The early 1900s in Italy brought a number of changes that kept the society unbalanced. In the year 1900 Victor Emmanuel III came into power after his father was assassinated, Mussolini came into power with his Fascist movement, and a new Pope was elected, both in the 1920s. Emmanuel III was a weak man who never felt secure with his position because of his outward appearance (The Pope and Mussolini, pg. xxiii). Mussolini came to power in 1922 and Achille Ratti, later know as Pope Pius the XI, and was also elected in 1922. This time period was at war as well, the First World War was beginning to rage in 1914, with both men being influenced by their positions within the war. Mussolini was the son of working class parents and from an area in Northern Italy, Dovia di Predappio, known for creating rebellious youth …show more content…
Mussolini wanted to use the Catholic Church to legitimize his Fascist movement. Consequently, Mussolini tried to appear in a favorable light to the Catholics, which was difficult because Mussolini was not a Catholic and hated them. This included baptizing his wife and children, marrying his wife by a priest, and figuratively stopping the roving fascist bands that assaulted priests. The Pope saw these actions, ordered for some of them to be implemented multiple times, and believed that Mussolini could change the way the Popes were treated. Pius XI sought to end the seclusion on the Church in the Vatican and retake some of the surrounding lands. Ratti wanted power restored to the Pope, but Mussolini only wanted the support of the Church to legitimize his actions, not to return power to an institution that he detested. After Mussolini’s winning election in 1922, he started to perform these acts and the Pope took notice. Pius XI believed that Mussolini was the one man capable of righting the wrongs within the