ng Christian Democrats. The cooperative spirit between the future American Ambassador to Italy (Luce was in that post from 1953-1961) and de Gaspari could not have pleased the Vatican Secretariat of State more, insofar as their mission was all the same: defeat communists. In league with Luce and a fervent supporter of American interests at the Vatican was Bishop Martin O’Connor, rector of the Pontifical North American College. Pollard makes no mention of this whatsoever (Luce’s papers, which are completely by-passed, are readily available at the Library of Congress; O’Connor’s are at the Catholic University of America). Professor Pollard’s work has some blind spots, not least of which is the fact that Luce is one of only a few women mentioned in the entire book—the others being the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mother Pascalina Lehnhart, Eugenio Pacelli’s housekeeper during his time as nuncio to Germany, Secretary of State, and as Pope Pius XII.
Despite its unevenness, this thick tome—with its ample bibliography—should spark more particular research into papal diplomacy.
This review was originally published in the Fall 2015 issue of the American Catholic Studies Newsletter.