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In January of 1943, a set of four stamps was issued to mark the Silver Anniversary of the consecration of Eugenio Pacelli as Archbishop of Sardia. He was raised to the Episcopate on April 23, 1917, by Pope Benedict XV, in the Sistine Chapel. The elevation to the rank of Archbishop was not made by his immediate superior, Cardinal Gasparri, as it is usually done. This unusual procedure was carried out by the express wish of the Pope as he had come to hold the new Archbishop in high esteem for his aid in forthulating the peace proposals of the Holy See. After this solemn ceremony of consecration to the Episcopal office in the presence of the entire Pacelli family, Pope Benedict presented the new Archbishop Pacelli with a beautifully bound and illuminated liturgical book containing the Canon of the Mass. Archbishop Pacelli then was dispatched to serve as Papal Nucio to Bavaria. While serving as nuncio, he concluded several important concordats with various German States. When Germany became a republic in 1925, Archbishop Pacelli was appointed to serve as the first Papal Nuncio to Berlin. |
| (National Philatelic Museum, Volume VII, Number 1, 1954, pages 61-107) We are greatful to the Cardinal Spellman Philatelic Museum for allowing the Vatican Philatelic Society to use the copyrighted text on our website. |
