Tra spirito e materia. Assistenza, associazionismo e politiche del lavoro sotto il pontificato di Pio XII (1944-1958).

The article reconstructs the initial phases of the Pontificia commissione di assistenza (created in 1944 and transformed, in 1953, in Pontificia opera di assistenza) after the opening to consultation of the Pio XII archives. Starting from the welfare activities realized by the pontifical institution, the paper traces the intertwining with the Italian public welfare, analyzing institutional issues, political processes and financial strategies. In the end, the essay analyzes the activity aimed at workers, forming a network of capillary unconventional unionization realized, for instance, through the Pie unioni: trade organizations created, especially in Southern Italy, within the ambitious Vatican welfare project.