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Francesco Pacelli

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Francesco Pacelli

Francesco Pacelli (1 February 1872 – 22 April 1935), Nobleman of Acquapendente and Nobleman of Sant'Angelo in Vado, was an Italian lawyer and the elder brother of Eugenio Pacelli, who would later become Pope Pius XII. He acted as a legal advisor to Pope Pius XI; in this capacity, he assisted Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri in the negotiation of the Lateran Treaty, which established the independence of Vatican City.

Background

Francesco Pacelli was born in Rome into a family which for most of the 19th century was in service to the Holy See. The Pacelli family had a long tradition of legal training. His grandfather, Marcantonio Pacelli, had been minister of finance for Pope Gregory XVI and deputy minister of interior under Pope Pius IX from 1851 to 1870. He founded the L’Osservatore Romano on 20 July 1860.[1] His father Filippo Pacelli (Rome, 1 September 1837 - Rome, 20 November 1916), Noble of Acquapendente and Noble of Sant'Angelo in Vado (titles granted to the family in 1853 and 1858), was a Consistorial Lawyer, a Solicitor or Lawyer in the Congregation of the Sacred Roman Rota and the Dean of Lawyers of the Holy See, who in 1871 married the Noble Virginia Graziosi (13 December 1844 - 10 February 1920). His sisters were Giuseppa Pacelli (Rome, 3 July 1872 - Rome, 8 August 1955), Roman Noble, Noble of Acquapendente and Noble of Sant’Angelo in Vado, married on 8 May 1902 to Ettore, 1st Count (from 23 May 1946) Mengarini (Rome, 1 February 1872 -), and Elisabetta Pacelli (Rome, 28 June 1880 - Rome, 23 May 1970), Roman Noble, Noble of Acquapendente and Noble of Sant’Angelo in Vado, married on 12 May 1914 to Noble Luigi Rossignani (Rome, 21 June 1874 - Rome, 22 February 1948).

Filippo Pacelli, his father.

His brother, Eugenio Pacelli, was ordained a priest on Easter Sunday 2 April 1899 by Bishop Francesco di Paola Cassetta — the vice-regent of Rome and a family friend. After entering Vatican service, he was also chosen by Pope Leo XIII to deliver condolences on behalf of the Vatican to Edward VII of the United Kingdom after the death of Queen Victoria.[2] In 1908, he served as a Vatican representative on the International Eucharistic Congress in London,[2] where he met Winston Churchill.[3] In 1911, he represented the Holy See at the coronation of King George V.[4] Pope Benedict XV appointed Pacelli as papal nuncio to Bavaria on 23 April 1917, consecrating him as titular Archbishop of Sardis in the Sistine Chapel on 13 May 1917, the day on which Our Lady of Fatima is believed to have first appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. Several years after he was appointed Nuncio to Germany, and after completion of a concordat with Bavaria, the nunciature was moved to Berlin. 23 June 1920 and 1925 respectively.

Lateran Treaty

Main article: Lateran Treaty

Francesco Pacelli was dean of the lawyers of the Rota[5] and legal advisor to Pope Pius XI.[6] In this role, he was instrumental in negotiating this Lateran Treaty in 1929, which reaffirmed the independence of the Papacy with the formation of Vatican City as a sovereign entity. Francesco Pacelli described in his Diario della Conciliazione details and difficulties of these negotiations from a Vatican perspective.[7] Pope Pius XI and Pietro Gasparri had entrusted to him the daily negotiations for the Lateran Treaty. Pacelli had over two hundred protracted audiences with Pius XI over twenty different draft versions of the final treaty.[8]

After long negotiations it consisted of three parts, which were ratified on 7 June 1929, ending the "Roman Question". They consisted of three documents: A political treaty recognizing the full sovereignty of the Holy See in the State of Vatican City, which was thereby established; a concordat regulating the position of the Catholic Church and the Catholic religion in the Italian state, and a financial convention agreed on as a definitive settlement of the claims of the Holy See following the losses of its territories and property. Pius XI declared that with the treaties negotiated by Pacelli, "God had been given back to Italy and Italy to God".[9] In gratitude for his efforts, the Pope bestowed on Francesco Pacelli the hereditary title of Marquis and Roman Noble with Papal Brief of 9 June 1929 and granted him the addition of the coat of arms of the Holy See with Papal Brief of 6 June 1931. The King of Italy authorized him to use his arms in Italy with Royal Letters Patent of 26 February 1931, and to use the title of Noble on 7 June 1934 by Royal Decree of 4 October 1934 and Royal Letters Patent dated 22 November 1935 for his children, and posthumously gave him the title of Prince.[10]

Eugenio and Francesco Pacelli

Eugenio Pacelli, Francesco's younger brother

After his brother Francesco had successfully concluded the historic Lateran Treaty, Eugenio Pacelli was called to Rome by Pope Pius XI and on 7 February 1930 appointed as Cardinal Secretary of State succeeding his mentor and friend Pietro Gasparri. Francesco Pacelli left the immediate Vatican service largely in light of concerns for his health problems. As he moved to Rome, Eugenio Pacelli stayed for several weeks in the house of his brother Francesco near the Vatican, because the Vatican quarters required renovations.[11] Madre Pascalina described the atmosphere in the Pacelli home as plain but elegant. Francesco was the soul of the house, since his wife had died years earlier. Comparing the two brothers, the older Francesco Pacelli appeared to Madre Pascalina to be slightly more severe than the younger Eugenio Pacelli.[12]

