Pascalina Lehnert (25 August 1894 – 13 November 1983), born Josefina Lehnert, was a German

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and ...

who served as

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

's housekeeper, confidant, and secretary from his period as Apostolic Nuncio to Bavaria in 1917 until his death as

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

in 1958. She managed the papal charity office for Pius XII from 1944 until the pontiff's death in 1958. She was a Sister of the Holy Cross Menzingen.

Early career

"Madre Pascalina", as she was called, led

Eugenio Pacelli Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

's household in the nunciature in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Bavaria, from 1917 to 1925 and in the nunciature to Germany and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

from 1925 to 1929, where Nuncio Pacelli was

Dean of the Diplomatic Corps The diplomatic corps () is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission (ambassadors, high commissi ...

. There she became known for organizing the Pacelli parties, "which were auspicious, tastefully sprinkling glitter with the strictest European etiquette. ..The nunciature was soon a major center of Germany's social and official worlds. Streams of aristocrats, including President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

in office 1925–1934), who had served as one of Germany's Field Marshals during World War I], were frequent callers, blending with students and workers, anyone whom Pacelli, the shrewdest of diplomats, chose to smile upon." Pacelli was recalled to Rome in 1929 to become Cardinal Secretary of State. Pascalina soon resided as housekeeper with two other sisters in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican.

Papacy of Pius XII

Papal Charities

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

responded to Madre Pascalina in the aftermath of the war by organizing a two-tier papal charity. Monsignore Ferdinando Baldelli, Carlo Egger and

Otto Faller Rev. Otto Faller SJ (18 February 1889 – 16 May 1971) was Provincial Superior of the Jesuit order in Germany, educator, teacher and Dean at Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria and Kolleg St. Blasien in Germany, professor of patristic studi ...

started on behalf of the pope the official Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza. Madre Pascalina was asked by the Pope to direct his personal charity efforts, officially under Monsignor Montini, later

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

, with whom she seemed to have a complicated relationship. To assist the pope in the many calls for his help and charity, Pascalina organized and led the ''Magazzino'', a private papal charity office which employed up to 40 helpers and continued until 1959. "It started from modest beginnings and became a gigantic charity." By Christmas 1944, housing had been provided at the

Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, or the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo from its Italian name Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo, is a 135-acre (54.6-ha) complex of buildings in a garden setting in the city of Castel Gandolfo, Italy ...

for 15,000 refugees from the invading

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

forces. Inside the Vatican, Mother Pascalina was in charge of housing, clothing and food for as many

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

refugees as the walls could hold. By the end of the war, no less than 200,000 Jews had been sheltered and fed inside the Holy City under her supervision. In addition to this, 12,000 packages were delivered to the children of Rome alone, many of which were handed out by Pope Pius XII himself.

Later life

In recognition of her achievements, John XXIII awarded Mother Pascalina the papal honor

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XII ...

. This was the highest honor the Catholic Church could bestow on women until 1993.

Autobiography

Madre Pascalina wrote her autobiography in 1959. Church authorities permitted its publication only in 1982.Pascalina Lehnert, ''Ich durfte Ihm Dienen'', Naumann, Würzburg, 1982, 1986.

Works

*Lehnert, Pascalina. ''Ich durfte Ihm Dienen, Erinnerungen an Papst Pius XII.'' Naumann, Würzburg, 1986 *Lehnert, Pascalina; Susan Johnson (transl.). ''His Humble Servant: Sister M. Pascalina Lehnert's Memoirs of Her Years of Service to Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII''. Saint Augustine's Press, South Bend. February 2014. . (first English translation)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehnert, Pascalina 1894 births 1983 deaths Pope Pius XII advisers 20th-century German Roman Catholic nuns People from Ebersberg (district) People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Women and the papacy Conclavists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany