1922–1958

The papacy and fascist regimes: from the Lateran Accords to the end of Pius XII's pontificate

After Mussolini's rise to power in Italy (1922) the papacy sought accommodation with secular fascist regimes. The 1929 Lateran Accords created the sovereign state of Vatican City and settled the loss of the Papal States (1870). Pius XI initially supported Italian fascism and recognized Franco's victory in Spain as a "crusade."

A 1933 concordat was signed with Hitler's Reich. But Nazi repression of Catholic organizations led Pius XI in 1937 to condemn Nazism in the encyclical "Mit brennender Sorge." Five days later he condemned communism in "Divini Redemptoris."

Pius XII (1939–1958) maintained public neutrality on the persecution of Jews during the war. He excommunicated communists in 1949 and restricted theological innovation with "Humani generis" (1950). At the same time, the internationalization of the College of Cardinals and liturgical preparations under him laid groundwork for the future Second Vatican Council.