The Magisterium of Pope Pius XII consists of some 1,600 mostly non-political speeches, messages, radio and television speeches, homilies, apostolic letters, and encyclicals of Pope Pius XII.[1] His magisterium has been largely neglected or even overlooked by his biographers, who center on the policies of his pontificate.
The dates of the list may vary in accuracy. The list uses the official dates of the Discorsi and Acta Apostolicae Sedis, published by the Holy See. However, not all speeches are included there. Some were published in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, and those dates reflect the date of publication since the articles often did not indicate a different time. Therefore, there may be a difference of a day or two in some instances. The sources are listed below.
Of the 1600 papal addresses, this list includes the last fifty during the last five months of his pontificate. They also illustrate the papal work load, up to the last days of his life. "He was the last Pope who wrote most of his speeches alone" said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.[2] Pius, who did not have a staff of speechwriters or permanent assistants, worked largely alone, assisted only by occasional help and proofreaders from professors of the Pontifical Gregorian University. The combined length and scope of these 50 speeches, written within only 150 days, suggest a brutal work load for Pius, which may have contributed to his death. His physician, Professor Gasparini, commented: "The Holy Father did not die because of any specific illness. He was completely exhausted. He was overworked beyond limit. His heart was healthy, his lungs were good. He could have lived another 20 years, had he spared himself."[3]
| No. | Description and Topic | Destination | Date | Language | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | The power of social justice and Christianity | Christian Unions of Italy | May 1, 1958 | Italian | |
| 2. | Greetings and blessing | German Catholic Association Rupert Mayer | May 2, 1958 | German | |
| 3. | The temptations of materialism in advertising | Italian workers from Naples | May 4, 1958 | Italian | |
| 4. | Man in service of creation | International commission for irrigation and soil improvement | May 8, 1958 | English | |
| 5. | Medicine based on natural law | British surgeons | May 12, 1958 | ||
| 6. | Christian optimism and the defense of human rights | NATO Defence College | May 16, 1958 | English | |
| 7. | Questions of military service and war | Female employees of the Italian army | May 21, 1958 | Italian | |
| 8. | Your apostolate: Ladies Guild of Santa Susanna | Audience of American Women Association | May 22, 1958 | English | |
| 9. | Religion, Science and true friendships | German Catholic Student Associations, erlangen | June 2, 1958 | German | |
| 10. | Ethics of the medical profession | Spanish physicians | June 8, 1958 | Spanish | |
| 11. | Modern family problems | International meeting in Paris, France | June 10, 1958 | French | |
| 12. | Ethics of journalism | American Journalists | June 12, 1958 | English | |
| 13. | Authentic Christian living increases priestly vocations | 25. Anniversary of Colegio Pio in Brazil | June 20, 1958 | Portuguese | |
| 14. | Ethical conflicts of Real Estate Agents | Conference of Italian real estate agents | June 22, 1958 | Italian | |
| 15. | The art of otolarynologists in light of Christian philosophy | Congress of Otolarynologists | June 29, 1958 | French | |
| 16. | The Church in China | June 29, 1958 | Latin, several languages | ||
| 17. | The role of women in public life | Catholic Action, Italy | July 2, 1958 | Italian | |
| 18. | Rome before and after Christianity | Students from the USA | July 3, 1958 | English | |
| 19. | Greetings and blessings | Faithful and clergy of Madagascar | July 5, 1958 | French | |
| 20. | Two ideals of Christian woman | Female youth, Catholic Action, Italy | July 13, 1958 | Italian | |
| 21. | The Church in its struggle for freedom | July 14, 1958 | Latin, several languages | ||
| 22. | The Contemplative Life, Part One | Radio audience for members of contemplative convents throughout the world | July 19, 1958 | French | |
| 23. | The message of Lourdes to blue collar workers | International pilgrimage of Catholic blue collar workers to Lourdes | July 21, 1958 | French | |
| 24. | The Contemplative Life, Part Two | Radio audience for members of contemplative convents throughout the World | July 26, 1958 | French | |
| 25. | Problems and Ideals in the health sector | International Catholic Health Conference, Brussels, Belgium | July 27, 1958 | French | |
| 26. | The meaning of biblical studies | International biblical congress, Brussels, Belgium | July 28, 1958 | French | |
| 27. | The Contemplative Life, Part Three | Radio audience for members of contemplative convents throughout the World | August 2, 1958 | French | |
| 28. | Classical antiquity as an educational force for Christianity | International Congress for Classical Archeology | August 7, 1958 | French | |
| 29. | Christian academicians forming a Christian world? | World Congress of Pax Romana in Vienna, Austria | August 11, 1958 | French | |
| 30. | The family as center of sanctification | Families from Spain | August 12, 1958 | Spanish | |
| 31. | Purposes of the World Exhibition in Brussels | Message to World Exhibition in Brussels | August 15, 1958 | French | |
| 32. | The unity of life and religious life | Exhortation to German Catholics meeting in Berlin | August 17, 1958 | German | |
| 33. | The Third Order of St. Dominic Today | International congress of The Third Order of St. Dominic | August 20, 1958 | French | |
| 34. | The relevance of blood group genetics for society | International Society for blood transfusions | September 5, 1958 | French | |
| 35. | The importance of legal employees | Third International Congress of Legal Employees | September 8, 1958 | French | |
| 36. | Psychopharmaca and related treatments in light of Christian Morality | Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psycho-Pharmacologicum, Rome | September 9, 1958 | French | |
| 37. | Christian love a basis for organized aid | Pilgrimage of Spanish insurance agents | September 11, 1958 | Spanish | |
| 38. | Hereditary problems and Christian conscience | International conference of haematology | September 12, 1958 | French | |
| 39. | Purpose of Catholic schools | General meeting of Catholic educators | September 14, 1958 | French | |
| 40. | The message of the Virgin Mary today | International Marian Congress, Lourdes | September 17, 1958 | French | |
| 41. | Philosophy and Christian faith | International Congress of Philosophy, Venice and Padova | September 18, 1958 | Italian | |
| 42. | The wonderful world of bees, usefulness and value for human life | International Congress of Bee Keepers | September 22, 1958 | French | |
| 43. | The formation of Priests in our time | Rectors of Latin American seminaries | September 23, 1958 | Spanish | |
| 44. | The ideals of Christian life | Eucharistic congress in Ecuador | September 28, 1958 | Spanish | |
| 45. | Accident avoidance as a moral problem | International Association of Natural Gas Industries | September 28, 1958 | French | |
| 46. | Call for a renewal of Christian life | Opening of the restored Cathedral in Reims, France | September 29, 1958 | Latin | |
| 47. | Ethical considerations for book stores in train terminals | Owners of train station book stores | October 2, 1958 | Italian | |
| 48. | Thinking about our guardian angels in October | American Pilgrims with Francis Cardinal Spellman | October 3, 1958 | English | |
| 49. | Obligations of notaries in our time | International Congress | October 5, 1958 | French | |
| 50. | Problems and perspectives concerning plastic surgery | Congress, Italian Society for Plastic Surgery | October 4, 1958 | Italian | |
| Preparing yourself for the priesthood [4] | Students of the theological seminary in Apulia, Italy | Italian | |||
| The personality and magisterium of Pope Benedict XIV [5] | 200. anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XIV | Italian |