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Soldier of Christ: The Life of Pope Pius XII Kindle Edition

by Robert A. Ventresca (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 33 ratings
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“This well-crafted biography” presents “a balanced, but not uncritical, examination of the life of a controversial pope” (Library Journal).

Debates over the legacy of Pope Pius XII are so heated they are known as the “Pius wars.” Soldier of Christ focuses instead on Eugenio Pacelli, the flawed yet gifted man himself. While offering insight into the pope’s response to Nazism, Robert A. Ventresca argues that it was the Cold War and Pius XII’s manner of engaging with the modern world that defined his pontificate.

Ventresca begins with the story of Pacelli’s Roman upbringing, his intellectual formation in Rome’s seminaries, and his interwar experience as papal diplomat and Vatican secretary of state. Accused of moral equivocation during the Holocaust, Pius XII later fought the spread of Communism, spoke against the persecution of Catholics, and tackled a range of social and political issues. By appointing the first indigenous cardinals from China and India and expanding missions in Africa, he internationalized the church’s membership and moved Catholicism beyond the colonial mentality of previous eras.

Drawing from a diversity of international sources, including unexplored documentation from the Vatican, Ventresca reveals a paradoxical figure: a prophetic reformer of limited vision whose leadership both stimulated the emergence of a global Catholicism and sowed doubt and dissension among some of the church’s most faithful servants.

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    January 15, 2013
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This beautifully written biography will become the standard account of Pope Pius XII's life. In Ventresca's hands, this enigmatic Pope is neither lionized nor demonized. Instead, we see Pius XII as a soldier mired in the trenches, neither advancing nor wholly retreating into silence.”―Charles R. Gallagher, author of Vatican Secret Diplomacy: Joseph P. Hurley and Pope Pius XII

“Ventresca does a thorough job sifting through the evidence of the complicated life and papacy of Pius XII, while keeping an open mind to the conclusion...An authoritative study of a deeply flawed and tragic figure of history.”―Kirkus Reviews

“Avoiding the extremes of vilification and hagiography, this well-crafted biography examines Pope Pius XII's early life, his service in the Vatican diplomatic corps and as secretary of state to his predecessor, and his papal reign during World War II, including the "so-called silence," as Ventresca puts it, for which the pope has been roundly criticized...A balanced, but not uncritical, examination of the life of a controversial pope, seeking to understand Pius in the context of his times, this study will appeal to anyone interested in Church history, World War II, or general modern world history.”―Augustine J. Curley, Library Journal

“Soldier of Christ is immaculately researched, well-written and judicious in its judgments, and it deserves serious consideration in the ongoing debate about the role of the Vatican in the face of the utter immorality of Nazi policies.”―Allen Mills, Winnipeg Free Press

“Eugenio Pacelli, who acceded to the papacy in March 1939, was the first Roman pope since the early 1700s. His tenure, which lasted until his death in 1958, remains highly controversial. Robert Ventresca's book is an intervention in the 'Pius war'--the argument over Pius XII's seeming failure to defend European Jews from persecution by the Nazis.”―New Statesman

“The definitive biography of the wartime pontiff... Soldier of Christ: The Life of Pope Pius XII is a splendid work.”―Michael Coren, Catholic World Report

“Ventresca paints a well-crafted portrait of Pacelli's remarkable consistency, deciding early on that pragmatism was his goal in both spiritual and temporal matters.”―Megan Moore Burns, Quill & Quire

“[An] illuminating work.”―Paul Richardson, The Church of England Newspaper

“Refreshing...Robert Ventresca...combines meticulous scholarship with an elegant and
effective prose style that makes this a very readable and accessible book...The most serious and dispassionate biography so far of this controversial pontiff.”―John Pollard, Times Higher Education

“Most of the books about Pius [XII] judge him, positively or negatively, based upon his policies during that period. Ventresca sets Pius' decisions within the larger context of his life and achievements, bringing a fresh perspective to what has aptly been described as 'the Pius war.'”―Eugene Fisher, Catholic Herald

“With Soldier of Christ, Robert Ventresca has provided a real service, not only to the historical profession but also to the wider community...Ventresca makes every effort to be objective and balanced in his presentation of the controversial wartime pope. In this, he makes a refreshing and needed contribution to what has become a sometimes rancorous debate, which has more assertion of opinion than serious archival research.”―Gerald P. Fogarty, National Catholic Reporter

