Writing the History of the Papacy in the 21st Century

Joëlle Rollo-Koster , Robert A. Ventresca , Melodie H. Eichbauer, and Miles Pattenden, eds.: The Cambridge History of the Papacy, 3 Vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Edited by Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Robert Ventresca, Melodie Eichbauer, and Miles Pattenden and published in three volumes in 2025, The Cambridge History of the Papacy offers a new sweeping and critical overview of the papacy as a multifaceted institution whose evolution over two millennia defies simplistic narratives of continuity or survival. Rather than presenting the papacy as a monolithic or static entity, the editors argue for a nuanced understanding of its historical trajectory as one marked by continual reinvention, adaptation, and contestation. This work situates the papacy not merely within ecclesiastical history but as a central actor in world history, whose influence has extended across domains as diverse as theology, politics, diplomacy, arts, and social ethics. Each volume approaches the subject with a distinct thematic focus: Volume 1, The Two Swords, examines the interplay between spiritual and temporal authority; Volume 2, The Governance of the Church, delves into the internal mechanisms of papal administration; and Volume 3, Civil Society, explores the papacy's cultural and societal impacts. Together, these volumes offer a robust and nuanced account of one of history's most fascinating and disputed institutions.

The editors begin by problematising the commonplace characterisation of the papacy as the world's oldest surviving institution. While acknowledging the claim of apostolic succession from Peter to the present pope, they rightly caution against conflating this theological assertion with historical continuity. Instead, the papacy should be understood as a series of institutional forms and ideological constructs that have been repeatedly made, unmade, and remade in response to shifting historical contexts. This interpretative framework foregrounds discontinuity and transformation as central to the papacy's longevity and resilience. Four overarching questions cut across the individual volumes: the pope's centrality within the Catholic Church; the primacy of papal power as a governing instrument; the papacy's cultural influence; and the implications of secularisation for its authority among believers and non-believers. Several articles across the c.2400 pages of text address these themes, albeit not all of them engage with them directly. There is nevertheless quite a lot of coherence among the 83 essays: a testament to the mammoth task undertaken by the editors.

The volumes aim to offer (I) an innovative contribution and a revision of the history of the historiography of the papacy, as well as (II) a reframing of its conceptualisation. Let us proceed in order. (I) From the early pages of the general introduction, the reader finds a critical survey of papal historiography, tracing its origins from early ecclesiastical texts such as the Liber pontificalis to Renaissance humanist scholarship. The editors highlight the eclectic and often polemical nature of sources, including hagiographies, anti-papal propaganda (e.g., the Lutheran Passional Christi und Antichristi), and Enlightenment critiques. They note the historiographical polarisation surrounding figures like Pius XII, whose wartime pontificate has generated competing narratives of sanctity and complicity. The so-called “Pius War” exemplifies the challenges of disentangling historical analysis from public memory. Attention is, of course, given to the “invention” of papal history – particular mention is given to Onofrio Panvinio, subject of a recent monograph by Stefan Bauer.1 But the professionalisation of papal historiography indeed only truly began in the late nineteenth century with the opening of the Vatican archives and the rise of academic scholarship. Institutions such as the École française de Rome and the Görres-Gesellschaft facilitated archival research and their dissemination, culminating in landmark, if apologetic, works like Ludwig von Pastor's Geschichte der Päpste.

The opening of the Vatican archives, particularly those pertaining to the Roman Inquisition and to Pius XII, is also presented as a pivotal moment for the development of papal historiography. The editors sensibly emphasise how Vatican archival policies reflect institutional priorities and that archives themselves are instruments of power and identity. Pope Francis's decision to rename the “Vatican Secret Archive” is for example interpreted as a gesture toward transparency and openness. Nonetheless, the editors advocate for research on the papacy that incorporates sources beyond the Vatican, including those from religious orders, lay associations, and civil society. Such an approach is necessary to understand the complex interplay between central authority and peripheral actors within institutional Catholicism.

(II) A central conceptual framework introduced in the volumes is the “theo-political imagination” of the papacy—its theological self-understanding and vision of its role in the Church and the world. This is juxtaposed to the praxis of papal politics, encompassing the papacy's engagement with domestic governance, civil society, and international diplomacy. The editors argue that the papacy's claims to universal and unchanging truths have always been mediated by historical contingencies and practical exigencies. The introduction revisits traditional narratives of papal monarchy, particularly those rooted in the Gregorian Reform and the Investiture Controversy. Drawing on Harold Berman's thesis in Law and Revolution, the editors highlight the eleventh-century transformation of the Church into a juridical and political entity.2 Canon law emerged as a central instrument of papal authority, regulating not only ecclesiastical affairs but also social practices such as marriage and property. The rediscovery of Roman law and the rise of universities provided the intellectual infrastructure for this legal revolution.

