Helen Plum Library

"St. Peter's Square, Rome. White smoke signals that a new Pope has been chosen. Is it possible that the new Pope is a woman? The world is watching as historic crowds gather in Rome, waiting for news of a new Pope, one who promises to be unlike any other in the Church's history. Some followers are ecstatic, but the leading candidate has made a legion of powerful enemies. From a difficult childhood with drug addled parents, to a career as a doctor on...

Dark secrets are revealed in Vatican City in this Gabriel Allon thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva.
In Munich, a Jewish scholar is assassinated. In Venice, Mossad agent and art restorer Gabriel Allon receives the news, puts down his brushes, and leaves immediately. And at the Vatican, the new pope vows to uncover the truth about the church’s response to the Holocaust—while a powerful cardinal...

The long-awaited and authoritative biography of Pope Benedict XVI, a giant of the Catholic Church Benedict XVI: A Life offers insight into the young life and rise through the Church's ranks of a man who would become a hero and a lightning rod for Catholics the world over. Based on countless hours of interviews in Rome with Benedict himself, this much-anticipated two-volume biography is the definitive record of the life of Joseph Ratzinger and the...

The Vatican Cathedral is packed to the rafters as Pope Gregory XVII leads the congregation in mass. A cloaked stranger steps suddenly and fearlessly towards the altar and commands the wheelchair-bound Pope to stand. He does. The miracle stops the world in its tracks. Who is this stranger? More miraculous events follow and as the Vatican retreats and closes its doors to the world, journalist Alexander Trecchio and police officer Gabriella Fierro set...

"Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, from Argentina, is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. Since being elected pope he has shown a humbler, less formal approach to his office than his predecessors: a warm style that has been referred to as "no frills." His common touch and accessibility, as well as his insistence that the church be more open and welcoming, has quickly endeared him...

The unconventional follow-up to 2017's The Young Pope begins with Lenny Belardo, aka Pope Pius XIII, in a coma after a heart attack as the Holy See searches for his replacement. British intellectual Sir John Brannox is elected to the papal throne, assuming the name John Paul III. He soon finds that his predecessor's shadow looms large: The fiercely devoted cult of Pius XIII believes their pope will return, and their conviction proves hard to shake...

Documents the story of Pope Celestine V, evaluating the views of his supporters and detractors while tracing his progression to the papacy and his decision to abdicate months later, discussing his choice's impact on the Catholic Church

Chronicles the events behind the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis, tracing the lives of both men and discussing the consequences of having two living popes in residence at the Vatican McCarten chronicles the events behind the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013, and the subsequent election of Pope Francis, the first non-European pope in twelve hundred years. He traces the lives...

An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. 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 to walk the earth. The Illuminati has...

"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...