Following the sudden death of the Pope, cardinals from around the world gather in the Vatican to cast their votes for the new pontiff, but factions quickly form in what develops into a contentious convention.

From the Publisher: An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol-seared into the chest of a murdered physicist-he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati-the most powerful underground organization ever...

“Pope Joan has all the elements one wants in a historical drama—love, sex, violence, duplicity, and long-buried secrets. Cross has written an engaging book.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review

In this international bestseller and basis for the 2009 movie of the same name, Donna Woolfolk Cross brings the Dark Ages to life in all their brutal splendor and shares the dramatic story of a woman

...

Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into Venice for a much needed holiday with his wife and two young children. But when Pope Paul VII dies suddenly, Gabriel is summoned to Rome by the Holy Father's loyal private secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati. A billion Catholic faithful have been told that the pope died of a heart attack. Donati, however, has two good reasons to suspect his master was murdered. The Swiss Guard who was standing watch outside the...

This biography of Pope Francis describes how this revolutionary thinker uses the power of his position to challenge and redirect one of the world's most formidable religions.

"Turning the pages of the precious book that is life, Pope Francis leads us along a path made of emotions, joys, and agonies: a window on the past that will allow us to better understand our present"--

"The papacy started in 30 A.D. when Jesus Christ declared that Simon Bar-Jona would be called Peter (rock). It was on that "rock" the Catholic Church was built and a legacy of 263 popes would follow St. Peter. This book is a chronological compilation of all the men who have received the title of Bishop of Rome and the part each played in the evolution of the Catholic Church and in impacting the history of the world." "Christianity took root in a land...

"Although historians are increasingly giving Reagan and John Paul II due credit for their roles in ending the Cold War, Kengor reveals the depth and significance of the bond between the president and the pope. New details based on the author's unique access to Reagan insiders and his tireless archival research are provided. The role of the Marian apparition at Fatima on May 13, 1917 is explored as key to understanding both the bond between JP II and...