ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS PIUS XII
TO MEMBERS OF THE HOLY NAME SOCIETY
OF THE ALLIED FORCES*

Consistory Hall
Sunday, 17 September 1944

This is an audience that gives Us a very particular joy and consolation. You, beloved sons, have come here as members of the Holy Name Society of the Allied Forces. You are soldiers in the service of your countries; yet you have not wished to forget that you are also and always soldiers of the Church Militant, a select bodyguard of volunteers banded together to protect and defend the honour of the supreme Commander, your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him " God has given a name which is above all names, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those that are in heaven, on earth and under the earth; "and the Apostle of the Gentiles adds that all" must confess to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is the Lord " (Phil. 2, 9-11). There is the leader proposed by your Society to your sense of devotion and loyalty. As He is God, He claims man's reverence and adoration. As He is God, His precepts are divine and they claim man's unremitting, faithful observance.

Oh, war is a terrible thing! It sweeps over a country leveling priceless age-old monuments and wringing human hearts with sorrow and anguish. But who can tell the ruin wrought by war's too frequent companion, sin, in the souls of men, — in souls purchased by Jesus Christ with the price of His own agony and crucifixion, in souls that were created to be temples of the Holy Spirit and are desecrated by His riotous enemy! You, members of the Holy Name Society, are resolved that the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is your soul, shall remain intact, unmarred amidst the fire and smoke of battle; and by your example and prudent word you wish to enlist your companions in the never-ending war against the archenemy of Christ and human nature. Victory will be achieved only at the price of high courage and unselfish sacrifice. We know that you are ready to pay the price. Forward then in your noble crusade as champions of purity and honesty in living, of charity to God's poor and suffering members, of a faith that is deep, secure, alive and practical. And as a token of God's needed graces and His blessing on your efforts We are most happy to impart to the Superior General of your Association here present, to you, to your loved ones at home, to your zealous Director, to all the Directors, members and friends of the Holy Name Society in your countries, with all the affection of Our paternal heart, the Apostolic Benediction.

*Discorsi e Radiomessaggi di Sua Santità Pio XII, VI,
  Quinto anno di Pontificato, 2 marzo 1944 - 1° marzo 1945, pp. 139-140
  Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana