This is alist of encyclicals of Pope Pius XII.Pius XII promulgated 41 papalencyclicals, during his reign aspope for over 19 years, from his election of March 2, 1939, until his death on October 9, 1958. The 41 encyclicals of Pius XII exceed the 32 encyclicals written by all his successors (John XXIII,Paul VI,John Paul I,John Paul II, andBenedict XVI) during the fifty years that followed (1958–2008).

An encyclical (fromLatinencyclia, from theGreek "en kyklo,ἐν κύκλῳ", meaning "general" or "encircling") was acircular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church. For the modern Roman Catholic Church, a Papal Encyclical, in the strictest sense, is a letter sent by the pope which is explicitly addressed to Roman Catholicbishops of a particular area or to the world, usually treating some aspect of Catholicdoctrine. A Papal Encyclical is generally used for significant issues, and is second in importance only to the highest-ranking document now issued by popes, anApostolic Constitution.

The title of a Papal Encyclical is usually taken from itsfirst few words.

Pope Pius XII held that papal encyclicals, even when they are notex cathedra, can nonetheless be sufficiently authoritative to end theological debate on a particular question. He wrote inHumani generis:

It is not to be thought that what is set down in Encyclical letters does not demand assent in itself, because in this the popes do not exercise the supreme power of their magisterium. For these matters are taught by the ordinary magisterium, regarding which the following is pertinent: “He who heareth you, heareth Me.” (Luke 10:16); and usually what is set forth and inculcated in Encyclical Letters, already pertains to Catholic doctrine. But if the Supreme Pontiffs in their acts, after due consideration, express an opinion on a hitherto controversial matter, it is clear to all that this matter, according to the mind and will of the same Pontiffs, cannot any longer be considered a question of free discussion among theologians.

Encyclicals indicate highPapalpriority for an issue at a given time. Only pontiffs define when, and under which circumstances encyclicals should be issued. They may choose to issue anapostolic constitution,bull, encyclical,apostolic letter or give a papalspeech. Pontiffs differ on the use of encyclicals. On the issue ofbirth control andcontraception, for example,Pope Pius XI issued the encyclicalCasti connubii, whilePope Pius XII spoke tomidwives and themedical profession when he clarified his position on the issue.^[1]Pope Paul VI published an encyclicalHumanae vitae on the same topic. On matters ofwar andpeace, Pope Pius XII issued ten encyclicals, most of them after 1945, three of them (Datis nuperrime,Sertum laetitiae, andLuctuosissimi eventus) protesting theSoviet invasion and crackdown of theHungarian revolution in 1956.Pope Paul VI spoke about the war inVietnam andPope John Paul II, issued his protest against the war inIraq in speeches. On social issues,Pope Leo XIII promulgatedRerum novarum, followed byQuadragesimo anno by Pius XI, andCentesimus annus byJohn Paul II. Pius XII spoke on the same topic to aconsistory ofcardinals in his Christmas messages and to numerous academic and professional associations.^[2] Themagisterium of Pius XII is therefore significantly larger than the 41 encyclicals listed above. Most of his detailed teachings are in his papal speeches on specific topics such as:

• Conscience, guilt and fair punishment,^[3]
• Ethics of psychological research,^[4]
• Farmers,^[5]
• Fashion industry,^[6]
• Formation of conscience,^[7]
• Genetic research,^[8]
• Human dignity,^[9]
• Medical doctors and the use of weapons,^[10]
• Military medical research.^[11]

• Pope Pius XII Encyclicals (most in English, Italian, Portuguese with some in French, Italian, Spanish and one in German) - from the Papal Archive at the internet site of theHoly See.
• PapalEncyclicals.net - Pope Pius XII - online copies

• Encyclicals of Pope Pius XII
• Lists of papal encyclicals

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text