Pope Pius XI (May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939) was the 257th Pope (reigning from 1922 to 1939). Formerly known as Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti. Born into a middle-class family in the small town of Desio near Milan. In 1879, he was ordained as a theologian and researcher of ancient manuscripts, and served as the director of the Vatican Library. Inheriting the program of his predecessor Benedict XV, he worked towards establishing a good relationship between the Vatican and the Italian government, and for world peace. We have successively concluded agreements with some countries affected by the consequences of World War I to strengthen their Catholic churches and unite them with each other. Not long after Pius XI ascended the throne. In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed with Mussolini, officially making the Vatican a sovereign state.

Pius XI was born on May 31, 1857, in a middle-class family in the small town of Desio near Milan in northern Italy. His father worked as a manager in a silk factory and his mother was named Delangali. At the age of ten, he entered a small monastery located in Milan. At the age of 22, he became a deacon of the monastery and was sent by the Archdiocese of Milan to Rome for further studies. During his three years in Rome, he obtained a Doctorate in Doctrine and a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Gregory, and then returned to Milan to teach. In 1911, he was recruited to Rome, hoping to succeed Erle as the director of the Vatican Library, where he served until 1918. In his spare time, he goes to the school run by the nun to teach children. The turning point in his life experience was when he met his predecessor, Pope Benedict XV, in 1918. The Pope elected him as a papal inspector and sent him to Poland for inspection. Due to Poland being divided by Russia, Germany, and Austria in 1772, 1792, and 1795, it became an independent country after World War I in 1918. Because he is proficient in history, he has his own method of coordinating with it. In 1920, he experienced how the Communist Party attacked Poland, so he strongly opposed the communist and traditional liberal movements. Due to his diplomatic talent and ability to remain calm in difficult environments during that period, when Cardinal Flari of Milan passed away in 1921, Pope Benedict XV promoted him to Cardinal of Saint Martin and appointed him as the Archbishop of Milan. After his fifth month in office, on January 14, 1922, former Pope Benedict XV passed away at the age of 68. On February 2 of the same year, the cardinals elected the Pope at the Sistine Chapel. After the 14th vote on February 6, he was elected as Pope, known as Pius XI.

Pope Pius XI intended to continue the policy set by former Pope Benedict XV, which was to restore diplomatic relations between the Holy See and various countries. At that time, the Italian regime underwent a significant transformation and transformation. Mussolini, who had been in the military for many years, established the Fascist Party in 1919. He gained power through a coup in 1922, and the Vatican began a new confrontation with the newly established Italian government.
Since the unification of Italy in 1871, due to Pope Pius IX's refusal to accept the agreement of the Italian government's papal guarantee law, the jurisdiction of the Vatican has remained only in the Vatican, Lateran, and Gondalfsburg. Therefore, the secular power of the Catholic Church in Rome was also restricted. And this also posed a great challenge for the Pope, who later ascended to the throne in the Vatican, commonly known as the "Roman problem". This issue, which has lasted for half a century since Pius IX, was finally resolved by reaching a consensus with the fascist government in the Lateran Agreement on February 11, 1929. After Mussolini gained power, he began to implement dictatorship. Although Mussolini himself openly opposed religious authority, he saw many political benefits of reconciliation with the Vatican, so he chose political compromise. In the two agreements signed at the Lateran Palace in 1929. The Vatican abandons its territorial claims to Italy, which means it will no longer expand its territory; Secondly, recognize the fascist regime as the legitimate ruler of Italy, and the Vatican recognizes Rome as the capital of Italy; In addition, the Vatican promises not to interfere in politics and accepts the requirement that bishops must be approved by the state for appointment. In terms of international status, the Italian government recognizes the Vatican as an independent sovereign state, ruled by the Pope, and is a permanently neutral state.Individuals residing within this jurisdiction have Vatican citizenship, but if they move outside the Vatican, they lose their citizenship. But Catholics residing within the territory of Rome are not subject to this restriction. In international relations, the Holy See has the freedom and convenience to communicate with bishops, believers, and governments of various countries around the world. The Holy See can use its spiritual and moral power to mediate peace among warring countries. The Holy See does not participate in international conferences, but can participate in non political conferences. The Pope may participate in signing non political treaties. In addition, in terms of financial agreements, the Italian government is required to immediately compensate the Holy See for financial losses suffered since 1870, totaling $393.775 million, along with $52.5 million in annual interest bonds. Churches, villas, palaces, ancillary buildings, and immovable property belonging to the Holy See are all eligible for tax exemption. At the religious level, the fascist government must agree to establish Catholicism as the "only religion of the country", and the choice of the Archbishop and Bishop lies with the Pope, but the government's consent must be sought first. The Vatican has judicial power over religious affairs, and the Italian government allows for the amendment of civil law to expand the provisions of church laws to the level of marriage, which means that marriages entered into by the church have all legal effects, and divorce issues are resolved by the church. At the level of education, the government must agree to allow the teaching of religious courses in primary and secondary schools, but the church must not interfere with the school's academic and administrative work. The government allows non political religious activities, and the church prohibits its internal members from participating in any political party activities. The result of the consultation between the Vatican and the government has gained universal approval and acceptance among the people of Italy. As a result, the Vatican became the only independent kingdom within Italy, and the "Roman problem" was also perfectly resolved at this time. The Vatican and the Italian government still maintain friendly relations to this day.

