Catholics, Populisms, and Nationalisms: Practices and Pathways between Europe and Latin America (1939–1958)

n the early twenty-first century, the rise of neo-populist leaders and political parties, together with the election of two popes with origins in or strong ties to Latin America – Francis and Leo XIV – has reopened questions about the complex relationship between populism and Catholicism. Despite extensive scholarship on populism and neo-populism, the entanglements between populist movements and religion remain underexplored. This volume aims to reconstruct both the strategies implemented by institutional actors and the development and circulation of ideas, devotional practices, and symbolic repertoires in relation to Catholic institutions and actors during the pontificate of Pius XII (1939-1958). Through multilingual chapters based on an extensive corpus of institutional, press, and private records, Catholics, Populisms, and Nationalisms contributes to the transnational scholarly debate across different disciplines and raises fundamental questions about the relationship between religion and politics in the global public sphere.