The former US Ambassador to the Vatican and the bestselling author of The French Connection join forces to write an unforgettable, compelling novel about a humble fisherman who is elected as the next Pope. Locked in a stalemate after days of voting, the College of Cardinals struggles through the arduous process of electing a new pope after the death of Pope John Paul II. In an effort to break the impasse at the conclave, Brian Comiskey, Cardinal Primate of All Ireland, in a stunning surprise development, withdraws from the race. Explaining his decision, he offers an anecdote about being among a boat load of clerics who were caught in an unexpected storm, then miraculously rescued by his friend Bill Kelly, a former priest and now a Cape Cod fisherman. The next day at the Sistine Chapel, still undecided about who they should vote for, the Cardinals smile to themselves as they cast what they think are throw-away symbolic votes for Bill Kelly--but no one is laughing when he is elected Pope. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, Bill Kelly is on his boat at sea when he has a very clear and disturbing revelation: God is once again calling him to serve his Church. Thus begins the reign of the first American Pope. Written with the style of bestselling novelist Robin Moore and the political brilliance and authority of former U. S. Ambassador Raymond Flynn, The Accidental Pope is not a religious book about politics, nor a political book about religion, but a story that gives insight into the Vatican and the role of the Holy See in world events. The Accidental Pope is a globetrotting tale full of suspense, drama, and humor.

An unpopular pope dies while touring the Holy Land on the same day two obscure country priests exchange places six thousand miles and eight time zones away. Neither they nor the Church of Rome will ever be the same. The priests become entangled in mysteries of murder, duplicity, and hush-money as cardinals from around the world gather to elect a new pontiff. A connection between the Vatican¿s Sistine Chapel and the abandoned Paradise Hotel in a small Midwestern city seems inconceivable, and yet bodies discovered there will determine who becomes the next pope.The Seal of Confession becomes more than an amusing pun in the murderous circus enveloping the Vatican and a distant church whose confessional is breached. Those in search of forgiveness find instead blackmail and extortion.Why did a murdered Indian woman trapped in the Chicago sex trade have a one-way bus ticket home to her reservation? Was it suicide or murder in the Paradise Hotel? Why is someone in the Vatican willing to pay for silence? Answers can be found in two wooden boxes, one the confessional and the other a coffin in an isolated churchyard near an Indian reservation. An Accidental Pope is not so much a Who dun nit? as a How did it happen? A police detective and his amateur sleuth wife uncover much that is hidden, but only the reader will know the whole story of how the Chair of St. Peter came to have its accidental occupant.If you believe that the those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted, this is the novel.

HollyI need this job.But my Uber is late, I can't find my other earring, and everything that can go wrong is going wrong. So when I finally show up-late-for my interview and come face to face with my new boss to be, I almost lose it. He. Is. Gorgeous. But there are a few issues. Like the fact the name on my application is wrong. And I'm in the wrong building. And this isn't my interview. FML. PaxI know there's a mix up. I know she's supposed to be interviewing in the next building. I also know they're trying to take advantage of her. But I'm not about to let this hottie walk away. Oh, no.One look into her young, eager face and I know she'll do anything I ask. And I'm going to find out exactly what her boundaries are...So I can break them and make her mine.Short, hot, and over the top! If you love possessive alpha males, totally unrealistic insta-love romance, this one's for you! No cliffhanger, no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA!

Unlike any other pope, John Paul II has reached out, creating dialogue or creating uproar, but always striving to unite the human community. Drawing on years of personal interaction with the Pope, and on his unique understanding of the intersection of religion and politics, Flynn, with co-authors Robin Moore and Jim Vrabel, shows how John Paul II changed the papacy, perhaps forever.

The Pope and the Professor tells the captivating story of the German Catholic theologian and historian Ignaz von Döllinger (1799-1890), who fiercely opposed the teaching of Papal Infallibility at the time of the First Vatican Council (1869-70), convened by Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-1878), among the most controversial popes in the history of the papacy. Döllinger's thought, his opposition to the Council, his high-profile excommunication in 1871, and the international sensation that this action caused offer a fascinating window into the intellectual and religious history of the nineteenth century. Thomas Albert Howard examines Döllinger's post-conciliar activities, including pioneering work in ecumenism and inspiring the"Old Catholic" movement in Central Europe. Set against the backdrop of Italian and German national unification, and the rise of anticlericalism and ultramontanism after the French Revolution, The Pope and the Professor is at once an endeavor of historical and theological inquiry. It provides nuanced historical contextualization of the events, topics, and personalities, while also raising abiding questions about the often fraught relationship between individual conscience and scholarly credentials, on the one hand, and church authority and tradition, on the other.

Lucrezia Borgia is one of the most vilified women in modern history. The daughter of a notorious pope, she was twice betrothed before the age of eleven and thrice married—one husband was forced to declare himself impotent and thereby unfit and another was murdered by Lucrezia’s own brother, Cesar Borgia. She is cast in the role of murderess, temptress, incestuous lover, loose woman, femme fatale par excellence. But there are two sides to every story. Lucrezia Borgia is the only woman in history to have serve as the head of the Catholic Church. She successfully administered several of Renaissance Italy’s most thriving cities, founded one of the world’s first credit unions, and was a generous patron of the arts. She was mother to a prince and to a cardinal. She was a devoted wife to the Prince of Ferrara, and the lover of the poet Pietro Bembo. She was a child of the renaissance and, in many ways, the world’s first modern woman. In this richly imagined novel, Nobel laureate Dario Fo reveals Lucrezia’s humanity, her passion for life, her compassion for others, and her skill at navigating around her family’s evildoings. The Borgias are unrivalled for the range and magnitude of their political machinations and opportunism. Fo’s brilliance rests in his rendering their story as a shocking mirror image of the uses and abuses of power in our own time. Lucrezia herself becomes a model for how to survive and rise above those abuses. Part Wolf Hall, part House of Cards, The Pope's Daugther will appeal to readers of historical fiction and of contemporary fiction alike and will delight anyone fascinated by Renaissance Italy.