Pius XI reigned for 17 years and wrote over 20 edicts before and after his tenure. Among them are international issues, as well as issuing edicts on events that occur in society and religion. It can be divided into several categories:
The Catholic Progressive Church: In the era of Pope Pius X, believers participated in evangelism and spontaneously expanded church groups, which had increased in various countries. But these branches did not belong to each other. When Pope Pius XI met Father Jardine, who was born in Brussels and served as a copy church in Belgium, he learned that he organized the Faculty Youth Association. He agreed with the priest's approach. So he began to professionalize the organization of guilds composed of different social classes. So on December 22, 1922, a proclamation titled "Ubi Arcano Dei" was issued, emphasizing the responsibility of believers from all walks of life and positions to preach the gospel and become disciples.
Public education: Not long after the Rome Agreement, the government wanted to gradually monopolize the power of educating young people. Therefore, the Pope faced countries attempting to monopolize youth education and fought for the power of the family and church. So on December 31st, he issued a proclamation to the Divini illius Magistri, pointing out the right of the Catholic Church to youth education. He believes that the purpose of education is to cultivate a complete believer, so that he can act rationally and with faith. And explain the responsibility of national and family education, condemning the government for not monopolizing youth education.
Marriage Edict: On December 31, 1930, he faced the corrupt atmosphere of the country and society and the disintegration of his family, so he cited the Bible to issue the edict. The proclamation elucidates the principles of marriage, and in order to protect the moral and sacred nature of marriage, the public religion may demand cooperation from the state.

The Edict to Rebuild Social Order: On April 15, 1931, the Pope issued the Quadragessimo Anno, in response to the "New Things" Edict issued by Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) in 1891, which addressed social issues. Pius XI emphasized that he hoped to abolish profit as the highest law of economic activity and replace it with public interest; Secondly, it is hoped to establish a professional system and national and international institutions to ensure that these economic activities are balanced and constrained by public interests. And he also hopes that society can improve worker welfare, such as increasing wage income, so that workers can maintain their economic burden at home and improve their quality of life.
An edict against the fascist government: On June 29, 1931, the Pope issued a "Non abiamo besono" edict. The Fascist Party attacked the Youth Association at the end of 1930, and the Catholic Progressive Church was defamed and attacked. Mussolini issued a statement declaring that all children of school age belonged to the state and therefore should be educated by the state. The government orders that all children and young people in the country should join the Party, and all other youth organizations should be dissolved. The Pope issued a "We Do Not Need" proclamation through foreign news agencies, criticizing the fascist government's crackdown on Catholicism. The Pope refuted the rumors of the fascist government attacking the guild one by one and proved that the fascist government violated the agreement, and these unilateral decisions had no political effect. The Pope is here to fight for the right of the church to cultivate young people. Mussolini, facing domestic and international public opinion, chose a compromise agreement that allowed the existence of Catholicism, but his actions were subject to strict restrictions.
Edict to the Nazi Party: The Nazi Party led by Hitler emerged in Germany, but they intended to rid Germany of Christian faith. The German government announced on December 1, 1936 that all young people in Germany must receive Hitler youth education in accordance with the spirit of national socialism. In response to this policy, the Pope and the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Basilica (Pius XII), drafted the "Mit Brennender Sorge" on March 14, 1937. This edict, written in German, evaded police surveillance and was announced in Catholic churches throughout Germany on Palm Sunday, March 21, 1937. The proclamation protested against the oppression of the Church by the state, called on Catholics to resist racism and state worship, opposed the misinterpretation of Christian doctrine and moral values, demanded that believers maintain loyalty to Jesus Christ and the Holy See, and condemned Nazi violence against Catholics and the Church.

