There is well known to Us, Venerable Brethren--and it is a great cause of consolation for Our Paternal heart--your constancy, that of your Priests and of the greater part of the Mexican faithful, in ardently professing the Catholic Faith and in opposing the impositions of those who, ignoring the Divine excellence of the Religion of Jesus Christ and knowing it only through the calumnies of its enemies, delude themselves that they are not able to accomplish reforms for the good of the people except by combating the Religion of the great majority.
    But unfortunately, the enemies of God and Christ have succeeded in winning over many lukewarm and timid souls who, although they adore God in the intimacy of their consciences, nevertheless, either, through human respect or through fear of earthly evils, have become, at least materially, cooperators in the de-Christianization of a people that owes to Religion its greatest glories.
    In contrast with these apostasies and weakness, which grieve Us so profoundly, all the more worthy of praise and meritorious appear to Us the resistance to evil, the practice of Christian life and the open profession of the faith by that vast number of faithful ones to whom you, Venerable Brothers, with the fortitude of true Pastors continue to point out the way and to guide, the brilliant example of your lives marching like the pillar of light always ahead.  This consoles Us in the midst of Our sorrow, and engenders in Us the hope for better days for the Mexican Church, which, reanimated by so much heroism and sustained by the prayers and sacrifices of so many elect souls, cannot perish, nay rather must flourish again more vigorous and more beautiful.

Confidence In Divine Aid
    And precisely to revive your confidence in Divine Aid, and to encourage you to continue in the practice of a fervent Christian life, We address this letter to you, and We take this opportunity to remind you that,in circumstances difficult as those which now prevail, the most effective means also in your case for restoring Christianity are above everything the holiness of the Priests and in second place the formation with wisdom and care of the laity so that they will be prepared to cooperate fruitfully in the Apostolate of the Hierarchy, cooperation all the more necessary in Mexico because of the vast extent of the terriroty and other conditions which everyone knows are peculiar to your country.
    Our thought, therefore, is fixed in the first place on those who must be the light that illuminates, the salt which conserves, the good leaven which penetrates the entire mass of the faithful: We mean your Priests.
    In truth, We know how tenaciously and at the cost of how many sacrifices you care for the selection and increase of sacerdotal vocations, in the midst of all sorts of difficulties, well persuaded as you are that in this manner you provide the solution of a vital problem, truly the most vital of all the problems relating to the future of the Church.  In view of the almost absolute impossibility of having in your own country well-ordered and tranquil Seminaries, you have found in this city an ample and gracious refuge in the South American Pio Latino College, which has formed and continues to form in science and virtue so many worthy Priests and which, for its precious work, is particularly dear to Us.  But since in many cases it has been impossible to send your students to Rome, you have worked solicitously to find an asylum in the hospitality of a great neighboring nation.
    In congratulating you on this praiseworthy initiative, which is already beoming a consoling reality, We again express Our gratitude to all those who have so generously tendered you hospitality and assistance.

Urges Study Of Priesthood Encyclical
    And with Paternal insistence We remind you again on this occasion of Our precise wish that you make known and explain suitably, not only to the Clerics, but to all your Priests, Our Encyclical, Ad Catholici Sacerdotii, which explains Our thoughts on this, the gravest and most important among the grave and important subjects treated by Us.
    The Mexican Priests thus formed according to the Heart of Jesus Christ will feel that in the actual conditions of their country (of which We spoke in Our Apostolic Letter, Patrerna Sane Solicitudo, of February 2, 1926.)--which are so like those of the early times of the Church, when the Apostles appealed for the collaboration of the laity--it would be very difficult to reconquer for Christ so many misguided souls without the providential assistance which the laity give by means of Cathoic Action.  More so since at times Grace prepares among them generous souls ready to develop most fruitful activity if they encounter a learned and Holy Clergy capable of understanding and guiding them.

