Pope makes accessible documents from Pius XII's pontificate on 'Jews'

By Vatican News

At the request of the Holy Father, as of June 2022, the Historical Archive of the Secretariat of State – Section for Relations with States and International Organizations (ASRS) is allowing universal access to the virtual reproduction of an entire archival series on its website (https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/sezione-rapporti-stati/archivio-storico/serie-ebrei/serie-ebrei_it.html).

The documentary series, pertaining to Pius XII’s pontificate (open to researchers since 2 March 2020), is titled “Ebrei” (Jews) because its aim is to preserve the petitions for help from Jewish people all over Europe, received by the Pope during the Nazi-Fascist persecutions.

The archival series consists of a total of 170 volumes, equivalent to nearly 40,000 digital files. An initial 70% of the complete material will be made available initially, before being integrated with the final volumes that are currently being worked on.