Optatissima Pax

Papal encyclical

By: Pius XII

Date: December 18, 1947

Source: Pope Pius XII. Optatissima Pax. Rome, December 18, 1947. Available online at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/docu... ; website home page: http://www.vatican.va (accessed February 5, 2003).

About the Author: Pope Pius XII (1876–1958), born Eugenio Maria Guiseppe Giovanni Pacelli, was ordained a priest in 1899. After becoming a papal diplomat, he was elevated to cardinal in 1929. In 1930 he served as Vatican secretary of state until his election as pope in 1939, a post he held until his death.

Introduction

By the end of World War II (1939–1945), Americans, along with the rest of the world, felt weary and...

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