Customer Reviews

The Incredible Book of Vatican Facts and Papal Curiosities: A Treasury of Trivia

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I had a wonderful time reading about Vatican City. It is not a religious book, but a trivia book about the State of Vatican City. Want to know what mistakes Michaelangelo made in the design of St. Peter's? If a pope has ever lost his temper in public? How was the pope going to outwit Hitler? Which government has jurisdiction over the pope? This book is easy reading and very informative. I loved it!!

"The Incredible Book Of Vatican Facts and Papal Curiosities" is a delightful collection of Trivia for any Catholic fan. Most of the book is divided into four topical categories. Each question is followed by a short answer, usually consisting of one or two paragraphs. The final section deals with topics which demand a longer explanation than those given in the earlier portions of the book. Whether your goal is to up the scores of your trivia team, prepare for your trip to the Vatican or just enjoy learning about the Church, this short book is a quick and entertaining read.

To enjoy this book rather that use it as a kind of "Ripley's Believe It or Not" reference book for Catholics, read the foreword written by the widow of this recently deceased author. She humanizes this lovely little book in a very touching way. LoBello's personal life motto was "Work hard, Pray hard, Play hard." This book is his play. The author was himself a respected journalist and this is his collection of tidbits that just did not have a proper place in print for him before. And, they are funny and fascinating. Having dallied with cigarette smoking myself once, I just loved knowing that Pope John XXIII succumbed on a regular basis. Who knew there have been Pope abdications and even a layman and a woman Pope??? Read the Book! The last part has longer sections on a few topics that need time. Here is where LoBello's talent as a writer is truly evident. He takes a few provocative topics like Exorcism, Canonization, and the Vatican as Film Maker, and makes for great reading on them. The chapter on Pope Pius XII and his assistant, Sister Pasqualina, is riveting. Between her and Pope Joan, LoBello makes the men on the throne a shade paler. I read this book in one well-spent hour, and it is still a keeper. I will reach for it over and over and over.

This book is not limited to those of the Catholic faith for all-in-all it is really not about Catholicism but rather about the past & present of the Vatican & those people associated with it. Lo Bello's use of an interview-style format makes the book so much more enjoyable. The content in the book is not the common questions most tourists ask about the Vatican but more unique, sometimes scandalous, things most people probably did not even know about. There is no bibliography so you wonder where Lo Bello got his information but nevertheless this book is full of history & facts that does not lose its flavor.

If I were a pregnant Roman, there is one challenge in this treasury of trivia that I would not be able to resist. According to the author, Nino Lo Bello, no baby has ever been born in the Vatican. (The timing would have to be just right, but here's some mother-to-be's chance to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.)

Actually, I was rather surprised that no infants at all had been born in the Vatican since some of the popes were not exactly celibate. This author mentions a few who had mistresses and children. He does not skip over the immoral bits, but this book is sweetly gossipy rather than malicious. I can't understand why Vatican officials would have a problem with it. I mean, it could easily make the reading list in a convent. The anecdote that I found most startling concerned the late Pope John Paul II: one of the first things he did upon ascending to the Throne of St. Peter was watch back-to-back showings of "The Exorcist."

Here is a sample of the type of questions you will find answered in this book:

* What size shoe did Jesus wear?

* Over what did the Vatican go to 'war' with another ministate [San Marino in 1978]?

* Which European queen is buried in the Vatican?

* Why didn't Sam Snead get his putter blessed by the Pope?

* Which U.S. comedian was arrested at the Vatican?

Do not neglect to read this book's appendixes, as these are where you will find some of the best anecdotes. The author relaxes out of the question-and-answer format of the previous 162 pages and tells some very interesting stories. One of my favorites is "John Paul II Gives Galileo a Second Chance." There is also a fascinating appendix on "The Making of a Saint," although this author contradicts John Cornwell (author of "Hitler's Pope") in some of the particulars, most especially concerning the continuing existence of a "Devil's Advocate."

Oh, and one of the facts that I thought I knew about the Vatican was firmly contradicted by this author: Michelangelo did NOT design the uniform for the Swiss Guards, as is stated in all the guide books. A Vatican seamstress whipped up the colorful costume in 1914 at the request of the Pope.

If I were a pregnant Roman, there is one challenge in this treasury of trivia that I would not be able to resist. According to the author, Nino Lo Bello, no baby has ever been born in the Vatican. (The timing would have to be just right, but here's some mother-to-be's chance to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.)

Actually, I was rather surprised that no infants at all had been born in the Vatican since some of the popes were not exactly celibate. This author mentions a few who had mistresses and children. He does not skip over the immoral bits, but this book is sweetly gossipy rather than malicious. The anecdote that I found most startling concerned the late Pope John Paul II: one of the first things he did upon ascending to the Throne of St. Peter was watch back-to-back showings of "The Exorcist."