“Ventresca diligently works to establish a perspective on the pope that is not confined to the controversies that continue to swirl around his legacy: his reputed inaction during the Holocaust, the debates around his cause for canonization, his involvement with the shaping of post-World War Two Europe and his alleged reactionary approach to modernity in all its forms. The actual record, of course, is both more complicated and ambiguous, and Ventresca labors admirably to ensure that his portrait of Pacelli eschews the polarizing rhetoric, selective indignation and pious piffle that has defined the work of the pro- and anti-Pacellists over the last three decades...Ventresca's biography, by contrast, is defined by its meticulous reliance on archival materials, its avoidance of polemical fire and its measured assessment of the complex factors that shape a pontificate.”―Michael W. Higgins, Literary Review of Canada

“Ventresca has...successfully captured Pacelli in the round, with telling...details of human interest...For those who have no vested interest on either side of the divide, there [is] now [a] reliable...stud[y] of one of the most enigmatic figures of twentieth-century history.”―John Cornwell, Times Literary Supplement

“Pius XII, more than most popes, was a polarizing figure, and previous studies of his pontificate have, accordingly, tended to be either fiercely polemical, if from his critics, or bordering on the hagiographical, if from his defenders. This latest biography by Robert Ventresca...strives to avoid these extremes. Ventresca builds his case from an impressive marshaling of the available evidence. It is cogently argued, and lucidly, if soberly, written. Pacelli's human qualities are apparent... He was certainly a man who at a time of great moral challenge strove to do his best, for the church and for those who faced dehumanizing imprisonment and death at the hands of a monstrous tyranny. The history of the Holocaust is testimony that his best was not good enough, and he is not the only European leader between 1933 and 1945 about whom that can be said. The question that should haunt his defenders, however, is not whether he could have deterred the Nazis by publicly denouncing their crimes; it is whether his silence actually emboldened them.”―Ray Cassin, Australian Book Review

“While refreshingly avoiding the overt polemics of the 'Pius War,' Ventresca gives us a pope deserving of sympathy yet amenable to criticism. This tension is the signal contribution of the newest biography of Pius XII. Future biographies will come closer to 'the life' by providing a more integrated approach to the pope's strengths and weaknesses and a richer account of his papacy after 1945.
”―Hilmar Pabel, The Tablet

“[A]welcome new biograph[y]...The detailed picture that emerges of Pacelli's diplomatic career and years as secretary of state brings a new depth to our understanding of this austere and complicated man. Studies of Pius have too often made cases for the prosecution or the defense, in which Pacelli features as a monster or a saint...[Soldier of Christ] provides a rounded and persuasive portrait of flawed greatness.
”―Eamon Duffy, London Review of Books --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Robert A. Ventresca is Associate Professor of History at King's University College at the University of Western Ontario. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BSLD2DMP
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Belknap Press (January 15, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 15, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5105 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 428 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 33 ratings

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Robert Ventresca

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4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
33 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Paul Y. Gelman
5.0 out of 5 stars A controversial pope
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2013
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Pius the Twelfth is considered one of the most controversial popes who had ever sat on the Vatican's throne. The main reason is because of the ongoing debate regarding the pope's silence or indifference to the plight of the Jews and other victims during WW2.
According to this new book by Robert Ventresca, the pope was not indifferent or silent about the Holocaust. He did whatever he could and the proof for this is in the many ackowledgements he got after the war by various central Jewsih figures, among them the Chieff Rabbi of Jerusalem. Second, this was the way Pius worked and was trained to, while delegating much authority to his many nuncios in the various occupied countries in the war.
This very well and deeply researched biography is extremely interesting and it discusses in great detail the pope's education and his views viv-a-vis Fascism and Communism-the two evils which concerned Pius.
Although Ventresca makes many efforts to present the pope as a benevolent one when discussing at great length the pope's efforts to save many thousands of Jews, one feels that even Ventresca isn't quite convinced about this issue.
All in all, this is a fascinating read and highly recommended.
30 people found this helpful
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G. M. Seely
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive biography of Pius XII
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2013
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The biography is solidly researched, written with good fluency, and does much to put Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) in a proper light. A much maligned Pontiff emerges from this study as a saintly, most able Pope.
9 people found this helpful
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Dalcassian
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice public-career biography and a good step towards a fuller biography of the man
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2014
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With all the debates about Eugenio Pacelli (Pius XII), one might think there would be a large number of basic biographical studies about him in English. But there isn't. This book, however, begins to fill that absence. "Begins to fill" is the operative phrase because Ventresca's work remains, like much other writing, more an examination of Pacelli's public career and decision-making than a deep look at, or engaging narrative about, the person himself.

