Abstract

The Roman Catholic Church, with headquarters at the Vatican, is a global institution with a significant impact on every continent. This article examines the Vatican’s influence upon the foreign policies of two predominantly Roman Catholic countries, Ireland in Europe and Costa Rica in Central America, over a thirty-year period: from the aftermath of World War I until the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, the subsequent lessening of Cold War tensions, and the eve of Ireland’s admission to the United Nations in 1955. (“Ireland” means the twenty-six counties governed from Dublin and does not include the six counties of Northern Ireland, which remained and remains part of the United Kingdom.) This article confirms that Vatican priorities influenced policymakers in both Ireland and, to a lesser extent Costa Rica throughout successive inter-war and Cold War crises, although both governments frequently disagreed with the Vatican and proceeded accordingly.