Testament of Pope Pius XII
Encyclopedia
The Testament of Pope Pius XII was signed by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....

 on May 15, 1956, some fifteen months before his death. Unlike the documents of his predecessors (Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...

) and successors (Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

), it is a very short document, omitting names, details and designations of individual material belongings.

Supporters of Pope Pius XII view the testament as a testimonial of his modesty
Modesty
Standards of modesty are aspects of the culture of a country or people, at a given point in time, and is a measure against which an individual in society may be judged....

 and spiritual holiness
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...

. It has been quoted at memorial events in his honour and is allegedly a part of the documentation of his beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

process underway in Rome.

Noteworthy is the first sentence in Latin: Miserere mei, Deus, secundum (magnam) misericordiam tuam (Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy; Psalm 50). When the Pope pronounced these words after his election March 2, 1939, the word magnam was a part of the cited Psalm. However the new 1956 translation left out this word. In order to be correct in his 1939 quote, Pope Pius put (magnam) in parenthesis.

Text

Miserere mei, Deus, secundum (magnam) misericordiam tuam

These words, which, aware of my unworthiness and insufficiency, I pronounced at the moment, in which with trepidation I accepted the election as Pope, I now repeat with even greater justification, because I am even more aware of my unworthiness and insufficiency after inadequacies and errors during so long a pontificate and so serious an epoch. I humbly ask pardon from all those, whom I have hurt, harmed or discomforted by word or deed.

I ask those, whose affair it is, not to bother any monuments to my memory. It is sufficient, that my poor remains are buried in a sacred place, the more hidden the better. It is not necessary that I ask for prayers for my soul. I know, how many prayers are the custom of the Apostolic See, and the piety of the faithful, for every Pope who dies.

Nor is it necessary that I leave a “spiritual testament” as so many zealous prelates in praiseworthy fashion used to do. The numerous writings and speeches which I published or delivered while executing my office, suffice, for whoever might like to know my thoughts on different questions of religion and ethics.

Having said this, I name as my universal heir the Holy Apostolic See, from which I have received so much as from a loving mother

May 15, 1956
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