1922
Death of Pope Benedict XV. He died unexpectedly at the age of 67 of influenza.

Pius XI becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti. His Papal motto was, Christ’s peace in Christ’s Kingdom.

Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti was born May 31, 1857 at Desio, near Milan. His father was a silk factory worker.

He was Ordained On the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, December 27, 1879 in the St. John Lateran Basilica. He was an intelligent man, he obtained three Doctorates at the Gregorian University, Rome. He was the professor at the seminary at Padua from 1882-1888. From 1888-1911 he worked at the Ambrosian Library in Milan.

He was a sharp mountaineer and had a passion for the Holy Shroud of Turin,

He began working at the Vatican Library in 1911 and was made the Prefect in 1914.

He spoke several languages, and in 1918, Pope Benedict XV, recognizing that fact, sent him as an apostolic visitor to Poland. He was promoted to Papal Nuncio and Archbishop of Lepanto in 1919.

He showed his courage in 1920 when he refused to leave Warsaw despite the threat of a Bolshevik attack. He became a Cardinal in 1921. He died February 10, 1939.

On March 1, Pope Pius XI extends the number of days ten to fifteen days for a Conclave to open after the death of a Pope.

Pope Pius XI publishes his first Papal Encyclical on December 23, Ubi Arcano Dei, on The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.

Benito Mussolini , Il Duce, becomes Premier of Italy.

1923
The Venerable Teresa of the Child Jesus was Beatified.

The Protestant, Edgar Goodspeed published a translation of the New Testament. This translation appeared later in 1931 as The Bible: An American Translation. [These translations contained many significant errors. We know these American translators used the Latin Vulgate Bible. The word Calvary is not a Greek word, it is a Latin word.]

Pope Pius XI publishes three Papal Encyclicals, Rerum Omnium, the Third Centenary of the Death of St. Francis De Sales; Studiorem Ducem, the Sixth Centenary of the Canonization of St. Thomas Aquinas; and Ecclesiam Dei, the Third Centenary of the Death of St. Josaphat.

1924
The Montana Case was settled. It was presented to the Holy Office by the Bishop of Helena, Montana. An unbaptized man validly married a Baptized woman in the Anglican church. After their divorce, he wished to become a Catholic, be Baptized and marry a Catholic woman. The Pope’s decision was to dissolve the previous non-sacramental marriage in favor of the Faith, thus permitting a licit and valid marriage to the Catholic party.

Archbishops Patrick Hayes of New York and George William Mundelein of Chicago were both elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals.

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin’s troubles began with his essay in which he denied the Fall of Man, the existence of Adam and Eve, and the Garden of Eden.

Pope Pius XI publishes his Papal Encyclical, Maximam Gravissimanque, on Diocesan associations of the French.

Blessed Faustina applies for the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She was turned away.

1925
Pope Pius XI celebrates the Holy Year Jubilee.

Pope Pius XI names St. Peter Canisius, Doctor of the Church.

Pope Pius XI publishes his Papal Encyclical, Quas Primas, on the Feast of Christ the King.

Papal Nuncio Bishop Pacelli, was transferred from Munich, where he had served as Nuncio since 1917, to Berlin, where he will serve the next four years.

Pope Pius XI founds the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology.

Rome demanded that Teilhard de Chardin give up his teaching position in France and sign a retraction of his views. Chardin signed the retraction.

The United States Supreme Court declares the Oregon School Law of 1923 to be unconstitutional. The purpose of this law was to force Catholic children under fourteen years of age to attend public schools.

Blessed Teresa of the Child Jesus was Canonized a Saint.

A concordat was negotiated with Poland.

On August 1, Blessed Faustina reapplied to the Congregation of the Sister of Our Lady of Mercy and is accepted.

On August 22, Blessed Faustina asks to leave the Sisters of Mercy for a stricter Order. She felt that there was too little time for prayer.

The famous Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee. John T. Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was brought to trial for having been accused of teaching evolution in his class. This was a violation of the Butler Act, a Tennessee law that forbade the teaching of the theory of evolution in public schools because it contradicted the Bible. The Press dubbed it the Monkey Trial. Scopes was represented by one of America’s leading criminal lawyers, Clarence Darrow. Darrow made of complete fool out his prosecution opponent , William Jennings Bryan. Bryan, a Fundamentalist, the former U.S. Secretary of State, claimed to be an expert in Sacred Scripture. The defense argued for the scientific validity of evolution and against the Constitutionality of the Butler Act. They did not deny that Scopes had broken the law. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.