Edict to Spain: In 1931, Spain established a new republican regime. The newly established left-wing Republican government, in their new constitution, not only stipulated the separation of church and state, but also legalized divorce, prohibited clergy from teaching, dissolved the Jesuits, and confiscated their property. Faced with this matter, the Pope issued a "Our Cute" Edict in 1932, expressing a serious protest against this atrocity.
The atrocities against religion in the Soviet Union, Mexico, and Spain led the Pope to issue the Divini Redemptoris on March 18, 1937, condemning the mistakes of communism. He sympathized with the people of the Soviet Union, Mexico, and Spain and proposed using love in Catholic doctrine to replace the actions of communism that deceived people into actually trying to seize power.
At the beginning of the Pope's reign, the number of dioceses under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communications was originally 330. However, by the year before his death, in 1938, according to statistics, an additional 210 dioceses had been added during his reign, resulting in a total of 540 dioceses being pastoral. In addition, he also listed many great figures as sacred items. On April 29, 1923, Saint Teresa was declared a true blessing. On April 17, 1925, Jesuit Ganymede was consecrated and declared a saint of the church; In addition, there are also Saint Barbara, Saint Oude, Saint Viana, Saint Blaming, Saint Albert the Great, Saint Fune, and Saint Bernard the Virgin. In 1926, the Pope added the canon of Holy Cross John as the Holy Teacher of the Church, and in addition, he also posthumously honored Brahmin and Albert the Great as the Holy Teachers of the Church. In addition, in 1935, he consecrated bishop John Fisher, who died 400 years ago in England, as well as author Moore, who wrote Utopia.
In 1936, the Pope fell ill, and his Christmas speech that year was delivered from his sickbed. Although he recovered soon, he was unable to stop the trend of Italy and Germany getting closer and closer. So he prepared to gather all the bishops of Italy before the tenth anniversary of the Lateran Agreement on February 11, 1939, in order to give them final instructions and condemn the dictatorship that led to the national catastrophe. Unfortunately, he did not have time to deliver a speech on February 12th, and Pope Pius XI passed away on the morning of the 10th at the age of 81.

Inheriting the program of his predecessor Benedict XV, he worked towards establishing a good relationship between the Vatican and the Italian government, and for world peace. Shortly after ascending the throne, Mussolini came to power. In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed with Mussolini, according to which the Vatican existed independently under the rule of the Pope. The Pope recognizes the Kingdom of Italy and declares the Vatican permanently neutral in international military diplomatic conflicts. Pius also agreed that the Pope participates in diplomatic affairs not as head of state but as head of church. At the same time, an agreement was signed to recognize the legal effect of Italian marriages in churches, stipulating that Catholic children must receive religious education, and establishing Catholicism as the only religion in Italy.

The period from 1922 to 1938
He successively signed agreements with some countries affected by the consequences of World War I, strengthening their Catholic churches and uniting them with each other. These countries are: Latvia (1922), Poland (1925), Romania and Lithuania (1927), Prussia (1929), Austria, and Germany (1933). Originally, Mexico persecuted the church, and in 1926, Pius issued a proclamation for this. Later, he reached an agreement with the country, allowing religious activities to resume.
In 1933, Asylum signed an agreement with the Nazi government to ease the difficult situation of German Catholics, which was soon torn up. From 1933 to 1936, Pius repeatedly lodged written protests against Hitler's Third Reich. In 1938, Italy followed the footsteps of Nazi Germany and implemented racism, leading to a significant shift in Pius's attitude towards Italy. [1]
Humanist scholars
Pius is a knowledgeable humanist scholar who has founded research institutions and higher education institutions, such as the Institute of Religious and Christian Archaeology founded in 1925 and the Pontifical Academy established in 1936. He vigorously organized secular believers, starting from Italy and then spreading to the entire Catholic Church, initiating organizational work dedicated to various activities, with a particular emphasis on the Catholic Progressive Church, which is a Catholic youth organization that operates within the working class. He sponsored foreign missionary work, which greatly surpassed previous popes in this regard, requiring all religious orders to participate in this work. During his reign, the number of foreign missionaries doubled. The prominent event in this regard was the appointment of bishops of Chinese dioceses in 1926.

A Pope with mixed reviews and criticisms
As a Pope born during turbulent times, Pope Pius XI reformed the Catholic canon, strengthened religious exchanges with Eurasian countries, and signed the Lateran Treaty with Mussolini to safeguard the rights of the Vatican. However, due to the weakness of the patron pope and the serious lack of political skills, the College of Cardinals represented by Cardinal P. Gaspari launched a frenzy of retaliation and persecution against the Catholic deacon class, which had been passed down for over a thousand years. Until the last Prime Minister's deacon, Bishop von Laterland, was forced to announce his resignation, the deacon class completely collapsed and came to an end. From beginning to end, Pope Pius XI never expressed any opinion on this matter, and even stripped Bishop Lateran of his religious status after his death, which aroused dissatisfaction among French bishops.
On February 10, 1939, Pope Pius XI, who had died at the age of 82, passed away. Professor Jackson J. Spivagel highly praised the Pope's lifelong achievements in "A Brief History of Western Civilization", but also gave a tactful criticism of his weakness and indecisiveness, which can be described as a mixed blessing.