HISTORIC MONUMENT IN HONOR OF VEN. POPE PIUS XII AS "THE DEFENDER OF THE CITY"

Pope Pius XII in Corso d'Italia

 

 

It's not widely known, but the square facing St. Peter's basilica is dedicated to Venerable Pope Pius XII and, under his name, inscribed on a plaque in the piazza, is the tribute "Defensor Civitatis" -- defender of the city.

On Wednesday, as part of Italy's 150th anniversary celebrations, Rome's head of tourism, Alessandro Vannini, led a ceremony in Piazza Pio XII to commemorate its dedication to the wartime Pope in 1950.

In his speech, Vannini recalled the heroic virtue of Pius XII and his saving of a great number of Jews by opening the doors of religious houses in Rome where they could seek refuge. He also gave his assurance that the mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, plans to create a museum dedicated to Pius XII and organize a conference and exhibition for the autumn.

The idea to hold Wednesday's ceremony came from the veteran campaigner to clear Eugenio Pacelli's name, Sister Margherita Marchione. She recalled to me last month she'd only recently noticed the plaque and the tribute.

She also recalled that when the square was dedicated to Pius XII in 1950, the City of Rome esteemed him with the following words: "Regarding the work accomplished by Pius XII during the world conflict, the saving of the city of Rome, and also to record the solemn and spontaneous manifestation of filial gratitude given to Pius XII by the Roman people whom they called 'Defensor Civitatis' (defender of the city), the Municipality of Rome unanimously deliberated that this piazza should be called Pius XII." 

The words of gratitude are another example of how much the wartime Pope was revered before his reputation was purposely muddied -- mainly by Soviet communists -- after his death in 1958.

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Edward Pentin is a freelance writer living in Rome. He can be reached at: epentin@zenit.org