Pope Pius XI establishes the Feast of Christ the King.

1926
Pope Pius XI names St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church.

The Twenty-eighth International Eucharistic Congress was held for the first time in the United States, at Chicago, Illinois.

Pope Pius XI publishes three Papal Encyclicals, Rerum Ecclesiae, on Missions; Rite Expiatis, the Seventh Centenary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi; and Iniquis Aflictisque, on the persecution of the Church in Mexico.

Blessed Faustina received her religious name and Habit.

Hirohito succeeds to the Throne in Japan. He was the last Divine Shinto Emperor; he publicly denied his divinity in 1946. Hirohito allowed a militaristic party to dominate the Japanese government, with resultant expansionism, war with China (1937-1945), and military alliance with the Axis powers (1940).

1927
The Feast of St. Teresa of Lisieux of the Child Jesus, October 1, was made obligatory for the whole Western Church. St. Teresa is called the Little Flower.

Rome refuses to grant Pierre Teilhard De Chardin an Imprimatur on his book, The Divine Milieu.

1928
Monsignor Josemaria Escriva De Belaguer found the Opus Dei Order in Spain.

Hilaire Belloc publishes, How the Reformation Happened.

Pope Pius XI publishes three Papal Encyclicals, Mortalium Animos, on the promotion of true religious unity; Miserentissumus Redemptor, on the reparation due to the Sacred Heart; and Rerum Orientalium, on reunion with the Eastern Churches.

Blessed Faustina makes her first profession of temporary vows.

Father Fulton J. Sheen begins his broadcasting career on WLWL radio in New York.

1929
American Archaeologist Wolley, after six years of digging and research at Tell Al Muqayyar, proves the existence of the great Flood mentioned in Genesis (Noah’s Ark), and dates its occurrence back to 4000 BC!

National Catholic Educational Associated (NCEA) is named. It was first organized in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Pope Pius XI publishes three Papal Encyclicals, all in the moth of December; Mens Nostra, on the promotion of Spiritual exercises; Quinquagesimo Ante, on Sacerdotal Jubilee; Rappresentanti In Terra, on Christian education of the youth.

The Lateran Treaty signed. This created the independent State of Vatican City. This was referred to as The Roman Question. The Treaty was signed by a representative of Pope Pius XI and Mussolini. Vatican City becomes the world’s smallest State.

1930
Bishop Bernard J. Sheil of Chicago founds the Catholic Youth Organization. C.Y.O., to promote leadership.

The American Martyrs are Canonized. They are: St. Issac Jogues, St. Rene Goupil, St. John Lalande, and St. Jean De Brebeuf. These Holy men were Jesuit Missionaries killed by the American Indians of North America.

The Anglican Lambeth Council approves the use of contraceptives; CHANGING THE PROTESTANT DOCTRINE on birth control! Up until this time, Protestants shared the same beliefs as Catholics.

Pope Pius XI publishes two Papal Encyclicals, Ad Salutem, the 15th Centenary of St. Augustine; and Casti Connubii, on Christian marriage.

Sister Faustina is assigned to the House of the Congregation in Plock. She worked in the bakery, the kitchen, and the bakery store.

1931
Pope Pius XI names St. Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church.

Pope Pius XI installs a radio station in Vatican City. He was the first Pontiff to use the radio for Pastoral purposes.

Mussolini dissolves the Catholic Youth Movement in Italy.

Pope Pius XI publishes four Papal Encyclicals, Quadragesimo Anno, the 40th anniversary of Rerum Novarum; Non Abbiamo Bisogno, on Fascism; Lux Veritatis, the 15th Centenary of the Council of Ephesus; and Nova Impendet, on economic crisis.

The Holy Shroud of Turin was placed on public display was photographed by Cavalier Giuseppe Enrie. Secundo Pia, now 71, was among those present for viewing. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Enrie’s photograph. This ended any doubts anyone may of had.