Recent scholarship, however, has shifted focus from the consolidation of papal monarchy to the contestation and renegotiation of papal primacy. The editors emphasise the dynamic relationship between centre and periphery, noting that papal authority was often constrained by local conditions and resisted by secular powers. They also explore the papacy's use of soft power, particularly in the modern era, through mass media and global travel. Popes such as John Paul II and Francis I have harnessed new technologies to project papal influence and engage with diverse publics. In this manner, the papacy has shaped—and has been shaped by—normative patterns of social organisation, gender roles, and sexual ethics. Papal teachings on contraception, abortion, and homosexuality are situated within long-term historical developments rather than considered as static doctrinal positions. The editors call attention to the uneven development of papal historiography in these areas, which the volumes want to fill, noting the need for further research on clerical masculinity, sexual abuse, and the intersection of theology and social justice. They advocate for a more inclusive historiography that incorporates the voices of women, LGBTQ+ scholars, and marginalised communities, in the hope that they would offer a different glance to the papal “theo-political imagination.”

The papacy in the 21st century is surely at a crossroads. While Catholicism is growing in Africa and Asia, participation is declining in traditional strongholds such as Western Europe and North America. The papacy faces increasing challenges to its moral credibility, particularly regarding the role of women in Church governance. The synodal process initiated by Pope Francis has revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the exclusion of women and other marginalised groups from decision-making roles. The editors of The Cambridge History of the Papacy suggest that future papal historiography must grapple with these tensions and incorporate perspectives from the Global South. They call for a reorientation of the field that moves beyond Rome-centric narratives and engages with the papacy's role in colonialism, slavery, and post-conflict reconciliation. The demand for “radical inclusion” voiced in the synodal process represents a critical juncture in the history of the papacy—one that will require new methodological and theoretical approaches.

The Cambridge History of the Papacy therefore sets the stage for a comprehensive and critical reappraisal of the papacy as a historical institution. It challenges reductive narratives of continuity and survival, emphasising instead the papacy's capacity for reinvention and its contested role in global history. By integrating structural analysis with biographical detail, and by grounding the interplay between theology, politics, and culture, the volumes offer a compelling framework for understanding the papacy's past and present. Even scholars not easily accused of being fascinated by the papacy, like the present writer, cannot deny how vividly the institution is painted here, and how central the future of the papacy is likely to be to any future development in the history of the Christian Church(es). The editors underscore the need for new interpretative frameworks that critically assess the papacy's humanitarian diplomacy and its theological-political responses to genocide and global conflict: hard to disagree, at a time when recent popes have seemed to be “voices crying in the desert” in response to current wars and atrocities. A transnational and interdisciplinary approach that situates papal actions within broader structures of international relations and moral discourse would surely be very welcome – but much of this work is afoot.6

The Cambridge History of the Papacy represents a significant historiographical intervention, positioning itself at the intersection of traditional ecclesiastical history and the more critical, interdisciplinary approaches that have shaped the historical profession since the mid-20th century. Earlier narratives—epitomised by works such as Ludwig von Pastor's—tended to adopt a confessional or institutionalist perspective, foregrounding the theological, diplomatic, and spiritual dimensions of the papacy in a largely linear and triumphalist framework. By contrast, these volumes reflect not only the methodological shifts that followed the Second Vatican Council but also the broader developments in historical scholarship, particularly the turn toward social, cultural, and global histories. Moreover, the series aligns with historiographical trends that interrogate power, representation, and the construction of religious authority. It incorporates insights from gender studies, postcolonial critique, and the study of global Catholicism—areas that were largely peripheral, if not wholly absent, in earlier treatments of the subject. In doing so, it contributes to a decentred and more analytically robust understanding of the papacy.

A question remains open about The Cambridge History of the Papacy: is this a historiographical point of arrival or a new place of departure? The honest answer can only be: both. With 83 essays, the quality and novelty of argument naturally and inevitably vary, but the volumes come across overall as coherent and well planned. Much of what the reader will find in these pages is a consolidation of the status quaestionis, and an account of where scholarship is at. But the ideas, intuitions, and possible further directions of travel are infinite. In sum, these three volumes are a monumental and remarkable achievement for which the editors should be congratulated.