old age, he undertook long daily walks and morning exercises. Discipline, allowed him to find time for his favourite musical instrument, the violin, which he played often and “so well, that he might have participated in an orchestra”. He preferred to play classical and romantic German composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. He had a passion for acting and public speaking. "This was his way of overcoming shyness and an early speech defect, with determination and energy". He was also interested in stamp collecting and Archaeology. The latter would manifest itself years later in Divino afflante Spiritu, in which he encouraged going back to the language, culture and society of ancient Israel, in order to better understand the Old Testament. To gain time for his many interests, Eugenio from early on forced himself to methodical work and prayer habits. He confirmed later, that he liked to pray and study as a child, and that he never really understood, why other people would talk or do nothing, rather than pray and study. Theology Theology and the Catholic Church were not popular in late 19th century Italy. Following the hostile take-over of papal Rome by Italian forces in 1870, religion was banned from public schools. Positivist philosophies were politically popular. The Catholic Church was seen as a reactionary enemy of the Italian people. In 1894, at the age of 18, he entered the Capranica Seminary and enrolled at the Gregorian University. At the end of his first academic year, he dropped out of both the Capranica and the Gregorian University. According to his sister, the food at the Capranica was to blame; his "fastidious" stomach would plague him for the rest of his life, suggesting a nervous, high-strung constitution. He lived at home (an unprecedented dispensation) while continuing his studies at the Sapienza School of Philosophy, and the Papal Athenaeum of St. Apollinaris Institute for Theology in the autumn of 1895. He received Baccalaureate and Licentiate degrees summa cum laude. His frail health prevented his participation at the graduation ceremony. Records show that he graduated with highest honors and is reported to have had a photographic memory. Ordination Eugenio Pacelli was ordained on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1899 and celebrated his first mass the following day in Borghese Chapel of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome at the altar of "Salus Populi Romano", where in 1949, fifty years