The King of Yesterday, Today, Forever

Today is the feast of Christ the King, the end of the liturgical year. As it falls the last Sunday before Advent every year, it feels like a deep-rooted tradition. But in terms of Church traditions, it’s actually not that old. It was established in 1925 and only moved to the last Sunday before Advent in 1970. Still, it is a wonderful feast to remind us to prioritize God over worldly powers and influences.

Pope Pius XI established the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe 100 years ago in response to growing secularism and ultra-nationalism. Pope Pius XI wanted to highlight that while worldly powers come and go, Christ is the everlasting ruler, and His teachings do not change. This was also meant to encourage people to live their faith openly and resist compartmentalizing it under the influence of secular culture.

In his encyclical Quas primas (“In the first”) establishing the solemnity, Pope Pius XI said,

“He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ.

He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God.

He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone.

He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘as instruments of justice unto God.’” 

Similar to this year, 1925 was a Jubilee Year. Pope Pius XI emphasized missionary activity, giving him the title “Pope of the Missions.” The world was changing – rapidly – and the pope knew that the Church had to address it.

World War I upended a lot of assumptions people held about their world. Kings were overthrown and empires ended. The Russian Revolution not only ended an empire, it established the first communist state. The new Weimar Republic in Germany and the Third Republic in France both upheld secular constitutions. The League of Nations formed as the first international assembly for nations to establish collective security and global diplomacy. Independence and nationalist movements spread across the globe; colonies demanded self-determination, and nations sought strong, unifying identities. There was a rebuke of monarchy, authority, and class structure.

The political changes also brought social changes. Women’s suffrage gained more momentum after women entered the workforce during the war. Unemployment rose with automation, injured veterans, and economic slumps, spurring labor strikes and a rise in socialist movements. There were demands for social reform and strengthening middle and working classes.

In turn, there were counter-movements. There was also a rise in nationalism and nativism. The new KKK gained traction in the U.S., with lynchings and race riots on the rise. Nationalists called for a “return” to moral, pastoral identity and championed honor in protecting the selectively-defined homeland and people.

Finally, the disillusionment from the war led a lot of people to reject the social mores they knew before. Jazz and subjective art increased. Modernist literature broke boundaries in style and context. Women’s fashion and activities changed radically. There was distrust of old leaders, including religious leaders. Traditional moral codes were questioned, with many rejecting them completely. Many expressed a sense of spiritual emptiness and alienation. Atheism and other secular ideologies grew in popularity as people sought new ways of dealing with the uncertainty of the time.

The papal states had been subsumed into Italy. The Vatican had not been established as its own country. In Italy, there was massive unrest. In 1922, Mussolini came to power and began dismantling the liberal constitutional monarchy. This was the situation of the world in 1925 when Pope Pius XI wrote Quas primas: a world of rapid change, rejection of tradition, and violence.

By affirming the authority of Christ the King, he not only pushed back against rising atheism and anti-authority attitudes, he offered reassurance that there is a power stronger than worldly affairs. Through empires and war and revolutions and depressions and famine and uncertainty and disillusionment, Christ is King. Christ is King over all societies, all peoples, the entire universe. He provides truth, peace, and justice. Worldly ideologies should recognize this kingship, which offers unity and morality; otherwise, they are prey for extremists, from atheist communism to authoritarian nationalism to hedonistic secularism.

Even as things feel like they’re whirling out of control, and the changing landscape feels chaotic, there is hope. There is a benevolent king in control. It is a message needed just as much now as 100 years ago. It’s easy to see despair and uncertainty, but there is also a Savior. There always has been, and there always will be. There really is nothing new under the sun, or in the Church.