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Papal States

The Long View: The Future of the Papacy

The Long View: The Future of the Papacy

I see that Richard McBrien has an updated version of The Lives of the Popes. [Amazon link] John's essay isn't really a review of McBrien's book, it is more along the lines of an attempt to set the record straight. This essay would be

How Many Divisions does the Pope have?

A fun piece of history, and an interesting artifact, is the M1868 Pontifico, the only modern rifle ever manufactured specifically for the Vatican. An extremely rare military rifle, the M1868 was manufactured for the Zuavi Pontifici, the international brigade that defended the Papal States. There were a mere 5,000