"Pastor Angelicus"

From whence does the title ascribed to Pope Pius XII, "Pastor Angelicus" ("Angelic Shepherd") originate? The name comes from the prophecies of St Malachy (1095 – 2 November 1148), the first native born Irish saint to be canonized, who had a vision of the next 112 popes (the list including a few antipopes, see here). Pope Pius XII is listed #106 in the prophecies, meaning that we are very close to the time of Peter the Roman (the 112th pope in the list, who will reign during the time of the Anti-Christ, when the city of Rome will be reduced to a heap of ashes, as per St Malachy's prophecy and the opinion of the Fathers of the Church and other eminent theologians (see Cardinal Manning's "The Present Crisis of the Holy See" pp 87-88). Here is the text for the final pope of the end times (the "end times" not to be confused with the "end of the world", at which point Christ the King will come to judge all of humanity):

"In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations, at the term of which the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End."

It appears from the above that the judgment from the "formidable Judge" follows directly after the "city of seven hills" has been destroyed, but this is not necessarily so, since, as in the prophecies of Holy Scripture, large amounts of time can and indeed do transpire between prophecies that would seem to take place in immediate succession, due to the prophecies in the text being placed one next to the other...

Anyway, I digress... - why was Pius XII ascribed by St Malachy as the "Angelic Shepherd"? Pius XII carried out heroic acts of charity throughout his pontificate, the most evident of these taking place during the calamitous years of WWII, such as his heroic efforts at saving the Jews of Rome (as a result of which the chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, converted to Catholicism, taking the name of EUGENIO Maria Zolli, see here). His heroic charity was not only directed at the suffering Jews of course, but to the concern of the suffering Catholic faithful, and to all the victims of the atrocious war. He was also (not less importantly) an angelic pastor of souls, illuminating the Church with sublime encyclicals such as "Mystici Corporis Christi", wherein the Mystical Body of Christ i.e. the Church of Christ, is equated to BE the Catholic Church. His heroic charity and virtues will be duly noted in this blog, so that the title of "Pastor Angelicus" will become more and more evident as I write on the life of Pius XII.

There is an interesting 1942 film titled "Pastor Angelicus" that details some of the private life of the Holy Father, even though English subtitles are unfortunately still unavailable, it is worth watching some of the scenes, such as at 40:00, when the pope humbly genuflects in front of a gathering of pilgrims to pray together the Angelus; the succeeding minutes are indeed stunning and moving to watch as the Holy Father blesses and spends some time with his beloved Catholic faithful. Who can fail to see an air of angelic purity, kindness and charity in the face of the Holy Father in these scenes and failed to be edified and have his mind lifted up to higher, eternal things?