90 years ago on this night (1936): Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, Papal Secretary of State under Pope Pius XI, arrived at the airport in Wichita. Three years later, Cardinal Pacelli would be elected Pope Pius XII.
The future pope was welcomed into Wichita by Catholic Bishop J. Henry Tihen and others.
The future pontiff made a brief stop in Wichita as part of a refueling and transit stop for a technical stopover during his 1936 coast-to-coast airplane tour of the United States.
In October and November 1936, Pacelli toured the U.S.—earning the media nickname "The Flying Cardinal" for his extensive air travel.
At the time, Pacelli was the highest-ranking Catholic official ever to visit the United States. Although he did not visit the U.S. as Pope, he was the first Pope who visited the United States at any time in his life.