Asks Zeal For Catholic Action
    Therefore, to the Mexican Priests, who have dedicated their lives to the service of Jesus Christ, of the Church and of souls--to these We direct Our first and warmest appeal, that they will generously second Our and your solicitude for the progress of Catholic Action, dedicating to it their best efforts and most opportune diligence.  The methods of an effective collaboration of the laity with your action will never be lacking if the Priests will devote themselves with careful attention to cultivating the Christian people by means of wise spiritul direction and careful Religious instructions, not diluted in vain discourses, but nourished with sound Doctrine taken from Holy Scripture and full of unction and of force.
    It is true that not all understand fully the necessity of this Holy Apostolate of the laity, although since the publication of Our first Encyclical, Ubi Arcano Dei, We have declared continually that it is a part of the Pastoral Ministry and of Christian life.  But since, as We have already indicated.  We are addressing Ourselves to Pastors who must regain a sorely tried and to a certain extent dispersed flock, today more than ever before We recommend that you make use of those lay people to whom, as living stones of the Holy House of God, St. Peter attributes a profound dignity which makes them in a certain manner participants in a Holy and Regal Priesthood (I Peter, 2, 9.).

Stresses Our Unity In Christ
     In fact, every Christian conscience of his dignity and his responsibility as a son of the Church and a member of the Mystical Body of Christ--Multi unum corpus sumus in Christo singuli autem alter alterius membra (So we being man, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another) (Romans, 12, 5.)--cannot do less than recognize that between the members of this body there must exist a reciprocal communication of life and solidarity of interests.
    Hence the duty of each with regard to the life and the growth of the whole organism in aedificationem Corporis Christi; hence the efficacious contribution too of each member toward the glorification of the Head and of His Mystical Body (Ephesians, 4, 12-16.).
    These principles are clear and simple; but how comforting are the deductions to be made from them!  how inviting the lines of action opened for many souls!  for souls still doubting, still undeciding but anxious to find leadership for their ardor and energy!  What encouragement to contribute to the spread of Christ's Kingdom and to the saving of souls!
    Thus understood, the Apostolate does not spring from any mere natural impulse to action.  That is evident.  On the contrary, the Apostolate is the outward manipulation of solid interior formation; it is the uncontrollable overflowing of intense love for Jesus Christ and for souls redeemed by His Precious Blood, love which leads to the imitation of His life of prayer, of sacrifice, and of unquenchable zeal.

Results Of Imitation Of Christ
    This imitation of Jesus Christ will give life and vigor to an Apostolate of diverse forms adapted to the different fields in which souls are in danger, or the rights of the Divine King are disputed; it will be manifest in every act of the Apostolate which in any way lies within the Divine Mission of the Church.  It will penetrate, therefore, not only the soul of the individual but the sanctuary of the family too, the school and public life.
    But the magnitude of the work must not cause you to be preoccupied more with the number than with the quality of the collaborators.  Following the example of the Divine Master, Who wished to precede the few years of His Apostolic work with a long preparation, and limited Himself to forming in the Apostolic College not many but chosen instruments for the future conquest of the world, so you also, Venerable Brethren, should care first of all for the supernatural formation of your leaders and propagandists, without being too much preoccupied or grieved because at the beginning they are but a pusillus grex (Luke, 12, 32.).
    And since We know that you are already working in this direction, We express to you Our satisfaction that you have already scrupulously selected and carefully formed good collaborators, who with word and example will bring the fervor of the Christian life and the Christian Apostolate into the Dioceses and the Parishes.
    This work which is yours must be solid amd deep.  Publicity and the method of the circus have no place in it.  It looks upon noisy methods as an enemy.  It is a work that knows how to develop its activities in silence, even though results may not be apparent at once or lack brilliance, like the seed which, buried in the ground, seemingly asleep, prepares the vigorous new plant.

Encouraging The Interior Life
    Then, too, by encouraging the spiritual formation and the interior life of those who are to collaborate with you, you put them on guard against dangers and mistakes that are always possible.  Having in mind always the purpose of Catholic Action, which is the sanctification of souls, according to the Gospel precept: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God (Luke, 12, 31.), you will not run the risk of sacrificing principles for ends that may be immediate or secondary, nor will you forget that to that ultimate end are to be subordinated every social and economic work and charitable undertaking.
    Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us this by His example; because when in the eneffable tenderness of His Divine Heart which made Him exclaim: I have compassion on the multitude. . . . And if I shall send them away fasing to their home, they will faint in the way (Mark, 8, 2 to 3.), He healed the infirmities of the body and came to the assistance of temporal needs, He had the Supreme end of His Mission always in view, that is, the glory of His Father and the Eternal Salvation of souls.

