Vatican Spies: From the Second World War to Pope Francis

The Vatican has no espionage service, but during the Second World War and Cold War, Rome was teeming with spies. Vatican Spies reveals eighty years of shadow wars and dirty tricks, including infiltrating Russian-speaking priests into the Soviet Union, secret negotiations between John XXIII and Khrushchev, and the Vatican's infiltration by Eastern Bloc intelligence.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 05 December 2024
Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd

The Vatican has no official espionage service, but does that mean that no one carries out intelligence operations on its behalf? During the Second World War and Cold War, Rome was teeming with spies. A band of undercover monsignors and priests hunted for Vatican 'moles, led clandestine diplomacy, investigated assassinations of priests and other scandals threatening the Church, and conducted high-risk missions behind the Iron Curtain. Drawing on freshly released archives of foreign services that worked with or against the Holy See, Vatican Spies reveals eighty years of shadow wars and dirty tricks. These include infiltrating Russian-speaking priests into the Soviet Union; secret negotiations between John XXIII and Khrushchev; the future Paul VI's close relationship with the CIA; the Vatican's infiltration by Eastern Bloc intelligence; the battles between the Jesuits and Opus Dei; and the secret bank funds channelled first to fight communism in South America, then to support Solidarity in Poland. This entertaining book journeys right to the present, uncovering startling machinations under Benedict XVI and, today, Pope Francis.

Weight: 902g
Dimension: 242 x 167 x 43 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781911723400