But the book is still worth reading for its many strengths alone. Like any reasonable study of Pius XII -- outside the slander-leaning "Hitler's Pope" and such like -- it shows him to be a complex and even warm, kind-hearted person, yet still liable to be severely criticized for his actions and inactions especially throughout World War II. The book makes clear that while Pius/Pacelli was certainly hostile to Naziism and Communism for both religious and secular reasons, he was also overwhelmed by circumstances well beyond his control. He was additionally constrained by his diplomatic and preservationist instincts and governed by an overly intellectual temperament. And all that coincided with the fact that he held a weak hand as representative of an increasingly rejected Church, possessing limited and rapidly diminishing power in a modern warring world while his headquarters were more often than not surrounded by Axis security forces.

The buffeted Pacelli/Pius in this book comes across as either the right man at the wrong time or the wrong man at the wrong time. The heavy focus and research on the career of Pius XII means the reader is given strong material to use to decide which verdict he or she favors.

Missing, though, is an in-depth story of the actual man himself -- the OCD'd, possibly Aspergered brainy child, who was hyperdevoted to the Virgin Mary, and painfully introverted. Yet that was a person who would manage to go on to advance under and then govern, under fire, huge and competing bureaucracies, diverse personnel, and an enormous constituency. And he would do so under the constraints of shaky revenues and political uncertainty. Meanwhile, as well during all that time, Pius XII was nurturing and defining dogma, navigating global respect and disdain, shaping rituals, rules, and inter-faith relations for an ancient institution which was confronting a confusing and violent modernity, which was itself being battered by the storms of war, competing ideologies, scientific discovery, and secularism.

Who was this man? The book doesn't really say.

Moreover, the person of Eugenio Pacelli was guided in his career by a unique tight set of trusting and trusted intimates -- his predecessor Pius XI and his German confidante Mother Pascalina, among others -- about whose influence and relationships too little is given.

A full biography in English exploring the complete person -- the ecclesiastic and private individual that was Eugenio Pacelli and Pope Pius XII -- is not to be found here. Perhaps it is yet to come or to be found elsewhere. But Ventresca's book still stands strong and praiseworthy in the public biography and many personal details about its subject, and the book should prove very useful for the engaged lay or specialized reader.
7 people found this helpful
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Efrem Sepulveda
5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly work on controversial pope
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2013
Robert Ventresca presents us with a balanced presentation of life of Eugenio Pacelli who went on to become Pope Pius XII who held the office from 1939 to 1958. When I state that it was balanced, I mean that the book finds a middle ground between those who spoke glowingly of the pope's stands during World War II and the Cold War and those, especially Jews who were bitterly disappointed that the pope did not do nearly enough to prevent the horrors of the Holocaust. In any event, the book traces the life of Pacelli from birth and early life in Rome, through his time as nuncio in Germany to becoming the Vatican Secretary of State under Pius XI, an office he would hold until his elevation to Pope.

Under Pacelli's watch, he negotiated concordats with both Italy and Germany that would establish relations between the Vatican and the two countries. In the case of Italy, it would settle the many disputes over land and money that were in limbo from the time after the fall of the Papal States in 1870 until the pact's ratification in 1929. The pact guaranteed Vatican sovereignty of Vatican City. As for Germany, the Reichskonkordat, as it was known, was shaky even after the ink was dry on that document. Pacelli constantly protested to Berlin about the many times the pact was violated. Protestations included the harassment of Catholic clergy and the intimidation of Catholic youth into forsaking their church organizations to join the Hitler Youth. Despite hearing the Vatican's concerns over these incidents, Hitler brushed off the leadership in Rome as he was his way to obtaining total power in Germany.

