Photo and Blessing of Pope Paul VI while he was the Archbishop of Milan
The Uniform of the Palatine GuardNote: The featured image is of Archbishop Giovanni Montini, the future Pope St. Paul VI. At the time of the 1944 address he was the “Sostituto” for Pope Pius XII in the office of Secretary of State, and he was a Monsignor.
June 29, 1944, On the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Monsignor Giovanni Montini, Sostituto, Addresses the Palatine Guard
Recall the words of Jesus who said to Peter: “Super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam…On this rock I will build my Church.” Jesus conceived of Saint Peter as an architect on whose construction an immense development would be centered, a human edifice that would outlast the centuries and embrace the whole earth. Space and time have no bounds. The words of Jesus have been fulfilled. The Roman Empire fell and the Church rebuilt and created Europe and its civilization, despite crises like the medieval and the Protestant. And now, in the midst of this modern crisis in which sees the collapse of empires, in a war that is perhaps headed to the exhaustion and the ruin of both sides, the Church stands firm and potent.
We recall the words of Pope Saint Paul VI in his role as sostituto of the Secretary of State (Cardinal Luigi Maglione, who died in August of that same year and was not replaced).
A Word about the Photograph of Archbishop Montini
This artifact is a very unique photo and blessing of Pope Paul VI while he was the Archbishop of Milan. It is dated May 16th, 1955. His actual baptismal name, Giovanni Battista Montini is used.
There are three lines written in his own hand on this photograph. It is a blessing for a priest’s twenty-fifth anniversary.
This is a very unique portrait of him prior to his pontificate and the only one Father Kunst has seen like this for Paul VI.
When referring to a blessing, these are normally photos of a pope with fancy calligraphy by another hand. They are then signed by the pope with a few extra lines written in their own hand as is the case with this one.
We remember in love and gratitude the life and work of Pope St. Paul VI.