Meaning Of Social Service
    This does not mean that works, commonly called social service, lie outside the scope of Catholic Action.  Because these works aim at the practical application of the principles of Justice and Charity and are a means of winning the multitudes, since souls often are to be reached only by the relief of corporal suffering and economic need, We ourselves and Our Predecessor, Leo XIII of blessed memory, have recommended them frequently.  Although Catholic Action has a duty to prepare individuals, trained to be leaders in social service, to point out the principles that should guide and give the rules that are to be followed by social service, taking them always from the authorized teachings of Our Encyclicals, Catholic Action should never take responsibility in matters that are purely technical, financial, or economic because such matters lie outside the scope and purpose of Catholic Action.
    Facing the charge frequently made against the Church, that it is indifferent to social problems, or incapable of solving them, proclaim unceasingly that only the teaching and the work of the Church, assisted as it is by its Divine Founder, can furnish the remedy for the very grave ills which afflict humanity.
    It is for  you then (as you have already shown your wish to do) to use these fruitful principles to solve the grave social questions with which your country is struggling today, which are, for example, the agrarian problem, land distribution, the improvement of the living conditions of the working men and their families.

Dignity Of Human Personality
    Remember always that, so long as essential primary fundamental rights like the right to own property are safeguarded, under particular conditions, the common good places limitations on these rights and more frequently today than formerly calls for the application of social justice.  Conditions may arise in which to protect the dignity of human personality one may be called on to denounce boldly unjust and degrading living conditions, but when doing this it is necessary to avoid giving any justification for violence under pretext of remedying the evils suffered by the masses, or admitting or encouraging changes in customs deep-rooted in the social economy which, if made without due regard for equity and without moderation, might in their effects be more hrmful than the evil itself it is sought to cure.
    This intervention in the social question will bring you likewise to occupy yourselves with the lot of so many poor workingmen who too easily become the prey of de-Christianizing propaganda, with the mirage of economic advantages presented to them as a reward for their apostasy from God and from His Church.

Material And Religious Aid To Worker
    If you truly love the laborer (and you must love him because his conditions of life approach nearer to those of the Divine Master), you must assist him materially and Religiously.  Materially, bringing about in his favor the practice not only of commutative justice but also of social justice, that is, all those provisions which aim at relieving the condition of the proletarian; and then, Religiously, giving him again the Religious comforts without which he will struggle in a materialism that brutalizes him and degrades him.
    No less grave and no less urgent is another duty: that of the Religious and economic assistance of the farmers, and in general of that not small portion of your sons forming the population, mostly agricultural, of the Indians.  There are millions of souls, they too redeemed by Christ, entrusted by Him to your care and for whom He will some day ask you to render an account; there are millions of individual men often in such sad and miserable living conditions that they have not even that minimum of well-being indispensable to protect their very dignity as men.  We conjure you, Venerable Brethren, in the bosom of the Charity of Christ to have particular care for these children, to encourage your Clergy to devote themselves with ever-increasing zeal to their assistance, and to interest the whole Mexican Catholic Action in this work of moral and material redemption.
    Nor can We fail to mention a duty which in these recent times is ever incresing in importance: the assistance for Mexicans who have emigrated to other countries, who, torn away from their country and their traditions, more easily become prey to the insidious propaganda of the emissaries seeking to induce them to apostatize from their Faith.  An arrangement with your zealous confreres of the United States of America will bring about a more diligent and organized care on the part of the local Clergy and will assure for the Mexican emigrants those social and economic provisions which are so well developed in the Church in the United States.

