Sister Pascaline Lehnert’s testimony,
Pope’s housekeeper since 1923 until his death.
After the war, both in Italy and abroad, hunger problem was felt for various time, to soothe it the Holy Father ordered the distribution of supplies and clothes, which he received by Catholics in other countries. At one point, he would have wanted to sell lot of jewelry and art objects kept in the safes of the private apartment and pieces of art that were in museums.
Desiring to buy basic necessities, he was brought his pectoral crosses, rings and other sacred objects, with the intention to make them evaluate and sell. He thought to alienate statues and tapestries as well as.
They were also appraised, but the sale could not be done because in Italy there wasn’t found any buyer willing to pay the right price and the deployment abroad of these objects was unpalatable for the Italian government. He was very sorry for not having been able to realize his ardent desire.
(Positio, pp. 86-87, 98)