Notes about the Uses of the relationes ad limina Produced During the Pontificate of Pius XII

The value of ad limina relationes as source documents has been widely enhanced by historiographical research. These sources are capable of returning valuable information about the life of the diocese as well as the biography of the bishops who compiled it. The relationes compiled between 1945 and 1958 have the ability to offer valuable information on an ecclesial situation marked by the theme of reconstruction: not only material, but also in the sense of a redefinition of the core values of the society. In this way, through the relationes, it is possible to ascertain how the great slogans and the great ideas of the pontificate of Pius XII have actually been received locally.