Solicitude For The Student
    If Catholic Action cannot neglect the most humble and the most needy classes, of the laborers, of the peasants, of the emigrants, it has in other fields no less grave and inescapable duties; among other things it must occupy itself solicitously with the students who some day will have, as professional men and women, a great influence in society and will perhaps hold public offices.  To the practice of the Christian Religion, to the formation of character and the Christian conscience, which are fundamental elements for all the faithful, you must where students are involved associate a special and correct education and intellectual preparation, supported by Christian philosophy--that is, that philosophy which was truthfully called perennial philosophy.  Today, in fact, a solid and adequate Religious instruction seems still more necessary in view of the tendency, always more generalized, of modern life towards externals, the repugnance toward and difficulty of reflection and recollection, and the propensity even in the spiritual life, to allow sentiment rather than reason to be guide.
    We ardently desire that  you carry out among yourselves, at least to the degree possible and adapting the instruction to particular conditions, to the necessities and possibilities of your country, that which Catholic Action is so well doing in other countries for cultural formation and to assure that Religious instruction should hold an intellectual primacy among students and educated Catholics.

Today's Students Hope Of Future
    The university students who are actively engaged in Catholic Action give Us great hope for a better future for Mexico, and We do not doubt that they will fulfill Our hope.  It is evident that they are a part, and an important part, of this Catholic Action which is so close to Our heart, whatever be the forms of its organization, since these depend in great part on local conditions and circumstances which vary from region to region.  These university students not only afford, as We have said, the most valid hopes for a better tomorrow, but even today can render effective service to the Church and to the country, by the Apostolate which they carry on among their companions as well as by supplying the various branches and various organizations of Catholic Action with capable and enlightened directors.
    The special conditions of your country oblige Us to recall the necessary, obligatory, inescapable care of the children, whose innocence is ensnared, whose education and Christian formation is thus so sorely tried.  Two grave precepts are imposed on all Catholic Mexicans: the one negative, that is, to keep the children as far away as possible from the impious and corruptive school; the other positive, to give them complete and accurate Religious instruction and the necessary assistance to maintain their spiritual life.  Regarding the first point, a grave and delicate one, We recently took occasion to manifest Our thoughts.  As regards Religious instruction, although We know with what insistence you yourselves have recommended it to your Priests and to your faithful, yet We repeat that, this being one of the most important and capital problems of the Mexican Church today, it is necessary that what is so laudably practiced in some dioceses today should be extended to all the others, in such a manner that the Priests and members of Catholic Action apply themselves with all ardor and at cost of any sacrifice to conserve for God and the Church these little ones, for whom the Divine Savior has shown such predilection.

Present-Day Perils to Youth
    The future of these younger generations (we repeat it with all the anguish of Our Paternal heart) awakens in Us the most urgent solicitude and the most lively anxiety.  We know to how many perils the children and youth are exposed, today more than ever, everywhere, but particularly in Mexico, where an immoral and anti-Religios press implants in their hearts the seeds of apostasy from Jesus Christ.  To remedy such grave evil and defend your youth from these perils, it is necessary that every legal means be taken and every form of organization be put in motion, as for example, the Leagues of Fathers of Families and the morality and vigilance committees for publications and censorship of the cinema.

Catholic Action Safeguard Against Evil
    Regarding the individual defense of children and youths, We know, from reports which reach Us from all over the world, that activity in the ranks of Catholic Action constitutes the best protection against the strategems of evil, the most efficacious training ground in Christian strength.  These youths, enraptured with the beauty of the Christian ideal, sustained by the Divine Help which is assured by prayer and the Sacraments, will dedicate themselves with ardor and joy to the conquest of the souls of their companions, gathering consoling harvests of good.
    In this We have another proof that in view of the grave problems of Mexico, it must not be said that Catholic Action holds a place of secondary importance.  If ever this institution, which is the eductor of conscience and the former of moral qualities, were set aside in favor of another extrinsic work of whatsoever species, even if it were a case of defending necessary Religious and civil liberty, it would be a sad mistake; because the salvation of Mexico, as of all human society, lies above all in the eternal and immutable Evangelical Doctrine and in the sincere practice of Christian morals.
    For the rest, once this gradation of values and activities is established, it must be admitted that for Christian life to develop itself it must have recourse to external and sensible means; that the Church, being a society of men, cannot exist or develop if it does not enjoy liberty of action, and that its members have the right to find in civil society the possibility of living according to the dectates of their consciences.
    Consequently, it is quite natural that when the most elementary Religious and civil liberties are attacked, Catholic citizens do not resign themselves passively to renouncing those liberties.  Notwithstanding, the revindication of these rights and liberties can be, according to the circumstances, more or less opportune, more or less energetic.