The two Pacelli brothers lived there together with the children of Francesco: Carlo, Giuseppe, a Jesuit who died shortly thereafter, Marcantonio and Giulio Pacelli.[12] The household was in the hands of Carlo Pacelli's wife. Eugenio Pacelli lived in a small apartment within the house, which Francesco had reserved for him during his years in Germany and which he had used in previous years during his Rome visits. It consisted of two small rooms, and a chapel, where Francesco Pacelli and the family met every morning for Holy Mass and evenings for reciting the rosary.[12]

Illness and death

The stress of daily negotiations over the decades-old Roman Question with the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on behalf of the Holy See had effects on the health of Francesco Pacelli. He developed a progressive heart ailment which in the last years forced him to gradually reduce his workload, fully knowing the implications of his slow-down. "I attempted to serve God, his Holy Church and my family, he remarked shortly before his death. I trust, he will protect them and I hope to find a compassionate judge."[13] Francesco Pacelli died in Rome on 22 April 1935, aged 63.

Marriage and issue

He married Luigia Filippini-Lera, who died on 21 August 1920, and had:

  • Carlo, Marquess Pacelli (Rome, 29 November 1903 - Rome, 6 August 1970), Roman Noble, Noble of Acquapendente and Noble of Sant’Angelo in Vado, granting the title of Marquis for himself and his brothers by motu proprio of the King of Italy on 25 November 1941 and Prince by motu proprio of the King of Italy on 23 November 1942 (also extended to the brothers Marcantonio and Giulio), lawyer, married Marcella Benucci, without issue
  • Giuseppe Pacelli (Rome, 6 August 1905 - Roma, 31 March 1928), Noble of Acquapendente and Noble of Sant’Angelo in Vado, Jesuit novice
  • Don Marcantonio, Prince and Marquess Pacelli (Rome, 16 May 1907 - Rome, 31 December 2006), Roman Noble, Noble of Acquapendente and Noble of Sant’Angelo in Vado, extension of the title of Marquis for himself and his brother Giulio with Pontifical Brief dated 14 July 1940, rotal lawyer, Brigadier General of the Papal Noble Guard, married in Lugo on 27 April 1936 Gabriella Ricci-Bartoloni (Lugo, 15 August 1912 - Rome, 15 June 2006), daughter of Giulio Ricci-Bartoloni, Noble of Pesaro, and wife Angiolina Mordenti, and had:
    • Orsola Pacelli (Rome, 16 January 1937), married in October 1963 Dr. Giuliano Daddi (29 October 1936)
    • Francesco Pacelli (Rome, 4 February 1939), married on 26 October 1991 Giorgia Carolei, daughter of Franco Carolei and wife Noble Anna Maria Cantuti-Castelvetri of the Counts of Ligonchio, and had:
      • Marcantonio Pacelli (Rome, 24 August 1992)
      • Eugenia Pacelli (Rome, 25 July 1994)
    • Filippo Pacelli (Rome, 13 February 1941), married in Florence on 15 June 1968 Maria Antonietta Campedelli, and had:
      • Andrea Pacelli (Rome, 11 November 1969), married in Pietrasanta on 25 July 2002 Marta Cosaro, and had:
        • Luca Pacelli (Rome, 23 September 2005), twin with the below
        • Matteo Pacelli (Rome, 23 September 2005), twin with the above
      • Ascanio Pacelli (Rome, 29 November 1973), married at the Castello Odescalchi, in Bracciano, on 30 April 2005 Katia Pedrotti (Sondrio, 28 September 1978), and had:
        • Matilda Pacelli (Rome, 12 November 2007)
  • Giulio, Marquess Pacelli in 1940 (Rome, 11 May 1910 - Rome, 9 October 1984), married in Rome on 25 July 1940 Piera Bombrini (Sori, 9 February 1913 - Rome, 27 April 1999), daughter of Marquess Carlo Bombrini and wife Amalita Ottone, and had:
    • Amalia Pacelli, married on 19 June 1969 Vittorio Barattieri di San Pietro (Corfu, 10 April 1943)
    • Eugenio Pacelli, unmarried and without issue

Quotes

  1. ^ The Origins of L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Website: https://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/history/hi_eng.html Archived February 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b Marchione, 2004, p. 9.
  3. ^ Dalin, 2005, p. 47.
  4. ^ name="marchione10"
  5. ^ The top 100 Catholics of the Century, DAILY CATHOLIC December 3–5, 1999 vol. 10, no. 230
  6. ^ Joseph Leufkins, Pius XII, Münster Westfalen, 1939, p 24
  7. ^ Francesco Pacelli. Diario della Conciliazione Citta del Vaticana: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 1930
  8. ^ Jan Olaf Smit, Pope Pius XII, London 1951, 57
  9. ^ Smit 58.
  10. ^ Smit 58
  11. ^ Pascalina Lehnert, Ich durfte Ihm dienen, Würzburg, 1988, 45
  12. ^ a b c Lehnert 45
  13. ^ Lehnert 51
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