The Pope's Army: The Papacy in Diplomacy and War

by John Carr

For much of its 2,000-year history, the Roman Catholic Church was a formidable political and military power, in contrast to its pacifist origins and its present concentration on spiritual matters. The period of political and military activism can be dated to roughly between 410, when Pope Innocent I vainly tried to avert the sack of Rome by the Visigoths, and about 1870, when Pope Pius IX was abandoned by his protectors, the French Army, and forced to submit to the new Italian state by surrendering any political power the Vatican had left.

During those centuries, the popes employed every means at their disposal, including direct military action, to maintain their domains centred on Rome. Some pontiffs, such as Alexander VI, Julius II (15th century), plus the energetic Borgia popes later, built the Papal States into a power in their own right. In the following century and a half, Europe’s destructive religious wars almost always had a papal component, with the Lateran and later Vatican fielding their own armies. Climaxing the story are the little-known yet bitter late-nineteenth century battles between the papal volunteers from all over Europe and America, and the Italian nationalists who ultimately prevailed. John Carr narrates the story of Papal military clout with engaging verve.

306 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2019

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

John Carr has enjoyed a career as a journalist, correspondent and broadcaster (The Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, Vatican Radio), mainly in the Mediterranean and particularly Greece, where he now resides. He is the author of On Spartan Wings: The Royal Hellenic Air Force in World War II; Spartas Kings; The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940-41; RHNS Averof and Fighting Emperors of Byzantium, all published by Pen & Sword.

See also:
John Carr, English barrister and travel author
John Carr, schoolmaster
John Carr, reverend
John Carr, travel author
John Carr, pioneer
John Carr, Newton's principia
John Carr, theology professor
John Carr, veterinarian

Reviews

[Stephen Ede-Borrett]

I found this to be a wonderful read albeit, given it was covering nearly 2,000 years in 300 pages, to be fairly superficial on most subjects. My greatest disappointment was that this is not, in any way, a history of or story of "The Pope's Army". The sub title of "The Papacy in Diplomacy and War", while longwinded is a better description of the book's coverage - this is perhaps demonstrated by the fact that there are more pictures of Popes (who do look remarkably similar - overweight old men in near-identical church vestments) than there are of soldiers, and that while there is a list of Popes there isn't a list of units of the Papal Army. My other criticism would be that this is a book written without use of primary sources - simply a rehash of late 20th Century published works.

As I said, an interesting read, but not really the book of the primary title.

[Joe Connolly]

It’s a colossal time frame to address in 300 pages, though the limited number military engagements by popes makes it more reasonable. It seemed lost in scope, at points getting very detailed, while at other points covering decades or centuries in mere paragraphs or pages. This seemed to try and weave together a consistent narrative, but ended up making the narrative jarring.

The author’s not being Catholic added a certain point of view which was generally good, though at points showed fundamental misunderstanding of Catholicism.

Overall an interesting read.

[Dom Nuno]

a very interesting retelling of so much history,
The author focuses - a bit too much - on the great european powers (Spain, France, Holy Roman Empire), but gives a balanced review of the actions and strategy view of the Papal Armies all the way to the present.

[Truls Ljungström]

Spännande mer än välskriven, men Klart läsvärd.