POPE GABRIEL

About the Book

What would have happened if someone besides Pius XII had been elected Pope in 1939? Featuring actual historical figures, and drawing on documents from this era, Pope Gabriel centers on the election and papacy of Cardinal Vidal i Barraquer of Tarragona, a survivor of the Spanish Civil War. Pope Gabriel describes the new Pontiff's reaction to World War II, his dealings with dictators-Franco, Mussolini, and Hitler-and his confrontation of the Holocaust.

In the course of his pontificate, Pope Gabriel discovers that the papal presence is a more powerful weapon than papal encyclicals or statements. He faces down the Falangists in Barcelona, the Fascists in Rome, and the Nazis in Dachau. Finally, on the verge of death from heart problems, he challenges the roundup of the Roman Jews in October 1943.

In this counterfactual history, author José M. Sánchez offers a fascinating exploration of papal power and its potential effects on the atrocities of World War II and the Holocaust.

About the Author

José M. Sánchez is Professor Emeritus of History at Saint Louis University. He is the author of four books and a number of articles dealing with the Spanish Civil War and the controversy over Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. Sánchez currently lives in Santa Fe. He may be reached at sanchejm@comcast.net or sanchejm@slu.edu.