Francis Augustus MacnuttPapal Marquis Francis Augustus MacNutt, a Catholic writer and diplomat from Indiana who lived from February 15, 1863, to December 30, 1927, rose to prominence at the Vatican as a high-ranking official. Francis Augustus MacNutt was a renowned playwrigt and historian as well as an American ambassador for a while. The classic Christmas poem "The Night Before Christmas" was written by Clement Clarke Moore's granddaughter Margaret Ogden, whom MacNutt married. The couple settled in Rome at the Palazzo Pamphilj on Piazza Navona. Senior Catholic Church officials and members of the Roman nobility congregated in their home, which served as a social hub. It is now the Brazilian Embassy. MacNutt held great sway within the Vatican and maintained strong relationships with three popes: Leo XIII, Pius X, and Benedict XV, as well as two Cardinal Secretaries of State, Rafael Merry del Val and Mariano Rampolla. He developed close relationships with the imperial family, especially Empress Zita, in the Austrian Imperial Court, where his influence was equally well-known. He was offered the title of baron in Austria but tactfully declined the position. Read More Read Less