Church Protector Of Peace And Order
    You have more than once recalled to your faithful that the Church protects peace and order, even at the cost of grave sacrifices, and that it condemns every unjust insurrection or violence against constituted powers.  On the other hand, among you it has also been said that, whenever these powers arise against Justice and Truth even to destroying the very Foundations of Authority, it is not to be seen how those citizens are to be condemned who united to defend themselves and the nation, by licit and appropriate means, against those who make use of public power to bring it to ruin.
    If the practical solution depends on concrete circumstances, We must however on Our part recall to you some general principles, always to be kept in mind, and they are:
    1.  That these revindications have reason of means, or of relative end, not of ultimate and absolute end;
    2.  That, in reason of means, they must be licit actions and not intrinsically evil;
    3.  That, if they are to be means proportionate to the end, they must be used only in the measure in which they serve to obtain or render possible, in whole or in part, the end, and in such manner that they do not cause to the community greater damages than those they seek to repair;
    4.  That the use of such means and the exercise of civic and political rights in their fullness, embracing also problems of order purely material and technical, or any violent defense, does not enter in any manner in the task of the Clergy or of Catholic Action as such, although to both appertains the preparation of Catholics to make just use of their rights, and to defend them with all legitimate means according as the common good requires;
    5.  The Clergy and Catholic Action, being, by their mission of peace and love, consecrated to uniting all men in vinculo pacis (Ephesians, 4, 3.), must contribute to the prosperity of the nation, especially encouraging the union of citizens and of the social classes and collaborating in all those social initiatives which are not opposed to Dogma or to the Laws of Christian morals.

Civic Activity Of Catholics
    Furthermore, this very civil activity of the Mexican Catholics, carried out with such a noble and elevated spirit, will obtain results that are the more efficacious the more the Catholics themselves shall have that supernatural vision of life, that Religious and moral education, and that burning zeal for the spread of the Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ which Catholic Action intends to give.
    In the presence of a happy coalition of consciences which do not intend to renounce the liberty vindicated for them by Christ (Galatians, 4, 31.), what power or human force could yoke them to sin?  What dangers, what persecutions, what trials could separate souls thus tempered by the Charity of Christ?  (Romans, 8, 35.)

Right Formation Of Christian Citizen
    This right formation of the perfect Christian and citizen, in which the supernatural ennobles all the talents and actions and exalts them, contains also, as is natural, the fulfillment of the Church, St. Augustine proclaimed in praise of his faith?  Give me such fathers of families, such children, such masters, such subjects, such husbands, such spouses, such men of government, such citizens as those which Christian Doctrine forms, and if you cannot give them, confess that this Christian Doctrine, if practiced, is the salvation of the State (Epistle, 138, C 2. ).
    Thus a Catholic will take care not to pass over his right to vote when the good of the Church or of the country requires it.  Thus there will be avoided the danger of seeing Catholics, in the exercise of their civil and political activities, organizing in particular groups, at times disputing among themselves or also contrary to the directions of the Ecclesiastical Authorities.  That would be increasing the confusion and scattering the forces, to the complete detriment both of the development of Catholic Action and of the very cause that they wish to defend.

