Priests giving the Hitler salute
Catholic Bishops giving the Nazi salute in honor of Hitler
The Fuhrer Adolf Hitler greets a Catholic Cardinal
Hitler greets Müller the "Bishop of the Reich" and Abbot Schachleitner
- Hitler wth Archbishop Cesare Orsenigo, the papal nuncio in Berlin, 1935
On April 20, 1939, Archbishop Orsenigo celebrated Hitler's birthday. The celebrations, initiated by Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) became a tradition. Each April 20, Cardinal Bertram of Berlin was to send "warmest congratulations to the Fuhrer in the name of the bishops and the dioceses in Germany" and added with "fervent prayers which the Catholics of Germany are sending to heaven on their altars."
(Source: Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII, by John Cornwell)
