Born in Italy · Nationality Italian — Religion / Papacy

Pie XI

Also known as: Achille Ratti, Pius XI, Pio XI

Religion, sects and spiritual movements Politics and government

Italian pope (1857–1939) who concluded the Lateran Pacts and the concordat with Nazi Germany.

Pius XI led the Church from 1922 to 1939. The Lateran Pacts with Mussolini and the 1933 concordat with Nazi Germany remain debated as Vatican diplomatic compromises. He later clashed with Italian fascism and condemned Nazi racial ideology, while an unpublished anti-racist encyclical draft raises separate questions.

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Profile No. 6105 · Updated on 8 November 2026

2Documented controversies

4Sources

0Formal charge · all time

0Conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

20 July 1933

1933: Reichskonkordat with Nazi Germany

No legal proceedings

Under Pius XI, the Holy See concluded a concordat with Adolf Hitler’s Germany, negotiated in part by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli. It aimed to protect Church rights and institutions but was criticised for offering diplomatic recognition to the new regime. Nazi authorities subsequently violated several treaty commitments.

State of the evidence: Signature and historical controversies documented by a German historical research commission.
Legal status — source text: No known personal court proceedings; historical or doctrinal debate.
Attribution: Contested diplomatic agreement with the Nazi state in 1933.

Sources · 2

[1]
Kommission für ZeitgeschichteDas Reichskonkordat 1933. Forschungsstand, Kontroversen, DokumenteInvestigative journalismHigh reliability
[2]
Saint-SiègeMit Brennender Sorge (March 14, 1937)14 March 1937Official documentHigh reliability

Last verified: 8 November 2026

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11 February 1929

1929: Lateran Pacts concluded with Mussolini

No legal proceedings

Pius XI accepted the Lateran Pacts negotiated with Benito Mussolini’s Fascist government, creating Vatican City State and settling the Roman Question. The deal enhanced the regime’s political legitimacy and recognised Catholicism as the state religion, prompting criticism of confessional privileges and concessions to fascism.

State of the evidence: Agreements and political implications documented by an encyclopaedia and an academic study.
Legal status — source text: No known personal court proceedings; historical or doctrinal debate.
Attribution: Political agreement with Mussolini’s regime, criticised for legitimising fascism.

Sources · 2

[1]
New Catholic Encyclopedia / Encyclopedia.comLateran PactsMediaHigh reliability
[2]
The Historical Journal / Cambridge University PressTHE VATICAN AND THE RESHAPING OF THE EUROPEAN INTERNATIONAL ORDER AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WARInvestigative journalismHigh reliability

Last verified: 8 November 2026

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II. Constellation of documented links

Linked profile (portrait or initials) — click to open it
Line width: number of documented references
Hover over or tap a line: controversies and sources

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

List of documented links (2)

Adolf Hitler1 documented reference
- 1933: Reichskonkordat with Nazi Germany Source ↗
Benito Mussolini1 documented reference
- 1929: Lateran Pacts concluded with Mussolini Source ↗

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Controversia profile, updated 8 November 2026. Latest version: https://controversia.info/en/fiche/pie-xi