author
Francis Augustus MacNutt
1863–1927
An American diplomat who became a papal courtier, he moved through politics, religion, and scholarship with unusual ease. His life joined public service with a long writing career that ranged from history and translation to commentary on the Catholic world.
1 Audiobook
Bartholomew de Las Casas; his life, apostolate, and writings
by Francis Augustus MacNutt
About the author
Born in Richmond, Indiana, on February 15, 1863, Francis Augustus MacNutt was raised in an Episcopalian family, studied at Phillips Exeter and Harvard Law School, and later converted to Catholicism. He first built a career in diplomacy, serving in Madrid, before his connections and interests gradually drew him toward Rome.
MacNutt went on to become a well-known Catholic writer and a figure in the papal court, where he served during the pontificates of Leo XIII and Pius X. He was also a prolific author and translator, especially noted for historical works connected with Spain and the early Americas, helping bring older sources to English-speaking readers.
He spent much of his later life in Italy and died in Bressanone on December 30, 1927. Remembered as both a man of letters and a church insider, he stands out as an American whose career crossed national, religious, and intellectual worlds.