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The global spread of COVID-19 and the situation in Italy forced the organizers to reschedule the conference to a later date (2021). Conference hosted by the École Française and the German Historical Institute in Rome -  17-19 June 2020InMarch 2020, the Vatican will open its archives for the pontificate of Pius XII.Long-awaited within the scholarly community, these new sources will allowhistorians to address a whole range of topics that extend beyond EugenioPacelli’s biography and relate to greater questions of global politics as wellas twentieth-century social and economic history. Pius XII steered the CatholicChurch not only through the mass violence of the Second World War and theHolocaust, but also through the period of post-war reconstruction, the ColdWar, and finally, into a new era of globalization. This pontificate, in otherwords, stands amidst the ‘Age of Extremes’, which forced Catholics to situatethemselves in relation to conflicting ideologies, totalitarianism, democracy, andmodernity. Although a period of accelerating secularization, the pontificatealso witnessed the re-emergence of the Catholic Church as an influential globalforce. Scholars now face a multitude ofquestions: What were the major institutional, social, and religious changes inthe global Catholic community under Pius XII’s papacy? What was the Vatican’sattitude towards democracy and human rights as well as totalitarian andauthoritarian regimes? How did Pius XII cope with Catholic ambiguities betweenresistance and collaboration in Nazi-ruled Europe and in the face of theHolocaust? And how important were the Vatican's efforts of humanitarian aid inthe same period? In what ways did Pius XII influence the formation of theWestern alliance and the beginning of the Cold War? How did the Holy See reactto the foundation of Israel or to movements of de-colonization in Africa, Asia,and South America? In addition, future scholarship will likely examine how PiusXII reacted as a theologian to challenges of secularization, mass culture,technological progress, and rapidly changing gender relations. These issues, ofcourse, gained a particular importance in the Second Vatican Council, held onlyfour years after Pacelli’s death. Given the timing of the archives’opening, this conference does not claim to provide definitive answers to openhistorical questions. Instead, it aims to discuss the current state of thehistoriography, to encourage further discussions, and to establish an agendafor future research. In particular, the conference will examine what we havealready learned from the previous opening of the archives of Pius XI in orderto lay a groundwork for assessing continuities and discontinuities between thepontificates of Eugenio Pacelli and his predecessor in their respectivegovernment of the Church. Thereby, the conference is notlimited to biographical research on Pius XII. It also seeks to gatherhistorians in Rome who work on Catholicism in the context of broader globalevents. Ultimately,we hope to form an international group of scholars who will stay in contactwhilst doing archival research in the Vatican over the next decade. Both paper and panel proposals are welcome and should be sent to Dr. Nina Valbousquet and Dr. Simon Unger-Alvi (nina.valbousquet@efrome.it &#38; Unger-Alvi@dhi-roma.it) by January 31, 2020. Paper proposals (for a 15-20-minute presentation) should not exceed 350 words and should be accompanied by a short CV. Panel proposals should include 3/4 papers and CVs. Accommodation will be provided and reimbursement for travel costs may also be available, particularly for younger scholars without institutional funding.