Joan Mari Iraci's Vatican Daughter
This dark history details two lives that were almost totally ruined by the Pope and Vatican officials. After an affair and resulting pregnancy with an American cardinal, who then becomes Pope, the power behind the Papacy decides that this is not a problem that should remain to scar the Pope. To solve this problem, both baby and mother were kidnapped and sequestered away in convents.
Sounds farfetched, no?
This story line was influenced by the actual 1859 Vatican kidnapping of 6-year-old Edgardo Mortara by Pope Pius IX. With the help of Vatican officials and through legal anti-Jewish legislation, the family was permanently divided and the child kept in monasteries and brought into the priesthood. This kidnapping and forced separation caused an international scandal, that along with the unification of Italy in the mid-1800’s, brought down the previous power of the Papacy, although did little to reunite a child torn from his family and forcibly converted.
The dark history of Papal kidnapping is the core of this suspense novel. A corrupt world in the Vatican is revealed, a criminal side known by many but rarely discussed openly. Like many mysteries, this novel is littered with the murdered, the kidnapped and the misled. There are a few stalwart heroes who continue to fight for Sophia and her daughter, Naveah. Some who fight against the conspiracy and coverup are among the bodies found.
Vatican Daughter is set in Rome, behind the walls of the Vatican. There are travels to Venice, and brief stops in Chile and New York. The reader is reminded that the Vatican is a country, a small one, but one that has tremendous influence, ruled by the Pope who has absolute power within its confines. Author Joni Iraci is a lover of Italy. She told me, “Before the pandemic, I travelled to Italy every year. I spend a lot of time in Venice, so I know it well, Rome not so much. In October 2019, I walked 88 miles in Rome and Venice to get the lay of the land.”
Naveah, the illegitimate daughter of the current American Pope Jopseph, could derail the Pope’s tenure, by bringing more scandal to an already scandal ridden Church. There are many allusions to past shameful episodes with examples of the Crusades, the Holocaust, Edgardo Mortara and sexual allegations against priests.
A humorous and ironic episode occurred during an interview. Joni shared, “I made the pope American because I never thought we’d have an American pope. In fact, I was interviewed on the Author’s Show in April 2025, and the host told me he’d read the novel and found it plausible except there will never be an American elected pope. Never say never because a month later we had an American pope.”
When Sophia was abducted, she loses her memory, perhaps due to her attack. When her memory returned 12 years later, she leaves the Benedictine convent in Venice where she had been placed and goes to Rome, near the Vatican, to begin a search for her daughter. Naveah is a luminous child, filled with goodness and searching, a drop of goodness in the corrupt, scandalous world of the Vatican.
There are several threads in this complex story line. One connects Sophia to a Jewish Holocaust survivor, with whom she had been friends, who gives her shelter and contacts her cousin for help. Another thread is journalist Chris DeMarco, old friend of the Pope and Sophia’s, while reconnecting with the Pope, begins to smell the rot of the scandal.
Tim Daniels, a secretary to a powerful cardinal at the Vatican, begins to suspect corruption and installs listening devices in some of the offices. Naveah’s private teacher, Father Alfonso, also uncovers wrongdoing and tries to protect Naveah.
There are any number of controversial ideas (from the point of view of the Church) that Naveah learns from Father Alfonso, from uncanonized gospels to heretical teachings to other religions and cultures philosophies.
This suspenseful mystery is well drawn, from its setting, to its characters to the tension in the plot. Joni’s skepticism, love of Italy and her understanding of the deep love that mothers and daughters have is so apparent in every line of this novel. I can’t wait for the sequel!
At a local Roman restaurant, Sophia has two favorite Italian dishes: Cacio e Pepe and Torta Caprese. Since Cacio e Pepe is one of Joni’s favorite meals, I have made this and provided the recipe. I will definitely have Torta Caprese on my list of fabulous desserts to make.