1932
Pope Pius XI names St. Albert the Great, Doctor of the Church. St. Albert was the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas and is the Universal Doctor of the Church. It has been stated that St. Albert could teach anyone anything.

Pope Pius XI publishes two Papal Encyclicals, Caritate Christi Compulsi, on economic depression; and Acerba Animi, on the persecution of the Church in Mexico.

1932-1933
Marian Apparition. The Blessed Virgin Mary appears in Banneux, Belgium from November 29 to January 3.

1933
Pope Pius XI publishes his Encyclical, Dilectissima Nobis, on the conditions in Spain.

Pope Pius XI allowed the Holy Shroud of Turin, which he had a great deal of affection for, to be placed again on public display for veneration. The Pontiff posed holding a corner of the Sacred Relic for a photograph. This event was in commemoration of the Nineteenth Centennial of the Redemption. Pierre Teilhard De Chardin was ordered not to teach in Paris and was refused permission to publish his book, Human Energy.

Adolph Hitler begins his Nazi dictatorship in Germany.

1934
St. John Don Bosco is Canonized a Saint.

The first Image of Divine Mercy is painted by E. Kazimierowski in Vilnius.

1935
Pope Pius XI publishes his Papal Encyclical, Ad Catholici Sacerdotii, on the Catholic priesthood.

Francisco Franco becomes the chief of staff for Spain’s army.

The American Hierarchy protests the religious persecution in Mexico.

Pope Pius XI solemnly Canonizes Blessed Thomas More and John Fisher, Saints.

1936
First Friday Clubs are organized. These clubs encourage the devotion to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the practice of attending Holy Mass on the First Friday of the month, and a meeting together for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to discuss and be informed concerning matters of the Catholic Faith began. In the United States, our Bishops have boasting rights to about ninety such clubs today!

Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the Papal Secretary of State, toured the United States. He visited the Universities of Fordham, Georgetown, and Notre Dame.

After his re-election to the Presidency, Frankilin Delano Roosevelt, a 32 degree Mason, entertained Cardinal Pacelli in his Hyde Park home, where he enjoyed having lunch.

Pope Pius XI founds the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Pope Pius XI publishes his Papal Encyclical, Vigilanti Cura, on motion pictures.

Civil War breaks out in Spain. Pope Pius XI supported Francisco Franco. The Holy Grail was removed from the Cathedral of Valencia to safety three hours before angry militants sacked the Cathedral.

Adolph Hitler sends German troops into the Rhineland.

Sister Faustina confesses to the Lord Jesus.

1937
Pope Pius XI publishes four Papal Encyclicals, Mit Brennender Sorge, condemning Naziism; Divini Redemptoris, on atheistic communion; Firmissimanam Constantiam, on the conditions in Mexico; and on September 29, Pope Pius XI published his last Papal Encyclical, Ingravescentibus Malis, on the Holy Rosary. Cardinal Dennis Dougherty served as Papal Legate at the thirty-third International

Eucharistic Congress, held in Manila in the Philippine Islands.

The United States Hierarchy was founded at Montezuma Seminary at Las Vegas, New Mexico, for the Mexican clergy.

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin is ordered by his superiors to stop disseminating his outrageous ideas.

Japan declares war on China.

1938
Hitler invades Austria. Catholic Austria was then annexed as part of Germany.

Mussolini, who had dissolved the Catholic Youth Movements in Italy in 1931, dramatically hardened them and adopted Hitler’s radical doctrines.

Hilaire Belloc publishes one of his greatest works, The Great Heresies.

The Munich Pact is signed by Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain at Munich.This pact secured the acceptance by Britain and France of the demand Hitler made that the German speaking Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia, to be ceded to Germany, who claimed the Czech government discriminated against the Sudetens.

Death of Blessed Sister Helen Mary Faustina.

1939-1945
WORLD WAR II

1939
Death of Pope Pius XI, February 10.

Pius XII becomes Pope. He was Cardinal Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli. He was elected on his birthday, March 2. He was the first Secretary of State to be chosen since Pope Clement IX. He was the son of a lawyer and a descendant from a family of Jurists. He was born in Rome (3-2-1876), and attended a State Secondary School. He studied at the Gregorian University, the Capranica College, and the St. Apollinare Institute in Rome. He was ordained in April 1899. He was Cardinal Gasparri’s right hand. He became a Cardinal in 1929. Pope Pius XII saw himself as the Pope of Peace.

