Foreign relations of Pope Pius XII

Foreign relations of Pope Pius XII extended to most of Europe and a few states outside Europe. Pius XII was pope from 1939 to 1958, during World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.

Background

Between the loss of the Papal States in 1870 and the signing of the Lateran Treaty in 1929, the diplomatic recognition of the papacy had actually increased, with eighteen accredited members of the Vatican diplomatic corps in 1890, fourteen in 1914, and twenty-four in 1921.Morley, 1980, p. 9. This did not represent international support for the papal position in the Roman Question, however, as these nations also recognized the unified Kingdom of Italy, whose diplomatic corps in Rome developed over a similar trajectory.

In 1936 (three years before Pius XII became pope), there were thirty-four ambassadors, ministers, or chargé d'affaires to the Holy See.Chadwick, 1988, p. 1. However, several of these diplomats spent much of their time in other European capitals—either for personal reasons or because they served multiple embassies (Argentina, Estonian, Latvia, Liberia, Peru, and El Salvador), were merely sinecures (Belgium), or were unpaid (Honduras). Others represented microstates that "hardly counted" (Monaco, San Marino, and the Order of Malta). The Spanish ambassador was driven out by a "tragi-comic siege" in the Piazza di Spagna. Nicaragua's ambassador was senile, and Panama's ambassador had not been seen since 1929.

In March 1939, Pius XII inherited thirty-eight diplomatic missions to the Vatican: thirteen at the "ambassadorial level", and the rest at the ministerial level; there were also papal representatives in thirty-eight countries, but the exchanges were not always mutual.Morley, 1980, p. 8. At the time there were also twenty-three Vatican envoys without diplomatic status in their host state.

In contrast to the various sinecures, Diego von Bergen was a high-ranking member of the German diplomatic service, who twice turned down the office of Foreign Secretary to remain in Rome. According to Morley, "when Pius XII became Pope, there were papal nuncios in, among other capitals, Belgrade, Berlin, Berne, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, the Hague, Paris, Prague, Rome, and Warsaw. The circumstances of war reduced this number and changed the location and level of some of the diplomatic representatives. The end-result of these modifications was that during the years 1939-1943, the Secretariat of State was in diplomatic contact with its emissaries in Berlin, Rome, Vichy, Berne, Bratislava, Zagreb, Bucharest, and Budapest. In addition, active communications were maintained with the apostolic delegates in London, Washington, and Ankara".Morley, 1980, p. 3.

List of diplomats A list of diplomats accredited to the Vatican published in December 1940 lists Diego von Bergen as the dean of the diplomatic corps, followed by thirteen Ambassadors and twenty three Ministers, with Myron Charles Taylor conspicuously in last place.New York Times. 1940, December 14. "Nazi Envoy Dean at Vatican". p. 3. "Nuncios" and "Ambassadors" were only exchanged between the Holy See and countries where the pope's representative ex officio was granted the title of dean of the diplomatic corps. In other countries, Pius XII was represented by an apostolic delegate or a chargé d'affaires, constituting a lower level of diplomatic recognition (representing the ecclesiastical hierarchy of a country, not the government). An apostolic delegate was neither accredited to a host government, nor required their approval.

A special 1948 Christmas Eve midnight Mass for diplomats celebrated by Pius XII was attended by 300 diplomatic personnel.New York Times. 1948, December 25. "Pope Holds Service For Vatican Envoys". p. 8. In February 1949, there were thirty-nine accredited members of the Vatican diplomatic corps. A New Year's Day 1951 audience with the "entire diplomatic corps" included thirty-six accredited representatives, including eighteen full ambassadors, sixteen ministers, and two chargés d'affaires (China and Finland).New York Times. 1950, December 30. "Pope to Meet Diplomats". p. 14.

