Educated and accustomed to venerating and loving the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, your men will easily become men of prayer and they will make their homes and families sanctuaries of prayer. This is absolutely necessary… Men who dedicate themselves seriously to a deeper penetration of the meaning and importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass cannot fail to revive in themselves a spirit of self-control, of mortification, of subordination of earthly things to those of heaven, and of absolute obedience to the will and law of God. (23 March 1949)

Pius XII (1876-1958)
Eugenio Pacelli, pope from 1939 to 1958

“History teaches that it was the faith of women that saved Catholic France during the turmoil of the French Revolution. Even today, the woman – with her religious sense, and with her persevering and patient strength of resistance – can see an important mission reserved for her alone to accomplish. And it is you, more than any others, who are called, thanks to the condition of your families and your education, to walk in the vanguard of the profession and practice of your faith, to sustain the courage of others by your words and example, to show a strong and efficient interest in political and social life, and to make your homes the living cells of a society renewed in Christ.”

Pius XII (1876-1958)
Eugenio Pacelli, pope from 1939 to 1958