Chris Maunder is a senior lecturer in Theology & Religious Studies at York St John University; he has worked there as Head of Department and Head of both B.A. and M.A. programmes, but is now semi-retired. Since completing a PhD at the University of Leeds in 1991, he has written several articles on the European apparitions of Mary. While being a scholar of Catholic popular religion in his professional life, he is also passionate about Marian shrines as a personal interest, visiting them across Europe and helping to maintain his local shrine, a 15th-century rock chapel in Knaresborough, Yorkshire.

"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