Un Papa fra i padri dell’Europa

Pius XII followed with great interest the European integration process since its first steps. He sent a Holy See's observer to the Hague Congress in 1948 and intervened with numerous speeches to encourage any initiative that would lead to a greater cohesion among European peoples. At first, he saw in European ideals the possibility of saving the Christian civilization, threatened by the progress of atheist communism, and of securing peace and prosperity in the old continent. The loosening of international tension after Stalin's death and the first concrete steps of European integration between the end of 1952 and the early months of 1953 changed the approach of Pius XII, which began to speculate on a united Europe beyond the opposing blocs, a Europe that could assumed a more federal-oriented structure. His interventions in favor of the European unification took place until the eve of his death in 1958 and let the myth of Vatican Europe rise. The interest shown by Pius XII for the construction of European unity throughout the course of his pontificate is undeniable, but the success of his exhortations on the Catholic world remains to be verified.