Here is a sample of the type of questions you will find answered in this book:

* What size shoe did Jesus wear?

* Over what did the Vatican go to 'war' with another ministate [San Marino in 1978]?

* Which European queen is buried in the Vatican?

* Why didn't Sam Snead get his putter blessed by the Pope?

* Which U.S. comedian was arrested at the Vatican?

Do not neglect to read this book's appendixes, as these are where you will find some of the best anecdotes. The author relaxes out of the question-and-answer format of the previous 162 pages and tells some very interesting stories. One of my favorites is "John Paul II Gives Galileo a Second Chance." There is also a fascinating appendix on "The Making of a Saint," although this author contradicts John Cornwell (author of "Hitler's Pope") in some of the particulars, most especially concerning the continuing existence of a "Devil's Advocate."

Oh, and one of the facts that I thought I knew about the Vatican was firmly contradicted by this author: Michelangelo did NOT design the uniform for the Swiss Guards, as is stated in all the guide books. A Vatican seamstress whipped up the colorful costume in 1914 at the request of the Pope.

"Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, dean of the College of Cardinals, issued a public apology for having written the forward to [the Italian edition of Nino Lo Bello's] book on Vatican anecdotes, which he said lacked respect for the Vatican 'and especially for the person of the supreme pontiff.' " {NCR, 10/6/00, p. 10}

One wonders why this 1998 trivia collection has caused such a fervor, but an examination of its contents, indicates that the curia-crats are lacking in a sense of humor and chutzpah. Perhaps the extended appendix about "La Poppessa," Sister Pasqualina Lehnert, " the German born housekeeper, confidante, adviser, and closest aide [for 41 years] to . . .Pius XII," and chief source for Pius XII's cause for sainthood is one such impropriety.

Perhaps the short paragraph about Pius IX use of the death penalty as ruler of the Papal states creates a problem. Perhaps the one page devoted to Opus Dei, the source of Dominus Iesus, caused some embarrassment. Unfortunately, the late author's description of the steps to sainthood is hopelessly out of date in the face of John Paul II's assembly line. However, he does list those 40 non-existent saints whom Paul VI removed from veneration in 1969, such as Christopher, Valentine, Anastasia and Barbara. Lo Bello notes that "other saints are optional on the basis of local loyalties. For instance, Saint [Patricus] is fine in Ireland [and the United States], but according to a Vatican official, 'holds little interest for the Cambodians.' "

Yes indeed, this is a humanizing book which tweaks those who would sanctify pontiffs and popes. I have placed it on my shelf next to "Rome Has Spoken" and "Papal Lies," right above "The Bad Popes" and "Sex Lives of the Popes," and below Cardinal Ratzlinger's exegesis on the Catechism. I suspect the publisher may run out of copies shortly.

"The book, which could be read as portraying 'surprising and ridiculous' foibles of modern popes, 'truly is not good, nor true nor opportune,' [Cardinal] Gantin wrote in a letter published by the Italian magazine 30 Giomi."

"I ask the pardon of all those who may have been surprised, scandalized or not edified by my naive involvement in this affair," the Dean of the College of Cardinals wrote.

Definitely, a must buy and must read. AMDG

There are a few errors and a few contradictions, but overall this is a fun book. Not what I would call scholarly reseach. In fact, I would have only given it three stars but it was so difficult to put it down, it earned the fourth.

It's an enjoyable little read, and I think it was a pious undertaking by a nice Catholic man, but the book is littered with errors.

For example, the author wrote in one part that there are 700 million Catholics. However, by the time this book was written, the population of our Church had already reached one billion. This is a simple fact that any scholar knows. So if the author could get that simple detail wrong, what other mistakes might be in there? That's just one of the errors I found, and it's so extremely basic to the point that it's very discouraging to the book as a whole that this fact could have been gotten wrong.

As always, if you do a paper, use multiple sources. If you choose to write a paper on the Vatican and you want to use this book as a source, just be aware that you should use other sources to back it up.

But, for fun reading, this is a good book filled with delightful anectodes. It's not a bad buy.

I consider myself to be a trivia nut and have many trivia books. This book definitely falls into the trivia category. I really enjoyed this easy to read book and found many interesting facts I did not know about. It is easy to read and occupies a place by my "reading seat." Though not the most definitive book on all things Vatican, it will open your eyes on some of the more obscure things about the Vatican and the Popes. I would recommend this to anyone interested in some of the more esoteric aspects of the Vatican.