Using inside sources and extensive field reporting about the secretive, high-stakes world of international diplomacy, Vatican reporter Victor Gaetan takes readers to the Holy See to explicate Pope Franciss diplomacy, show why it works, and to offer readers a startling contrast to the dangerous inadequacies of recent U.S. international decisions.

Victor Gaetan is senior international correspondent for the National Catholic Register and a contributor to Foreign Affairs magazine, the Washington Examiner, America, and The American Spectator. He resides in Washington, DC.

Part One

Introduction: What Does Washington Fear About Pope Francis and Vatican Diplomacy?

Chapter 1: An Adaptable Network, Willing to Bleed

Chapter 2:Mission Beyond Religion

Chapter 3:Education of a Diplomat

Chapter 4: Sovereignty is the Ticket to the International System

Chapter 5:Diplomatic Classics, Rules of Thumb, and Modus Operandi

Part Two

Introduction: The Mustard Seed: Jorge Bergoglio as Manager, Missionary, and Mystic

Chapter 6: Stifling War in Ukraine; Prioritizing Peace with Russia

2013 protests in Ukraine lead to a war that threatens over two decades of

relationship building between Rome and Moscow

Chapter 7:Mediating Cold War Quarrels: Cuba

2014 marks normalization of relations between the US and Cuba, a landmark agreement brokered by Rome

Chapter 8:Diminishing Division: Kenya

2015 finds Pope Francis in Kenya where he shares a simple gesture

Chapter 9:Letting War’s Victims Lead: Colombia

2016 clinches a peace deal signed by government and guerillas after over 50 years

of fighting; the Catholic Church helps define the agreement’s core concern

Chapter 10: Piecing Together the Middle East: Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia2017 brings political crisis in Lebanon that cardinal-patriarch works to untie

Chapter 11:Unifying the Religion of the Lord of Heaven: China

2018 achieves agreement between Vatican and Beijing on bishop selection

Chapter 12: Piercing Hearts: South Sudan

2019 witnesses a pope on his knees kissing the feet of warlords

[God’s Diplomats is] a mix of impartial description and informed opinion. Not everyone will agree with how different issues are framed, or how different figures are portrayed. But what certainly cannot be argued with is the fact that Gaetan has given a gift not only to foreign policy practitioners, but also to American Catholics. You will not find a book on Church diplomacy as accessible, comprehensive, and faithful, as God’s Diplomats. It is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the Vatican’s diplomatic priorities better — and especially why they don’t always align with America’s.
— National Catholic Register

Gaetan’s book tells the story that Pope Francis and Holy See diplomats themselves do not in a combination of accessible, novel-like prose and meticulous research (including 117 pages of endnotes). The award-winning journalist has reported on Vatican diplomacy for over 20 years, and in God’s Diplomats he tells all.
— Los Angeles Review of Books

Victor Gaetan expertly introduces readers to the history of this approach, and to how Pope Francis has employed it, in his book God’s Diplomats. An experienced international correspondent, Gaetan bases his book on extensive interviews and research, including documents from the Vatican archives and from WikiLeaks.
— America Magazine

Informative, insightful and entertaining, he has produced a page-turner that will shed much light and offer fresh perspective on parts of Pope Francis ministry that have received too little attention. . . .If you read one book on Pope Francis and the Vatican this year, read this one!
— Robert C. Mickens, Editor in Chief, La Croix International

God’s Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy, and America’s Armageddon is a welcome addition to the literature on the Holy See and it should not be missed, not only by scholars and a more general audience interested in the Holy See, but also by anyone interested in diplomacy and diplomatic negotiation in contemporary international relations.
— Where Peter Is

In Gods Diplomats, the chapters on the history of Vatican diplomacy in individual countries are a must-read for anyone trying to understand why the Vatican works the way it does.
— Barb Fraze, International Editor, Catholic News Service

Gaetans book fills a space never covered: by John Allen [renowned American Vaticanista], former Ambassadors, or Italian authors on the Holy See and diplomacy. Gaetan explains how and why the Vatican diplomatic corps works well and should be a model to US diplomacy.
— James F. Creagan, US Ambassador/Professor of International Diplomacy, St. Mary University

This book is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the influence the papacy wields on global politics in the 21st century.
— Christopher Lamb, Rome Correspondent, The Tablet

I expect God’s Diplomats will become a standard reference for scholars of the role of religion in international affairs, and benefit anyone who wishes to understand the impact of Vatican diplomacy, and its surprising ability to alter the views of world leaders as diverse as Vladimir Putin, George W. Bush, and Bashar al-Assad.
— Nicolai N. Petro, Professor of Political Science, University of Rhode Island

Illuminating, entertaining, and inspiring, God’s Diplomats is a major contribution to contemporary literature on Catholicism, international relations and the Francis pontificate.
— Austen Ivereigh, author of The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope

God’s Diplomats will appeal to many audiences. It is a must read for secular diplomats and Church leaders at every level engaged with the Church’s diplomatic efforts. It should also be required reading for trained diplomats. In-the-pew Catholics and other people of goodwill will find it affirming of the positive role that religion can play in the public square.
— Stephen M. Colecchi, Former Director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop

Im so impressed by the meticulousness of the research, the breathtaking pace at which Victor Gaetan guides the reader in Gods Diplomats through one of the most complex labyrinths on earth (which constantly made me feel I was reading a great spy novel), and the deep faith reflected in his careful historical analysis.
— Carlos Eire, author of Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy and winner of the 2003 National Book Award

Victor Gaetans Gods Diplomats will make a valuable contribution to writings about Holy See diplomacy.
— Ambassador Francis Rooney, Former US Ambassador to the Holy See (2005-08) and former Congressman from Florida (2017-2021); Author of Global Diplomat: An Inside Look at the Catholic Church, World Politics, and the Extraordinary Relationship between the United States and the Holy See

History proved the Vatican to be correct when it warned the United States that going to war against Iraq would unleash mayhem. But how could the Church predict such an outcome? In this tour de force work of history, Victor Gaetan demonstrates how invaluable is the Vaticans worldwide diplomatic network, a veritable intelligence gathering machine. Iraq is just one example in Gaetans book, in which he shows how the Churchs well-established diplomacy infrastructure can serve as a force for world peace.
— John Burger, News Editor, Aleteia

Its a fascinating read, well written, widely sourced, with over a hundred pages of endnotes. It is also a sympathetic view of the Churchs involvement in world diplomacy, with particular emphasis on recent hotspots. I recommend it most highly.
— Dwight G. Duncan, Professor at UMass School of Law Dartmouth