This is from a movie that has some scenes that are from a movie set mixed in with some actual footage of Pope Pius XII in brilliant living color. I love this pageantry for the Office of the Successor of Saint Peter and it is too bad it is gone with the wind and Dixie!
9 comments:
I always liked him better in black and white.
We go from having a sainted, dignified man like Pius XII seated on the throne of Peter to what we have now.....Ralph Kramden elected pope.
I can't remember when I've seen anything , supposedly serious, that was, in fact so ridiculous and comical and pathetic and dumb and embarrassing.....
Gob, have you looked in the mirror lately?
Seriously, JP II for reasons of own wouldn't use the sedia gestatoria and B XVI surprisingly didn't reinstate it, presumably because some mentally deranged person might vault the barrier (which happened one Xmas eve) and topple him off it.
If that is truly Pius XII and not an actor then - the opposite to gob (who is well named by the way) - I thought the Pope showed genuine love for the people and genuinely enjoyed being with them. He was much more demonstrative than I thought he would be. The thing that has embarrassed me greatly is to see Pope Francis with rosary beads dangling from his ear and the red clown nose ... that is what I call embarrassing.
Jan
Why isn't Pius XII wearing choir dress? Traditionalist bloggers back then must have been outraged...
I was impressed with James Cromwell as Pius XII in Under the Roman Sky (especially the opening scene), but unfortunately there are no liturgical scenes in that movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=840E6hJXJYY
This is a German movie and the scenes of Pope Pius XII I think are actual scenes in St. Peter's of the pope, perhaps filmed by this movie company, but the break away scenes are not in St. Peters and relate to the topic of the movie.
His Holiness is wearing the white ermine mozzetta? which is used during the Easter Season and which Pope Benedict recovered. I suspect this is a Wednesday audience held in St. Peters' rather than outside.
You're right: I watched it on a phone, so didn't spot the fur first time round.
I watched another short video of Pope Pius XII blessing the allied troops in the Vatican and, yes, I could see that it is indeed Pius XIi in the movie Father has posted. He speaks to the troops in English and recalls to mind the English Martyrs among them St John Fisher and St Thomas More - most apt for this time. He is not at all austere as I had thought, but warm and welcoming. Quite lovely to see. I do love these old videos which show life last century. What we could learn from the goodness of people in our grandparents' day when it was safe to leave doors unlocked - if you didn't live in Chicago that is. I realise there are exceptions to everything!
Jan
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