ITALY-PAPAL STATE: Man In Black

Out of the Vatican, across the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele, into the Palazzo Venezia, back to the Vatican hurried a long-skirted Jesuit father last week. As he padded silently by, Vatican attendants and those who watch over Premier Mussolini's household whispered and nodded wisely to each other. "It's the man in black," they said. They further identified him as Father Tacchi-Venturi, a little-known priest without rank or official authority but a trusted confidant of both Pope Pius XI and Il Duce. Six years ago, some of them remembered, he had been attacked in...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!