Nuncios

CountryNuncioNunciatureAmbassadorRankArgentinaGiuseppe Fietta (1936–1953)Mario Zanin (1953–1958)Carlos Brebbia (1943–1947)AmbassadorAustriaMaurilio Silvani (1946–1947)Giovanni Battista Dellepiane (1949–1961)Apostolic Nuncio to AustriaAdolf Kohlruss (1946)Ambassador BelgiumClemente Micara (1923–1946)Fernando Cento (1946–1953)Efrem Forni (1953–1962)Apostolic Nuncio to BelgiumAdrien NieuwenhuysAmbassadorBoliviaGiuseppe Burzio (1946–1950)Sergio Pignedoli (1950–1954)Umberto Mozzoni (1954–1958)BrazilBenedetto Aloisi Masella (1927–1946)Carlo Chiarlo (1946–1954)Armando Lombardi (1954–1964)Apostolic Nuncio to BrazilIldebrando AcciolyMauricio Nabuco (ante 1948)New York Times. 1948, May 18. "New Ambassador Pledges an Anti-Communist Brazil". p. 11.AmbassadorChileAldo Laghi (1938–1942)Mario Zanin (1947–1953)Sebastiano Baggio (1953–1959)(1939-?)New York Times. 1939, December 31. "Pope Points to Aim to Aid 'Proletariat'". p. 4.AmbassadorColombiaGiuseppe Beltrami (1945–1950)Antonio Samoré (1950–1953)Paolo Bertoli (1953–1959)Carlos Arango Velez (1944-post 1949)New York Times. 1944, August 15. "Colombian Envoy Sees Pope". p. 8.AmbassadorCzechoslovakiaSanverio "Xavier" Ritter (1946–1953)Apostolic Nuncio to Czechoslovakia M. Maixner (circa 1947)EcuadorEfrem Forni (1937–1953)Opilio Rossi (1953–1959)FranceValerio Valeri (1936–1944)Angelo Roncalli (1944–1953)Paolo Marella (1953–1959)Apostolic Nuncio to FranceFrançois Charles-Roux (1932–1940)New York Times. 1961, June 28. Charles-Roux Dead; a French Diplomat". p. 35.Wladimir d'Ormesson (1940)Léon Bérard (1940–1945)Jacques Maritain (1945–1948)AmbassadorGermanyCesare Orsenigo (1930–1945)Aloisius Joseph Muench (1951–1959)Muench served as apostolic visitor from 1946.Apostolic Nuncio to GermanyDiego von Bergen (1915–1943)Ernst von Weizsäcker (1943–1945)AmbassadorHungaryAngelo Rotta (1930–1957)Previously an internuncio.György BarczaAmbassadorIrelandPaschal Charles Robinson (1929–1948)Ettore Felici (1949–1951)Gerald P. O'Hara (1951–1954)Albert Levame (1954–1958)Apostolic Nuncio to IrelandItalyFrancesco Borgongini Duca (1929–1953)Giuseppe Fietta (1953–1958)Apostolic Nuncio to ItalyDino Alfieri (1939–1940)Bernardo Attolico (1940–1943)Galeazzo Ciano (1943) AmbassadorLuxembourgClemente Micara (1923–1946)Fernando Cento (1946–1953)Efrem Forni (1953–1962)NetherlandsPaolo Giobbe (1935–1959)ParaguayLiberato Tosti (1946–1948)Federico Lunardi (1949–1954)Luigi Punzolo (1954–1957)Carlo Martini (1958–1963)PeruFernando Cento (1936–1946)Giovanni Panico (1948–1953)Francesco Lardone (1953–1959)Apostolic Nuncio to PeruDiomedei Arias SchreiderAmbassadorPolandFilippo Cortesi (1936–1947)Cortesi was previously nuncio to Poland from 1921 to 1926. Cortesi fled Warsaw on September 5, 1939. He followed the Polish government-in-exile to Bucharest, but not Paris or London. Cesare Orsenigo, the nuncio to German, acted as de facto nuncio to Poland and had his authority officially extended on November 1. Alfredo Pacini was appointed as chargé d'affaires while the government-in-exile remained in Paris, and William Godfrey became the chargé d'affaires when the government-in-exile fled to London in 1940.Apostolic Nuncio to PolandKazimierz Papée (1939–1958)AmbassadorPortugalPietro Ciriaci (1934–1954)Fernando Cento (1954–1958)Apostolic Nuncio to PortugalCarneiro PachecoTovar de Lemos (?-1950)New York Times. 1950, May 14. "Lisbon Names Envoy to Brazil". p. 33.Jose Nasolini (1950-?)New York Times. 1950, July 26. "Portuguese Envoy to Vatican". p. 3.AmbassadorRomaniaAndrea Cassulo (1936–1947)Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen (circa 1940)Herbert L. Matthews. 1940, January 28. "Vatican Pressure is Put on Rumania". p. 8.Daniel Papp (circa 1942)Morley, 1980, p. 30.Basilio Grigorcea (circa 1944)Herbert L. Matthews. 1944, September 6. "Intense Activity in Vatican". p. 10.AmbassadorSpainGaetano Cicognani (1938–1953)Ildebrando Antoniutti (1953–1963)Apostolic Nuncio to SpainViscount Santa Clara de Avedillo (circa 1940)New York Times. 1940, February 17. "Spanish Envoy Sees Maglione". p. 3.Domingo de las Barcenas (circa 1943)Pablo de Churruca y Dotres (1946–1948)Joaquin Ruiz Jimenez (1948-?)New York Times. 1948, October 8. "Spain Names Envoy to Vatican". p. 19.AmbassadorSwitzerlandFelipe Bernardini (1935–1953)Gustavo Testa (1953–1959)UruguayAlbert Levame (1939–1949)Alfredo Pacini (1949–1960)VenezuelaLuigi Centoz (1936–1940)Giuseppe Misuraca (1941–1950)Armando Lombardi (1950–1954)Sergio Pignedoli (1954–1955)Raffaele Forni (1955–1960)M. A. Pulido Mendez (?-1952)New York Times. 1952, December 27. "Venezuelan Quits Vatican Post". p. 2.Ambassador

