Pope Pius XII (1876—1958) was Pope from June 3, 1939 until his death on October 9, 1958. He was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli in Rome into a prominent family, he was ordained a priest of the Congregation of Cardinals, the highest rank within the Catholic Church's clergy. He became Pope at a time when Europe was engulfed in World War II and Italy had been invaded by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
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His primary achievements while Pope included organizing the Vatican Library, establishing a commission to improve relations with Judaism, and promulgating the encyclical Mortalium Animos. He refused to condemn Nazi anti-semitism or use his influence to help Jews during World War II. After World War II he refused to condemn communism, which was growing in strength around the world.
He instructed Catholics to vote for moderate candidates in Italian elections but did not actively campaign for them. His papacy also saw an increase in birth control and divorce within the Church; however he is best known for protecting the Church from her own power struggles by naming more than sixty cardinals during his tenure as Pope (he named eighty-four total). He died of old age in 1958; he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2002; he is canonized by both sides of the Catholic Church; however not all see him as a saint or holy figure.