Vatican Diplomacy and the Shaping of the West during the Pontificate of Pius XII

The opening of the Vatican archives from the period of Pius XII offers a precious opportunity to examine in greater detail various aspects of the diplomatic action of the Holy See on the international plane during this long pontificate; a multifaceted action that adapted to fluid political circumstances, from the tragedy of a Second World War, to a new world order animated by a desire for peace, yet one indelibly marked by the divisions fostered by the Cold War.

Against this background,  the conference “Vatican Diplomacy and the Shaping of the West during the Pontificate of Pius XII” – jointly promoted by Pontifical Gregorian University, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Universidad de Navarra, Universidade Católica Portuguesa and University of Malta within the framework of the OCCIDENTES research project – intends to develop, through a wide range of thematic proposals, the how and to what extent the action of papal diplomacy, from the outbreak of the Second World War to the end of Pius XII’s pontificate, was inspired by or conveyed peculiar visions of the West.