Written by Father Michael Collins, a Vatican insider and accomplished church historian, this beautifully illustrated reference takes a unique behind-the-scenes look at the world’s smallest nation and the spiritual center of the Catholic Church. Produced with the full cooperation of the Vatican, examine the 2,000 year long history of the Vatican and papal influence, experience daily life and governance of the world’s largest religious body, and discover the art collections and other priceless treasures rarely seen by the public.  

Father Michael Collins, author of The Vatican: Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City, stopped by to answer a few of our questions surrounding the portrayal of the Vatican in Angels & Demons.  Check it out here:

The maps and buildings found inside The Vatican can be seen as a visual charting of Robert Langdon’s adventures in the Holy City.  Can you confirm which buildings in Angels & Demons exist and which ones are wholly fictional?

Rome and the Vatican are full of awe-inspiring churches and chapels. Dan Brown selected some of the best known by tourists and [my book] The Vatican: Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City is especially attractive to people who want to see behind the scenes at what the Vatican and Rome is really like.

Please demystify the Pope’s election in Vatican City—does it really happen like how it is portrayed in the movie? 

Although neither the Vatican nor the vicariate of Rome was interested in assisting the movie makers, the producers went to pains to reproduce places such as the Sistine Chapel. This had already been done in The Shoes of the Fisherman, starring the late Antony Quinn. That was a highly visual and accurate movie of a papal election so Angels and Demons had to try to come up to that level.  The real ceremony, which is over a thousand years old, is reasonably accurate within the parameters of a cinematic presentation.

“Secret Societies” abound in Angels & Demons.  How accurate is this interpretation throughout real Vatican society?

The Church does not approve of secret societies—no government does. That is mainly why the Holy See does not approve of societies such as Freemasonry. However, confidentiality is different from secrecy and confidentiality is often necessary.

Do you think the movie will outrage the Catholic community like The Da Vinci Code did?  Can science and religion peacefully co-exist in this respect?

Angels and Demons is based on a novel. It has not garnered as much interest as the Da Vinci Code, which largely mis-represented Catholic teaching. This book does not attempt this a second time and is more careful in promoting fiction. Pope Benedict XVI has written magisterially on the rational co-existence of science and religion. Angels and Demons has stimulated great interest in the Catholic Church, notably among young people. This presents the Church with a valuable opportunity to explain and share the richness of the Catholic faith.