The Election of Pope Pius XII
History Daily
History Daily
4.4 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
March 2, 1939. Shortly before World War II, a new pope is elected in Rome and must find a way to protect the Church during the most violent conflict in history.
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| 0:49.2 | It's March 2nd, 1939 in the Vatican City. |
| 0:56.0 | 63-year-old Iogenio Pachelli stands in the narrow antechamber leading to the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. He straightens the cuffs of his new white cassock, smoothing the unfamiliar fabric at his wrists. |
| 1:03.2 | Beyond the thick stone walls, a vast crowd outside is growing restless. For two days, thousands |
| 1:10.0 | of people have been watching a single chimney on top of |
| 1:13.2 | the Sistine Chapel. They are waiting for the white smoke that will tell them that they have a new |
| 1:18.2 | pope, but so far only black plumes have followed two inconclusive rounds of voting. |
| 1:24.1 | But now a third ballot has been counted. A majority has been reached and the Cardinals |
| 1:28.8 | have chosen. The new pope will be Eugenio Pachelli, and in the minutes since, he has donned his |
| 1:35.0 | new frocks and chosen his new name. But as of yet, the world is still unaware of his election. |
| 1:41.9 | From the antechamber, Pachelli hears a crowd outside stir, but it's not a |
| 1:46.5 | chorus of cheers, it's tentative, a low swell of confusion spreading around the square. But Pachelli |
| 1:52.9 | remains calm. This has happened before. Sometimes the materials they use to produce the smoke |
| 1:58.6 | don't mix properly at first, and it comes out darker than it should. |
| 2:02.8 | But he knows all will become clear soon enough. |
| 2:06.5 | The sound changes and the uncertainty dissolves. |
... |
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