Pius XI led the Catholic Church through the rise of fascism and communism. Before becoming pope he was a scholar, a librarian and a keen mountaineer. In 1929 he signed the Lateran Treaty with Mussolini, creating the independent Vatican City. He founded Vatican Radio with Guglielmo Marconi. As dictatorships hardened, he grew more openly critical. His 1937 letter Mit brennender Sorge, smuggled into Germany and read from pulpits, condemned Nazi policies. He died months before the Second World War began.
Key Milestones
1914: Vatican Library – prefect
1922: Pope – elected
1929: Lateran Treaty – Vatican City created
1931: Vatican Radio – launched
Pope Pius XI (Italian: Pio XI; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, Italian:; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of Vatican City upon its creation on 11 February 1929.
