Interview

Steve Berry discusses his research for The Third Secret, prophesies, and the Catholic Church.

With all that's happened in Rome over the past few weeks, how timely is your new novel, The Third Secret?

Benedict XVI is now pope. In The Third Secret my pope is named Clement XV. Both men are German, in their seventies, a product of the Vatican (having held high office in the curia), elected quickly after a long pontificate as a transitional pope, who face monumental issues of great importance to the Church. I'd say the similarities are remarkable.


And the plot, is it likewise timely?

All of the hot button issues that have been widely discussed over the past few weeks concerning the Church in the modern world and the challenges the new pope will face are in The Third Secret, along with a shocking revelation that literally changes everything.


The prophecies of St. Malachy figure prominently into the plot. Are these as accurate as you make them in the novel?

Absolutely, and Malachy himself is not all that well known. He was an obscure Irish bishop who, in 1139, visited Rome and experienced a vision of the future, a long list of men who would one day rule the Church. He committed his vision to parchment and presented the manuscript to Pope Innocent II, tagging each of his future ...