Our Lady of the Nations
Apparitions of Mary in 20th-Century Catholic Europe
Chris Maunder
Reviews and Awards
"The novelty and value of Our Lady of Nations is that it brings supernatural forces, mystical experiences, and religious visions back into the Western European political landscape. Traditionally, modern European societies saw themselves as a stark contrast to their own colonies. Europe was characterized by secularization and rationalism and the colonies were associated with mysticism and irrationalism. Maunder challenges binary dichotomies between modern rationality and premodern irrationality by demonstrating how religious visions of Mary played a political role in 20th-century Europe. This book will be of great use for anyone interested in studying and understanding collective memory, propaganda, ideologies, popular consciousness, culture wars, or silent resistance." --Rasa Baločkaitè, Reading Religion
"[Maunder] is a judicious guide to the main themes and his book can be recommended as an introduction."--David Blackburn, Common Knowledge
"Maunder adopts an objective, scholarly and journalistic approach to the original events and their aftermath. While alert to rationalizing interpretations of claims about the paranormal, he avoids cynicism. The book is engagingly written and has good and full bibliographical details." --J.K. Elliott, Times Literary Supplement