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Secret files of prewar pope to be released: Pius XI reigned from 1922 to 1939

The secret files of Pope Pius XI, who reigned at the start of World War II, will be released from the Vatican archives in mid-September, Rome has announced.

The files, which cover Pius XI’s tenure as pope —from February 6, 1922, to February 10, 1939—are sure to attract the attention of scholars studying the legacy of his successor, Pius XII.

Pius XII, who has been criticized for his perceived failure to defend European Jewry from the Nazis, served as Pius XI’s chief negotiator with Nazi Germany prior to his election as pope.