Father Jonah Barlow is dead. The Jesuit scholar of apocalyptic studies might have died from a fall in his apartment . . . or was he pushed? All that is known for sure is that the provocative manuscript he was working onâa book that promised to reveal the upcoming fulfillment of ancient and recent prophecies, including the ghastly and shocking Third Secret of Fatimaâis missing.
Two detectivesâone from Chicago, the other from Romeâtake on the investigation as a possible homicide, turning to Vatican archivist Father Michael Dominic for his help, since Barlow sent the young priest the only other copy of the manuscript.
Pope Ignatius, intent on verifying the content of the manuscript against the original handwritten version of the Third Secretâwhich has been kept sequestered in the Popeâs personal vault for decadesâdiscovers that the keys have been stolen. The search is on for the only other set, kept safely in the hands of a trusted monk in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a sinister ancient order known as the Knights of the Apocalypse seem to be using the predictions of the manuscript to create fear and chaos as the prophecies appear to be coming fulfilled. Is the end of the world imminent?
Father Jonah Barlow is dead. The Jesuit scholar of apocalyptic studies might have died from a fall in his apartment . . . or was he pushed? All that is known for sure is that the provocative manuscript he was working onâa book that promised to reveal the upcoming fulfillment of ancient and recent prophecies, including the ghastly and shocking Third Secret of Fatimaâis missing.
Two detectivesâone from Chicago, the other from Romeâtake on the investigation as a possible homicide, turning to Vatican archivist Father Michael Dominic for his help, since Barlow sent the young priest the only other copy of the manuscript.
Pope Ignatius, intent on verifying the content of the manuscript against the original handwritten version of the Third Secretâwhich has been kept sequestered in the Popeâs personal vault for decadesâdiscovers that the keys have been stolen. The search is on for the only other set, kept safely in the hands of a trusted monk in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a sinister ancient order known as the Knights of the Apocalypse seem to be using the predictions of the manuscript to create fear and chaos as the prophecies appear to be coming fulfilled. Is the end of the world imminent?
FĂĄtima, Portugal â 13 October 1917
Cesar Vila fell to his knees and crossed himself, praying to the Blessed Virgin to spare him and his family. The sun appeared to wobble and dance as it zig-zagged through the sky, then careened toward the Earth like a spinning disc, casting multicolored lights across the fields near the Cova da Iria quarter of FĂĄtima before receding to its usual place in the heavens.
Cesarâs clothing, drenched from the torrential rain that saturated FĂĄtima just moments before, had become instantaneously dry by the heat of the sun. The freshly muddied ground brought by the rain also had become suddenly and completely dry. If he hadn't witnessed it himself even he wouldn't have believed it.
But he was not alone. One hundred thousand people had assembled for the prophesied spectacle, and all of them reported the same effects of Milagre do Sol, the Miracle of the Sun.
The entire event lasted ten minutes and was reported on by newspapers around the world. The once-impoverished village of FĂĄtima had since become a veritable cottage industry of the faithful, welcoming a pilgrimage of millions of visitors each year.
* * *
Several months before the Miracle of the Sun, in the spring of 1917, three Portuguese shepherd childrenâeleven-year-old LĂșcia Santos and her young cousins, Francisco Marto, eight, and his sister Jacinta, sevenâhad reported apparitions of an angel, followed shortly after by visions of a luminous lady appearing to them, whom they took to be the Virgin Mary. The Lady, as the children called her, told them that they must pray, do penance, and say the rosary every day in order to save sinners and bring peace to the world.
In October of the following year, the Blessed Mother had appeared to Jacinta, telling her she and her brother would be taken to heaven soon. They died a few months later, victims of the great Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. LĂșcia, however, would experience several more visions of the Lady for years.
But the Blessed Virgin also gave the shepherds three prophetic secrets, each to be revealed at various times in the future.
Curiously, LĂșcia did not write about her and her cousinsâ apparitions until 1941, when she wrote her memoirs at the urging of the Bishop of Leiria. Only then did she reveal the three secrets given her by the Lady.
The First Secret proved to be a horrific vision of Hell, filled with terrifying black and transparent animalistic demons plunging through great clouds of smoke caused by a raging conflagration of fire, amid shrieks of pain and despair.
The Second Secret was oddly prescient, stating that World War I would end and another great war would erupt during the reign of Pope Pius XI. In 1917, when the Lady gave the children this prophecy, Benedict XV was pope. Curiously, Pius XI would not pick his regnal nameâsomething each pope does on their electionâfor another five years, when he would be chosen in 1922. So Our Lady of FĂĄtima proved doubly correct with the start of World War II in 1939 after Hitlerâs long draw-up to the war during Pius XIâs final months of life.
The Third Secret, however, today remains a sacred mystery, tucked away in that most secure of papal vaults, the popeâs personal hidden safe called the Petri Crypta.