Apostolic delegates

Country Apostolic delegate Minister RankAlbaniaLeone Nigris (ante 1945)Denied entry into Albania in 1945 by partisans; represented thereafter by regent Franco GjiniBulgariaGiuseppe Mazzoli (?-1946)Died in office in 1946. Replaced by a regent, Francesco Galloni, not another apostolic delegate.CanadaIldebrando Antoniutti (1938–1953)Giovanni Panico (1953–1959)ChinaMario ZaninC. K. SieJohn Ching Hsiung WuNew York Times. 1953, March 3. "Students Hear Ex-Envoy". p. 23.EnvoyCubaAlfonso Forcade (1946-?)Legate, then ambassadorNew York Times. 1956, February 12. "Alfonso Forcade, a Cuban Diplomat". p. 88.Dominican RepublicPedro Troncoso Sanchez (1949-?)New York Times. 1949, May 7. "Sanchez on Way to Rome". p. 14.AmbassadorEgyptArthur Hughes (1945–1947 delegate; 1947–1949 internuncio)GreeceAngelo Roncalli (1935–1944)IndiaN. RaghavanNew York Times. 1952, May 21. "Objective Indian Diplomat is Named Envoy to Peiping". p. 2.AmbassadorJapanPaolo Marella (1933–1948)Given "full diplomatic privileges" in 1942 when Pius XII de facto recognized Japan.Ken Harada (1942–1945)AmbassadorKorea, Republic ofPatrick James Byrne (1947-1949)Maximilien de Furstenberg (1950-1953)Thomas F. Quinlan (1953-1957)Egano Righi-Lambertini (1957-1960)KenyaAntonio RiberiUnited KingdomWilliam Godfrey (1938–1954)Also apostolic delegate to Gibraltar and Malta.Gerald P. O'Hara (1954-?)D'Arcy Osborne (1936–1947)Envoy Extraordinary and Minister PlenipotentiaryUnited StatesAmleto Giovanni Cicognani (1933–1958)Myron Charles Taylor (1939–1950)"Peace Ambassador"New York Times. 1939, December 24. "Envoy to Vatican Ends 72-Year Gap". p. 12. and "personal envoy"New York Times. 1946, May 4. "Taylor Returning to Vatican as Personal Envoy of President". p. 8.TurkeyAngelo Roncalli (1933–1944)YugoslaviaRegent Joseph Patrick Hurley (1946–1950)Niko MirosevichPeter Benzon (circa 1949)New York Times. 1949, February 17. "Diplomats offer sympathy to Pope". p. 6.Ministerchargé d'affaires

Apostolic visitor Territory Apostolic visitorIndependent State of CroatiaGiuseppe Marcone

chargé d'affaires Territory chargé d'affairesSlovak RepublicGiuseppe Burzio

World War II

Some of Pius XII's nuncios in occupied Europe were forced to flee their nunciatures, including Clemente Micara in Belgium, internuncio Paolo Giobbe in The Netherlands, and Casimir Papée in Poland.Blet, 1999, p. 94. The nuncio to Luxembourg was similarly "overrun by German troops".Morley, 1980, p. 4. Micara and Giobbe eventually found their ways to Rome. The Yugoslav and Romanian ambassadors also ended up in Rome but were told in 1944 to be ready to return at a moment's notice. The Baltic nuncios in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were forced out by Russian troops. Although the nuncios de jure retained their titles, their role was either terminated or de facto taken up by Cesare Orsenigo, the nuncio to Germany.