As the first Australian Ambassador to the Holy See Tim Fischer is in the unique position of being able to tell what it’s really like in the seat of power in Rome. Here he reflects on his time in the Vatican, the details which made up his life, the protocols, the people and also on the role that religion still has to play in the lives of future generations.

Appointed by Kevin Rudd in 2009, Tim found himself in the singular world of Vatican diplomacy, where, even more than most diplomatic circles, the right word in the right ear is an essential artform, and where the person sitting next to you at dinner could be Colonel Gadafi or the Pope. Armed with the skills he learned as an activist politician - and with his trusty black Akubra - Tim learned to navigate this strange new world and has lived to tell the tale!