Eugenio Maria Giuseppi Giovanni Pacelli was born on March 2, 1876 into a prominent Roman family.

He received Holy Orders in 1899. He was a man a keen intellect, he entered the Vatican Secretariat of State. He assisted Cardinal Gaspari in categorizing the Canon Law; he aided prisoners of war during World War I; and served as Papal Nuncio to Germany from 1917-1929.

He was elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1929 and was made the Papal Secretary of State for Pope Pius XI in 1930. He was elected Pontiff on his birthday in 1939. He occupied cell 13 and did not vote for himseif. He chose to wear the Tiara of Pope Pius IX. He died October 9, 1958.

Pope Pius XII issues his 5-Point Peace Plan as an effort to avoid the inevitable armed conflict that was soon to see three fourths of the World at War.

In August of this year, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a Treaty of Friendship. The two countries promised mutual cooperation, trade privileges, and neutrality in the event that war should break out with other countries.

World War II begins. On September 1, Hitler invades Warsaw, Poland. His victory was completed by September 27, delivering a crippling blow to Poland.

Hitler then ordered his Generals to prepare for an offensive in the West later this same autumn.

Hitler disregarded the advice of his Generals and insisted on a full scale attack on the 12th of November. This attack was code named, Fall Geld or Plan Yellow. This scheme’s main effort was directed through the Catholic country of Belgium towards Ghent-Bruges area, with the object of covering the Ruhr against any Allied attack, and providing air and sea bases near Great Britain. There was no thought of striking a decisive blow against the Allied forces.

The Knights of Columbus contribute $10,000 to the Golden Jubilee Fund of the Catholic University and $100,000 to the Catholic Radio Hour broadcasts from Washington and Toronto.

On September 3, two days after the assault on Poland, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States announced to the American people in a radio address: “This nation will remain a neutral nation, but I cannot ask that every American remain neutral in thought as well...” The President's words were evidently a clue to his private thoughts. By the end of this year Hitler had taken control over the rest of Czechoslovakia.

Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.

Pope Pius XII continued to pray unceasingly for peace.

On October 20, Pope Pius XII published his first Papal Encyclical, Summi Pontificatus, on the Function of the state in the modern world.

On November 1, All Saints Day, Pope Pius XII published his second Papal Encyclical, Sertum Laetitae, addressed to the United States Episcopate, on the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Hierarchy.

1939-1949
Pope Pius XII promoted excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica to find the Bones of our first Pope, St. Peter.

1940
Barry College becomes the first Catholic College for women in Florida, founded by Bishop Barry, conducted by the Dominican Sisters.

New Bishops are installed in the United States. They are: Bishop Joseph Hurley, St. Augustine, Florida; Bishop Sammuel A. Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago, Illinois; Bishop Joseph C. Plagens, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Bishop Moses E. Kiley, Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Bishop William A. Griffen, Trenton, New Jersey; and Bishop A.J. Schwertner, Wheeling, West Virginia.

Pope Pius XII announces that the Catholic Church would remain strictly neutral in the War.

The Pontiff’s radio plea for peace was answered with a deaf ear. Rome was treated as an Open City because of the Pope’s effort for peace.

On June 10, Italy enters World War II as part of the Axis Powers.

Pope Pius XII publishes his third Papal Encyclical on June 13, Saeculo Exeunto Octavo, the 8th Centenary of Portuguese independence.

Japan enters World War II joining the Axis Powers. They promptly occupied French Indochina.

1941
Soviet Russia is invaded by the Nazis.

The New York Times reported that Pope Pius XII was “About the only Ruler left on the continent of Europe who dares to raise his voice at all...against Hitlerism.”

Nativism disbands. This was an aggressive movement against Catholics and the Catholic Church. It restricted Catholics from holding public office. It was established in Massachusetts in 1833. Catholics disappeared in all states except for New Hampshire.

Martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe. St. Maximilian Kolbe was born in 1894. He was only 47 when he died by lethal injection administered by the Nazis at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, after being starved for ten days. Early in his life, before taking Holy Orders, he had a vision from the Blessed Virgin Mary, of two Crowns, one white, for Purity; the other red, for Martyrdom. Our Lady asked him which of these would he would choose. St. Maximilian chose them both. He prayed and asked others, including his mother, to pray for him that he might die a Martyr's death. This prayer was answered on August 15, 1941. How fitting it was that he would get to meet our Blessed Lord and His Mother on a day of her honor. He has been called the Saint of World War II, the Saint of Auschwitz, and the Holy Prisoner. He was a political prisoner of the war, he published the Immaculata. He gave his life for a man he never knew. His Feast day is August 14, the day before the Assumption of Mary.

The St. Jude Shrine opened in Baltimore, Maryland.

On December 7, the Japanese bombed the United States possession of Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. The United States declared war on Japan, bringing America into World War II.

Japan also bombed United States military bases on Guam, Wake Island, and in the Philippines.

1942
Pope Pius XII denounced the exterminations of all races, mainly the Jews in Germany.

Japan achieves its greatest expansion.

Japan conquers Burma, the Aleutian Islands, The Netherlands Indies, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The Japanese suffered their first major set back. The United States fought the battle of the Coral Sea to a draw in May of this year.

In June, the United States defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Midway Island.

1943
The Focolare Movement began in Trent, Italy.

The Nazis strike at Russia in January of this year.

Pope Pius XII did not endorse Hitler's attack on Russia.

The Moscow Conference. The Russians planned a counter-attack.

Pope Pius XII makes the Vatican an asylum for countless refugees, including Jews.

Archbishop Francis Spellman, the Military Vicar, tours the fighting fronts throughout the world, visiting Chaplains and men in service.

The Fascist Grand Council turned against the Dictator, Benito Mussolini and imprisoned him.

Marshal Pietro Badoglio succeeded in the Italian government.

Rome was bombed for the first time during the war on July 19. A number of bombs fell on civilian sectors, a hospital, Religious buildings, and the largest cemetery in Rome. Some of the graves of the Pacelli family were demolished during the Allies Air Assault. Pope Pius XII took two million Lire from the Vatican treasury and distributed the money to the surviving victims. When he returned to the Vatican that evening, his white cassock was stained with blood, sweat, and most likely, a few tears. The Sixth Century Basilica of San Lorenzo, took many direct hits, causing the roof to, cave in, wrecking the vestibule and destroying the facade.

On August 13, the Allied planes struck Rome again in an attack calculated to shake the Italian will to resist. Bombs fell in the San Giovanni district, near the St. John Lateran Basilica. The Pope again viewed the tragedy. The next day after this bombing, Badoglio accepted General Eisenhower's terms and declared Rome an Open City. In September, Hitler occupied Rome, however.

Pope Pius XII did manage to publish two Papal Encyclicals, Mystici Corporis, on the Mystical Body of Christ; and his famous, Divino Afflante, on the promotion of Biblical Studies.

Eichmann, a Nazi SS lieutenant colonel, wrote in his diary, "on October 6, 1943, ambassador Moelhausen sent a telegraphic message to Foreign Minister Ribbentrop in which he said that general Keppler, SS commander in Rome, had received a special order from Berlin: he had to arrest 8,000 Jews who were living in Rome to deport them to northern Italy, where they would be exterminated. General Stahel, commander of the German forces in Rome, explained to ambassador Moelhausen that, from his point of view, it would be better to use the Jews for fortification works. On October 9, however, Ribbentrop answered that the 8,000 Jews of Rome had to be deported to the Mathausen concentration camp. He emphasized that, in giving evidence under oath in the military prison of Gaeta on June 27, 1961, Kappler said that it was with that order that for the first time he heard the term 'Final Solution.' "

"At that time, my office received the copy of a letter, that I immediately gave to my direct superiors, sent by the Catholic Church in Rome, in the person of Bishop Hudal, to the commander of the German forces in Rome, general Stahel. The Church was vigorously protesting the arrest of Jews of Italian citizenship, requesting that such actions be interrupted immediately throughout Rome and its surroundings. To the contrary, the Pope would denounce it publicly. The Curia was especially angry because these incidents were taking place practically under Vatican windows. But, precisely at that time, without paying any attention to the Church's position, the Italian fascist government passed a law ordering the deportation of all Italian Jews to concentration camps."