"Pope Pius XI was a man of tremendous force of character. When annoyed, he had a trick of pulling his skull cap over his ear, a gesture which it was prudent to regard as a storm signal. This only happened to me twice, once when I was instructed to make unwelcome proposals for the treatment of missionaries in Africa, and once when he told me in pungent terms what he thought of Hitler's persecution of the Jews. But he could be charming too. When I took my wife to see him, I told him that it happened to be the fourth anniversary of our wedding. He had in his room a long oak refectory table on which were laid out Epiphany presents which he had received from all parts of the world. He padded round the table like an old antiquary examining his wares and picked out two objects for the children. "And here," he said, "is something very suitable for Mama: a picture of St. Peter's maid-of-all-work. Very suitable," he added prophetically, "for one day you also may be a maid-of-all-work.""

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Anti-communistsLibrariansPeople from LombardyPopes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
English (Original)

Sources

Ivone Kirkpatrick, The Inner Circle (1959), pp. 47-48

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XI

Revision History

No revisions have been submitted for this quote.

Categories

Anti-communistsLibrariansPeople from LombardyPopes

Pope Pius XI

Pope Pius XI (Italian: Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (Italian: [amˈbrɔ:dʒo daˈmja:no aˈkille ˈratti]; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929. He assumed as his papal motto "Pax Christi in Regno Christi," translated "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ."

4 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Pope Pius XI →

Related Quotes