WASHINGTON, D. C.
July 24, 1939.
 
 
 
Hon. Cordell Hull,
Secretary of State,
Washington, D.C.
 
 
My dear Mr. Secretary:
 At the Coronation Ceremonies of Pope Pius XII, there was present as   
a representative of President Roosevelt, our present Ambassador to England,   
the Honorable Joseph P. Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy's presence served to emphasize   
the very friendly relations that have always existed between our Government   
and the Papal See.
 
 
 
An examination of the records will reveal that diplomatic relations with   
the Holy See were first established on December 15, 1784, when the Papal   
Nuncio at Paris wrote to the American Commissioners that his Government had   
agreed to open the ports of Civita Vecchia on the Mediterranean, and Ancona   
on the Adriatic, to American vessels.
 
 
 
On June 26, 1797, John Baptist Sartori of Rome was commissioned as the   
first Consul to represent the United States in the Papal Dominions.
 
 
 
 
The diplomatic relations thus established between our country and the   
Papal States were maintained for nearly three