The pope during World War II was Pope Pius XII. He served as the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from March 2, 1939, until his death on October 9, 1958, thus covering the entire period of the Second World War (1939-1945)

. Pope Pius XII's papacy was marked by the challenges of the war and the Holocaust. While the Vatican maintained official neutrality, Pius XII has been a subject of controversy regarding his response to Nazi atrocities. He employed diplomacy to aid victims, directed the Church to provide discreet help to Jews and others, and maintained links with the German resistance, but his public condemnations of genocide were considered by some as insufficient

. In summary, Pope Pius XII was the pope throughout World War II, leading the Catholic Church during a complex and difficult era