The author maintains that throughout the Nazi buildup and during the crises in World War II, the Pope tried to maintain diplomacy and was cautious by not engaging in heavy criticism fearing that taking too strong a stand against Hitler would caused even greater pain for Catholics and Jews alike. In hindsight, we can see that this was mostly unsuccessful. However, Ventresca maintains that the Pope was not tone deaf to the plight of the Jews. He did what he could behind the scenes to get as many Jews away from the Germans as he could. In the end, the author concluded that Pacelli was a man like us who made errors in judgement and was not wise in some of his dealings.

Other events dealt with in this book included the Pope overseeing the rise of the church in Africa, his handling of crises of the church in the communist world and coming to grips with new technologies. The book was well-researched using archival sources from around the world and contains numerous end notes. It had a short index as well. Highly recommended for those who want to understand modern Roman Catholic church history. Five stars.
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Charles Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars An Honourable Man Caught in a Hellish Crossfire.
Reviewed in Canada on November 29, 2016
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I think this is the most fair, balanced book you are ever going to read on Pius XII. Too many books written about Pius are either baseless attacks of anti-semitism and willfully ignoring the Holocaust. None of which is true. The others books have created an superman who bravely battled the Nazis. Not entirely true. By the time I finished reading Soldier of Christ I actually felt great sympathy for the late pontiff. Ventresca's portrayal of Pius shows a man, not a saint, dealing with one of the most difficult periods in human history. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
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Piero Melodia Piero Melodia
3.0 out of 5 stars Una figura centrale nella lotta della chiesa cattolica contro i totalitarismi del XX secolo
Reviewed in Italy on August 3, 2013
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Biografia accuratamente documentata ed equilibrata, affronta i diversi aspetti del pontificato di Pio XII, sia rispetto agli avvenimenti poltici, sia riguardo a quelli ecclesiali. Un po' "pilatesca" nella questione dei "silenzi" del papa sul nazismo.
Solenni e dirette dichiarazioni di condanna vennero evitate per salvare migliaia di ebrei rifugiati in conventi e residenze ecclesiastiche a Roma e un po' in tutta europa. La scelta, che tenva conto anche della necessita' di non esporre a ulteriori persecuzioni i cattolici in Germania, in Polonia e in altri paesi occupati dai nazisti, si mostro' ancora piu ' opportuna dopo quanto accadde in Olanda a seguito di una dura presa di posizione dei vescovi , dove i nazisti penetrarono anche nei conventi di clausura (deportazione e morte ad Auschwitz di Edith Stein). Quasi tutti gli elementi di fatto sono riportati nella biografia, ma non sempre fra loro esplicitamente collegati.
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E. Clarke
3.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2013
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Despite his (seeming) intentions, this book does nothing to dispel the popular prejudices concerning this controversial figure. Aloof and remote, authoritarian, with a fondness for authoritarian regimes,he was shatteringly silent during the Holocaust which was happening under his nose but voluble post-war against socialism and communism in Italian elections and beyond. This book gives nuance to this widely shared judgement, but really confirms it, and adds his complicity with "Catholic" fascist atrocities in Croatia and Hungary. Though there is always someone reporting how he "grieved" for the (always unnamed) victims and suggesting that he worked hard behind the scenes but this is largely undocumented. What is starkly shown up is the "Wizard of Oz" nature of the Papacy - behind all the grandeur and grand words, there was precious little influence or power. I found Pacelli's interest in Quantum Physics interesting, and was surprised to find he was the first Pope since St Peter to claim to have had visions of the Lord. (This explains his Dogmas on Our Lady, perhaps) I was irritated by the excessive detail on Curia gossip about his housekeeper and the attention given to his death, his quack physician and his embarrassing funeral. I was disappointed that the post-war period was dealt with so sketchily. The author makes a good case for seeing Pius XII as the first "global" Pope and as a precursor to the reforms of Vatican II, but not enough detail is given on these important issues or on his more reactionary doctrinal stances. It is a book worth reading, and is easily read, but it is too episodic and sketchy and the author too uncertain about his judgements to make it a definitive or classic biography.
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