The socialists Benito Mussolini and Roberto Farinacci conspired against the election of Pope Pius XII

Benito Mussolini, through Roberto Farinacci, Galeazzo Ciano, and Guido Manacorda, attempted to prevent Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli from being elected Pope in the 1939 conclave. Farinacci was the mayor of Cremona and a minister of state in the fascist government, Ciano was the foreign minister and Mussolini’s son-in-law, and Manacorda was a Germanist admired by Adolf Hitler and Mussolini’s liaison in efforts to restore relations with Hitler in 1934. Farinacci, Ciano, and Manacorda worked under Mussolini’s orders to block Cardinal Pacelli’s election as Pope in 1939.
Mussolini sought to prevent Eugenio Pacelli from becoming Pope because he considered him inclined toward a democratic mindset, which he saw as a threat to his dictatorship and his relations with Germany. The Mussolini government wanted to avoid the election of a Pope deemed too political, as it preferred an apolitical Pope. Father Peter Gumpel, the postulator for Pope Pius XII’s beatification cause, stated:
"An Italian Pope like Pacelli would inevitably create problems for Mussolini in his relationship with Hitler. His election had to be avoided."
The first attempt to influence the papal election occurred on February 11, 1939, in Farinacci’s newspaper Il Regime Fascista, which published a lengthy article listing the supposed papabili (papal candidates). The newspaper named Pacelli, Della Costa, Marmaggi, and Massimi as the frontrunners. The article expressed concern over Pacelli’s potential election, arguing that he was too involved in the decisions of his predecessor to distance himself from them. To the Holy See, this was a clear maneuver to influence the election of the next Pope.
On February 12, Mussolini gave Ciano free rein to continue the disruption. The newspaper Telegrafo di Livorno wrote that Pacelli would receive flattering votes in the early ballots but would fail to secure the required two-thirds majority. These votes, it claimed, would be more a recognition of his merits than a real path to victory and would gradually decline. The newspaper then made its predictions: according to documents provided by Ciano, the true papabili were Cardinals Dalla Costa and Massimi. In short, the political candidate, deemed too opposed to the regime, would be overtaken by a more conciliatory, apolitical, and spiritual one.
On February 13, the fascist regime’s political police intercepted a phone conversation between Temps correspondent Paul Gentizon and his editor in Paris:
"The fascist government wants a Pastor Angelicus on St. Peter’s throne, someone who, with hands clasped, looks more to heaven than to earth, is concerned with souls, and is strict in discipline."
In this sense, Cardinal Massimi’s profile was perfect for the fascist regime. A police bulletin described him as “a jurist of true humility and holiness” and “one of the best priests in the Roman clergy.” His candidacy "would be well received, as it would purge the Vatican of all the Ambrosian scum, putting an end to all the corruption that has been repeating itself for years in that environment."
Manacorda sought to influence the Roman Curia through confidential conversations and meetings to prevent Pacelli from being elected Pope. He rushed to Rome during the conclave under the pretext of collaborating with the newspaper Corriere della Sera. He entered as a scholar eager to write articles, not as a regime spy. With some cardinals, he was cautious; with others, he was explicit. He told Cardinal Baudrillart to follow a policy of “modération”, meaning to elect Cardinal Massimi, whose name circulated within Curial circles as “soutenue par Mussolini” (supported by Mussolini).
To secure support for Massimi’s candidacy, Manacorda approached those disillusioned with the previous pontificate—opponents who, as history shows, are never absent on the other side of the Tiber. He visited Spanish Primate Cardinal Gomá y Tomás, who, as the Vatican’s unofficial representative to the Burgos government, often found himself in an awkward position with General Francisco Franco. Pacelli had not helped him as he had hoped, so Manacorda tried to exploit his resentment. He did the same with others.
His persuasion efforts failed, and, thanks to God, Pacelli was elected Pope in the 1939 conclave, adopting the name Pius XII in honor of Pius XI.
REFERENCE:
https://www.ihu.unisinos.br/78....-noticias/596070-qua