(RNS) — The envelopes Howard Shulman carried into the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh contained dozens of printed black-and-white photos of all sizes.
There were images of St. Peter’s Square, of Swiss guards stationed outside the Sistine Chapel, of white smoke billowing out of the roof signaling a pope had been elected, and of the new pope sitting on his throne.
All dated 1939, the photos, plus a folder stuffed with negatives, document the coronation of Pope Pius XII, elected just six months before the outbreak of World War II. They were shot by Samuel (Sammy) Schulman, a professional photographer from New York City who worked for International News Photos, which later came under United Press International (UPI).
Vatican press credentials for photographer Samuel Schulman issued March 1, 1939. Photo courtesy of Howard Shulman and the Diocese of Raleigh
Schulman, who was Jewish, was the only U.S. photographer credentialed by the Vatican to cover the coronation of Pope Pius XII.
When he died in 1980, Schulman’s photos came into the possession of his son-in-law, Howard Shulman, who is also Jewish.
Shulman didn’t know it at the time, but his choice to donate the photographs came just as Pius XII was coming back into the spotlight....