PIUS X: (1835-1914) Pope of the Roman Catholic Church 1903-14. Canonized in 1954. L.S., Pius PP. X, two pages, folio, Saint Peter´s, Rome, 1st November 1911, to Maximilian, Baron von Vittinghoff-Schell, in Latin. The attractively penned manuscript letter is written on the occasion of Baron von Vittinghoff-Schell presiding over the Fifth Congress of Catholics of Lower Austria in the City of Wiener-Neustadt and states, in part, ´Know that the news you bring is among those things which are most pleasing to Us. For it is always with joyful expectation that we behold the Catholics of Austria coming together, since it is well known to Us with what great devotion and eagerness of mind they are accustomed to celebrate assemblies of this kind. And although your upcoming congress is not among the largest, being held only by the Catholics of Lower Austria, nevertheless the hope shines forth that it will not fall behind the others, which have been carried out by them, either in attendance or in the abundance of wholesome fruits. Indeed, this hope of Our thoughts is increased by the very importance of the most weighty matters which are proposed for the deliberations of those assembling; such as cultivating a daily more fitting organization of Catholic forces, the advancement of school affairs, women's associations……and other aids of this kind for defending and promoting Catholic social action. As for the evils you tearfully write about that have arisen among you thus far from the reading of wicked newspapers, and those even greater evils to be feared in the future…..We, Beloved Son, weep for and fear them with you. Having seized this highly favourable opportunity, We desire that this purpose also be set before the chosen speakers in your assembly: to pursue those same newspapers with all the force of eloquence you can muster, and to turn all the faithful away from them, as if from poisoned springs. If, by the help of divine grace, you accomplish this, you will rightly and deservedly consider the congress, which you are modernising and arranging, to be most rich in fruit from this single chapter alone´. With blank integral leaf. Accompanied by the original envelope bearing a large blind embossed paper seal to the verso. VG

Maximilian, Baron von Vittinghoff-Schell (1854–1926) was a central figure in early Austrian Catholic activism. He served as a high-ranking functionary and president of several major conservative societies, including the Austrian Leo-Gesellschaft (a scholarly Catholic society) and the Katholischer Volksbund (Catholic People's League).