- Description
- Consists of digital images of selected records from the Archives of the Apostolic Delegation in Bulgaria related to the Papacy of Pope Pius XII from the files of Mons. Giuseppe Mazzoli and Mons. Francesco Galloni, papal nuncios to Bulgaria (AAV, Arch. Deleg. Bulgaria). Records include communication between Mons. Mazzoli and the Vatican's Secretary of State on a variety of matters including anti-Jewish measures and laws in Bulgaria as well as baptized Jews. Records also feature political reports and notes, newspaper clippings, communication with other Nuncios and heads of various congregations; correspondence with members of the German legation such as Minister Herbert Freiherr von Richtofen; correspondence with Italian Fascist authorities; correspondence with the Apostolic Delegate in Washington, D.C.; correspondence about imprisoned clergy and prisoners of war; and reports and communication on Jews seeking to emigrate abroad. Records document Nazi Germany, World War II, the diplomatic corps, political and religious affairs, and the persecution of Jews. Subjects include the political situation in Bulgaria and nearby countries (such as Greece, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, and Italy), racial laws, prisoners and internees, emigration and deportation, refugees, the Soviet Union and communism, the baptism and marriage of Jewish converts to Catholicism, the internment of clergy, and the Roma minority. The collection comprises records selected for digitization by representatives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum from the Vatican Apostolic Archives based on perceived relevance to the history of the Holocaust and events leading up to it.
(See Indice 1210 - Archivio Nunziatura Bulgaria, compiled by Giovanno Coco)
- Alternate Title
- Archivio della Delegazione Apostolica in Bulgaria (1939-1949)
- Date
-
inclusive:
1935-1948
- Collection Creator
- Giuseppe Mazzoli
Francesco Galloni
- Biography
-
Mons. Giuseppe Mazzoli (1886-1945) was born in Fabriano, Italy, and ordained a Catholic priest in 1911. One of his early appointments in the diplomatic service of the Holy See was as auditor of the delegation to Egypt and Palestine. He was appointed titular bishop of Germa in Hellesponto and Apostolic Delegate to Bulgaria in 1934. In Bulgaria he played a role in supporting the widespread opposition to the expulsion of Bulgaria's Jewish population as required by Nazi racial policy.
(See Indice 1210 - Archivio Nunziatura Bulgaria, compiled by Giovanno Coco)
Mons. Francesco Galloni (1890-1976) was born in Vicenza, Italy, ordained a Catholic priest in 1914, and served as a chaplain in the Italian army during World War I. In September 1921, he was sent to Bulgaria as a representative of an Italian mission to search for missing Italian soldiers during the war. He reported to the Holy See in 1922 on "Hopes for the Church in the Balkans." In 1945, following the death of Mons. Giuseppe Mazzoli, Mons. Galloni was appointed temporary ruler of the Apostolic Nunciature in Sofia, and in 1948 he was titular delegate for Bulgaria, but his title was not recognized by the government. In 1949 he departed Bulgaria with guarantees from the Bulgarian authorities that he would be allowed to return, but he was denied re-entry, and the service of the Apostolic Delegation in Bulgaria was closed.
