Americans to take a pledge to the "Legion of Decency" to boycott anti-Catholic and unChristian films.
      
       Another area which Pope Pius XI cared deeply about was foreign missions. He supported the growth of native Church leadership around the world and during his reign there was a huge increase in the number of Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Indochinese men ordained as priests and bishops. He ordered the establishment of the first native heirarchy in China and also caused controversy by being one of the first world leaders to recognize the State of Manchukuo under China's last emperor. However, even this much criticized act (in hindsight) reveals the great foresight of this extraordinary pontiff.

       In every area, Pope Pius XI seemed to carry on the great tradition of his Old Testament spiritual ancestors. His was a very prophetic pontificate. He could see the coming dangers of rampant nationalism and world conflict when he wrote the encyclical Quas Primas which instituted
the Feast of Christ the King, at a time when he knew the world would be in need of a new call to follow the rule of the Prince of Peace and to defend the rights of His Church. He was very prophetic in Vigilanti Cura, seeing in his own time what a den of iniquity Hollywood would become if the Faithful grew lax.

       One of Pius XI's most prophetic encyclicals Casti Connubii on the subject of chastity in marriage. This was written as a response to the recent lifting of the ban on artificial contraception by the Church of England, which set the trend for the rest of Protestant Christianity. He clearly warned that laxity toward contraception would ultimately lead to abortion, eugenics, divorce, and the breakdown of marriage and society at large which we are seeing only too clearly in our own time today. Pius XI was truly blessed with a clear vision of God's truth in leading the global Christian flock.

       Today, Pope Pius XI is all too often forgotten between the two 'World War Popes'. Yet he stands out as one of the greatest and most giften Pontiffs the Church has ever been blessed to have as shepherd, prince and teacher.
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1