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Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII

1 7.2
The Pope from 1939 to 1958 who stayed neutral during World War II and faced criticism for not protecting Jews
  • proper noun
translation icon : Papa Pío XII
  • Pope Pius XII in Prayer
  • Pope Pius XII

Examples

  • Only in June 1933, after the Vatican was satisfied with the ongoing negotiations, did Pope Pius XI mention to the governatore of Rome that an urban project for the Borgo, now outside the pope's purview, was opportune.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Pope Pius XII stated it strongly: "Innocent human life, in whatever condition it is found, is withdrawn, from the very first moment of its existence, from any direct deliberate attack."

    Academic text (1990)
  • If, for example, we consider the Catholic-Jewish debates over the Vatican's role during the Holocaust and Pope Pius XII's record, we see that the commission model retains excellent potential despite recent setbacks.

    Academic text (2006)
  • On February 11, 1929, Pope Pius XI and Benito Mussolini signed the Lateran Pact that finally clarified the political relationship between the Italian state and the Vatican.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Pope Pius VI, who added significantly to the Vatican complex, could not extend his finances nor his hold on power long enough to accomplish urban improvements here before he was overthrown in the Napoleonic uprising in Rome in 1798.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Pope Pius XII served as the head of the Roman Catholic Church during a time of great global turmoil.

  • Many historians debate the actions taken by Pope Pius XII regarding the Nazi persecution of Jews.

  • Pope Pius XII was known for his efforts to maintain the Vatican's neutrality during World War II.

Synonyms

Pius XII
vsPope Pius XII
7.9

Pope from 1939 to 1958 known for staying neutral in World War II and for criticism over not helping Jews

is the full formal title rather than the shortened name

Surface Forms

Morphology

Pope + Pius + xii

A B1 learner who knows 'Pope' (the head of the Roman Catholic Church), recognizes 'Pius' as a personal/regnal name, and reads 'XII' as the Roman numeral for twelve will transparently infer this refers to the pope called Pius the Twelfth. Regnal naming with ordinals is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so the basic referential meaning is directly derived from the constituents (though specific historical details require extra knowledge).

Etymology

Pope Pius XII got his name the usual way popes do: when a priest becomes pope he often picks a new name. The name Pius was chosen to show a wish to be seen as 'holy', and XII means 'twelfth', so the title shows he was the twelfth pope to use the name Pius.