Activities Included In Catholic Action
    We have already mentioned activities which, although not conflicting with, are certainly outside the scope of Catholic Action, such as would be those of a political party or those which are purely economic and social.  But there exist many other beneficent activities--such as the League of Fathers of Families, for the defense of scholastic liberty and Religious instruction, the union of citizens for the defense of the family and the Sanctity of Matrimony, and of public morality, which can be reorganized about the central nucleus of Catholic Action.  In fact, it does not hold itself rigidly to fixed plans, but rather coordinates, as if about a radial center of light and heat, other initiatives and auxiliary institutions; which, enjoying always a just autonomy and a fitting liberty of action necessary for the accomplishment of their specific aims, feel the need of following the directions of its program.
    That holds above all for your nation which is so extensive, where the variety of the needs and of local conditions may demand that, though on the basis of common principles, different methods of organization be used and different but equally just practical solutions be reached for the one same problem.
    It will be for you, Venerable Brethren, placed by the Holy Ghost to Rule the Church of God, to give the final practical decision in these cases, to which the faithful will give their obedience and fidelity according to your instructions.  And this is extremely close to Our heart, because the right intention and obedience are always and everywhere the indispensable conditions to draw down the Divine Blessings upon the Pastoral Ministry and upon Catholic Action and to determine that unity of address and that fusion of energies which are an indispensable presupposition for the fruitfulness of the Apostolate.  With all Our Spirit, therefore, We conjure the good Mexican Catholics to hold Obedience and Discipline dear.  "Obey your Prelates, and be subject to them.   For they watch as being to render an account of your souls."  And let this obedience be full of joy and a stimulus to greater energies: "That they may do this with joy, and not with grief" (Hebrews, 13, 17.).  He who obeys unwillingly and only through force, venting his interior resentment in bitter criticism of his superiors and companions in work, or all that which is not according to his own way of viewing things, drives away the Divine Benedictions, destroys the strength of discipline, and destroys where he ought to consturct.

Duties Of Universal Charity
    Together with obedience and discipline, We are pleased to recall those other duties of universal Charity which are suggested to us by St. Paul in that same chapter 4 of the Letter to the Ephesians, which We have already quoted and which ought to be the fundamental norm of all those who work in Catholic Action: "I, therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy . . . with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in Charity, careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, one body and one Spirit" (Ephesians, 4, 1 to 4.).
    To Our dearest Mexican children, who are such a part of the cares and of the affectionate solicitudes of Our Pontificate, We renew the appeal to unity, to Charity, to peace, in the Apostolic labor of Catholic Action, which must give back Christ to Mexico and restore there peace and also temporal prosperity.

Our Lady Of Guadalupe Invoked
    We deposit Our wishes and Our prayers at the feet of your Heavenly Patroness, invoked under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who, in her Sanctuary, still excites the love and the veneration of every Mexican.
    Of her, who under this title is venerated and Blessed also in this city where We, Ourselves, have erected a Parish dedicated in her honor, We earnestly ask that she hear Our prayers and yours for the prosperous future of Mexico, for the Peace of Christ in the Reign of Christ.  With these wishes and with these sentiments, We impart with all Our heart to you, to your Priests, to the Mexican Catholic Action, to all the beloved children of Mexico, to the whole noble Mexican nation, a very special Apostolic Benediction.
    May this, Our Letter, be a pledge of spiritual resurrection for your country, as We have wished to date it on the Feast of the Resurrection as a Paternal auspice that, since you have been so vividly participating in the sufferings of Christ, so you may likewise be participants in His Resurrection.
    Given at St. Peter's in Rome on the Feast of the Resurrection, March 28, 1937, the fifteenth year of Our Pontificate.

                                                                                                POPE PIUS XI

    As Peter was given a new name so does the new Supreme Pontiff become known by another.  After the election he extends his first blessing to the people -- a Benediction which was not given in the open for years until Pope Pius XI established the custom.
    The Coronation, one of the most magnificent of Vatican Ceremonies, takes place shortly after the election.  With the Pope carried high in a golden chair and attended by brilliantly attired chamberlains and soldiers, the Coronation Mass is an unrivaled spectacle of beauty, dignity, and ancient pageantry.  At the Coronation, in the midst of the pomp and splendor, a master of ceremonies recites in Latin: "Holy Father, thus does the glory of the world pass away."  As the first Cardinal Deacon places the three-crowned Tiara on the head of the Pope, he says: "Receive the three-crowned Tiara, and know that thou are the Father of Princes and Kings, the Pastor of the earth, and Vicar of Jesus Christ, to Whom be honor and glory forever.  Amen."
    The CORONATION of Pope Pius XII took place on the balcony of St. Peter's in March 1939.  (From the book "The Vatican and Holy Year" by Stephen S. Fenichell & Phillip Andrews. -- 1950 edition.)

    (Tradition is an equal part [along with the Bible] of the Authoritative Teaching of the Church -- From the book "The Immaculate Way" by Brian Farrely, S.S.M. -- 1963 edition.)

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