November 20, 2022: The Feast of Christ the King & A Commentary by Fr. Richard Kunst on the Encyclical, Quas Primus

Pope Pius XI: Autographed Photo From 1927

An autographed photo of Pius XI signed by him directly onto the photo. This is quite unique and rare. It is dated August 4th, 1927. It is in a presentation frame. This is a title given to an autographed photo when the frame itself is actually part of the gift. Pius XI apparently gave this autographed photo and frame as a gift. Generally, the pope’s coat of arms is included on the frame.

This free standing frame from 1927 with his coat of arms on top is in very good condition and is quite ornate.

The following is a commentary on the encyclical, Quas Primus, promulgated on December 11 of 1925, to introduce the new feast of Christ the King. It contains invaluable information from this Pope. We are featuring Father’s commentary to highlight its importance.

Reestablishing Christ’s Reign in Our Lives

Father Richard Kunst, Curator & Commentator

Encyclicals are letters of high importance. Traditionally issued by any bishop, in recent times they have become an exclusive activity of the Bishop of Rome.

They are generally written to the entire church, and often a pope’s first encyclical will give a pretty clear indication where and how he wants to lead the church. As of this writing, Pope Francis has written one encyclical. Pope Benedict XVI wrote three, and Pope St. John Paul II wrote 14, but the pope with the most is Leo XIII, (1878-1903), who wrote 85!

Often the letters are beautifully written and really speak to the issues of the day, but sometimes it is worthwhile to go back in history and see what some popes in the past have written and how prophetic these writings can actually be.

One encyclical that is particularly pertinent for today was written 90 years ago by Pope Pius XI (1922-1939). His encyclical “Quas Primus” (Latin for “In the first”) is pertinent for the month of November, because with it Pius established the liturgical feast day known as Christ the King, which almost always falls in November, because it is celebrated the last Sunday of ordinary time, right before Advent begins.

But “Quas Primus” is significant to much more than just this month. One would think in reading this encyclical that Pope Francis wrote it just yesterday. It is an amazing read!

The encyclical addressed what Pope Pius saw as a growing secularism in the world. Given that he wrote it in 1925, he probably wouldn’t even know where to start today.

He wrote that Christ needs to be king in every aspect of life: over persons, families, institutions, the state and even the whole universe. In reading this incredible letter, two quotes in particular stand out as extraordinarily appropriate for today.

Pius wrote, “While nations insult the beloved name of our redeemer by suppressing all mention of him in their conferences and parliaments, we must all the more loudly proclaim his kingly dignity.”

Read that a couple times and think about it. We cannot say “Merry Christmas,” because it is offensive. We can only have “holiday trees” on public property. The 10 Commandments’ monuments that once were all over the country are being stripped from government buildings. Most public schools in the country are no longer starting their school day with the “Pledge of Allegiance,” because the words, “one nation under God,” are included. And heaven forbid that the government allow prayer in any school activity, whether it be sports or graduation ceremonies. And in recent years there has been a growing call to remove “in God we trust” from our coinage.

A second quote worth addressing from Quas Primus should hit a little closer to home, because Pius gives the reasons we got this way: “This state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but [with] a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks.”

I would have to say that, second only to pornography, the most confessed sins I have heard in general terms are the times people are too timid to speak up for the church when she is being mocked or attacked by friends, family and co-workers. People are afraid to get into any conflict in defending the church. They do not want to speak out, choosing to keep silent.

This is certainly not only an issue for laypeople. We priests, I think, are even more timid in preaching on the tough subjects the church holds to be true. So often our own parishioners are at odds with the church on the “hot button” issues, like homosexual marriage, abortion and artificial contraception, to name a few, so we priests do not want to preach about these issues. We are so often, as Pope Pius XI said, good people, but timid.

I am not condemning my brother priests, because I am one of them. It takes a great amount of courage to get up in front of everyone and tell them the truth when it is very unpopular, but we need to have courage.

I am not sure that even one percent of the Catholic population read the pope’s encyclicals when they are published, but we certainly should. And I would even encourage you to go back in time to see some of the past encyclicals. Some of them are as pertinent today as they were the day they were written.

Christ the King, be king over us today and always!

–Father Richard Kunst

Items belonging to or associated with Pope Pius XI may be found on Papal Artifacts/Pius XI. A biography, YouTube, coat of arms and burial site are featured on Papal History/Pius XI.