Tuesday 4 November, 6.30pm
Secretum
Mons. Sergio Pagano in conversation with Massimo Franco
Monsignor Sergio Pagano is one of the least known but most powerful and respected figures in the Vatican. As Prefect of the former Vatican Secret Archive since 1997, this bishop has an intimate knowledge of the truths and mysteries of what has been called “Europe’s intelligence hub,” with millions of documents accumulated and preserved in its facilities since its founding in 1611. For the first time, this reserved and cultured man reveals, in a book-length interview with Massimo Franco, published by Solferino, some of the secrets held in the “bunker,” the underground repository spanning 86 linear kilometers that houses the most confidential documents, exclusively visited by the author for this book.
What emerges is a novel and surprising reinterpretation of key historical moments. From the documents of Galileo’s trial to Pius XII’s silence on the Holocaust: critical issues that Pagano has had the task of studying and making public. Furthermore, from the looting of the Vatican Archives by Napoleon’s troops, who transferred them to Paris, to the network of papal spies hunting “modernists”; from the role of America and its dollars in past conclaves to the troubled relationship with communist China. The book reveals the reasons that led Pope Francis in 2019 to rename the Secret Archive as Apostolic. This is just one of the gems that emerge from this treasure trove of anecdotes, intrigues, and sometimes legends that help illuminate the dynamics, as well as the history, of a millennial institution.
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Sergio Pagano was born in Terrusso di Bargagli (Genoa) on November 6, 1948. He joined the Barnabites in Genoa in 1966 and pursued philosophical and theological studies at the Urbaniana University in Rome. Ordained a priest in 1977, he earned a diploma in paleography and archival studies in 1978 and a degree in theology in 1981. Called to Rome to serve in the Vatican Secret Archives, he was appointed a writer of the Archives in 1981. He obtained a degree in theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of S. Anselmo in Rome in 1981; in 1989, he was named archivist; in 1995, deputy prefect. In 1997, John Paul II appointed him prefect of the Archives. In 2007, Benedict XVI elevated him to the titular episcopal see of Celene. He is a member of the Accademia dei Lincei.
Massimo Franco, political columnist for Corriere della Sera, has worked for Avvenire, Il Giorno, and Panorama. He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Among his books are Il Vaticano secondo Francesco (Mondadori, 2014), Imperi paralleli (Mondadori, 2005; il Saggiatore, 2016), L’assedio (Mondadori, 2016), and, with Solferino, L’enigma Bergoglio (1st edition 2020, 2nd edition 2023), C’era una volta Andreotti (2021), Il monastero (2022), and, with Sergio Pagano, Secretum (2024).