Pope Pius XI

Pius XI, original name Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, (born May 31, 1857, Desio, Lombardy, Austrian Empire [now in Italy]—died February 10, 1939, Rome, Italy), Italian pope from 1922 to 1939, one of the most important modern pontiffs. His papal motto, “Pax Christi in regno Christi” (“The peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ”), illustrated his work to construct a new Christendom based on world peace.

Ordained in 1879, he became a scholar, a paleographer, and a prefect of the Vatican library. Nuncio to Poland in 1919, he was made cardinal and archbishop of Milan in 1921 by Pope Benedict XV, whom he was elected to succeed on February 6, 1922.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Pius XI." Encyclopedia Britannica, May 27, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pius-XI.

Accessed 7/20/2022 SM