* * *
As told to her by the Lady, LĂșcia declared that the Third Secret could be revealed to the public after 1960. In that year, Pope John XXIII was reported to have opened the secretâwhich was handwritten by LĂșcia on a single page of paperâand he fainted upon reading it. What he read had terrified him, since, according to eyewitnesses, it specifically stated that the pope who publicly released the Third Secret would be the last pope of all, and that he would betray his flock, turning them over to a terrible slaughter devised by Lucifer himself. In apparent defiance of Our Lady of FĂĄtimaâs instructions, Pope John declined to reveal the secret, stating, "This prophecy does not relate to my time."
Consequently, the Church itself had declared that the Third Secret would most probably remain under absolute seal forever, as it was deemed that mankind was simply not ready for it. It has been speculated, and borne out by the facts, that subsequent popes also have read the prophecy and chose not to make it public.
But in 2000, eighty-three years after the first apparition of the Lady to the three children in Portugal, Pope John Paul II ostensibly revealed the secret as being about the modern persecution of Christians that culminated in the failed assassination attempt on his own life on May 13, 1981. But this comparatively banal revelation was scoffed at by many as a contrived attempt to put the matter of the unrevealed prophecy to rest, once and for all.
Before she died in 2005, Sister LĂșcia dos Santos, the shepherd girl who became a Carmelite nun, was asked about the Third Secret. She only said that it was in the Gospels and in the Apocalypseâand in the Book of Revelation 8:13, which states, âAnd I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, Woe, Woe, to the inhabiters of the earthâŠ!â
Chapter 1
Present Day
Father Jonah Barlowârenowned and respected Jesuit scholar, biblical archaeologist, author, exorcist and longtime thorn in the side of the Vaticanâwas nearing completion of his most provocative book yet: a thorough examination of the miracle orchestrated by Our Lady of FĂĄtima in 1917, including disclosure of the presumed Third Secret of FĂĄtimaâone that had a long and strange history to it.
Papa Luciani, as Father Barlow endearingly called his friend, had expressly forbidden him from revealing the secret while the pope was still alive. Sadly, though, John Paul I sat on St. Peterâs throne for just thirty-three days before meeting his Makerâbut his death was not without controversy. Even today many maintain Luciani was murdered before he could enact punishing regulations on the Vatican Bank during its most scandalous affair with Banco Ambrosiano.
Working from his modest two-story brownstone on Chicagoâs North Side near Loyola University, Father Barlow stood for relief from the long hours sitting at his typewriter. He was anxious to put the final touches on his manuscript, a project many years in the making, before turning it over to his editor, for they both knew this book would surely be a controversial, albeit bestselling, one. The recent addition of resources from a trusted Vatican insider had given him substantial new insights and enabled him to complete the project. But more importantly for Barlow, the book would finally break the Vaticanâs silence on the mystery of the Third Secret of FĂĄtima, a revelation each pope in turn had brazenly refused to divulge for his own self-serving preservation.
As he stood at the window stretching, looking out over the Chicago River while waiting for a friend to drop by for a visit, the room took on a deep, sudden chill, and his entire body broke out in goose flesh. Jonah Barlow had had experience with this kind of abrupt change in atmosphere before, and though he was undaunted by the presence of supernatural forcesâthe worst of which he had faced during his most unsettling exorcismsâhe instinctively reached for his pectoral cross and gripped it while uttering the Lordâs Prayer.
As he turned to go downstairs to fetch a sweater, he had just reached the top of the landing when a violent force from behind shoved him down the steps. He tumbled head over heels to the bottom of the staircase, where he lay unconscious until his friend arrived and called for an ambulance.
* * *
Diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage caused by the fall, Barlow lay in the intensive care unit of St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital, drifting in and out of consciousness, mumbling gibberish in a foreign tongue. His visiting friend, a fellow Jesuit priest named Lorenzo Marchetti, sat by his side, hoping Barlow would regain his senses and be able to speak with him before administering last rites, for the prognosis was bleak and certain.
Then, without warning, the dying priest opened his eyes wide with fear, stared at his friend, and spoke with an urgency belying his normally calm manner.
âLorenzoâŠ! The bookâŠyou must get the book before they doâŠ. The secret is in the book!â
âJonah,â his friend asked gently, âweâll get to the book, but would you like to make your last confession first?â
âDamn the confession, man! I was pushed by a cacodemonic force! Lucifer does not want the secret exposed yet! You must return and get the bookâŠandâŠand contact Michael Dominic in Rome.â
With that, Barlowâs entire body shook violently, the rattle of death consuming him in ways the hospital staff had never before seen. Blood began spewing from his mouth, and his eyes took on a wild, fevered look. The entire bed rose up and fell back to the floor repeatedly, as if lifted and shaken by unseen hands. Then, just as suddenly, the bed lay still, and Barlow fell back onto the pillow, his eyes wide open, staring at the abyss awaiting him on the other side as death took its final clutch on Jonah Barlowâs life.
* * *
Accompanied by Father Marchetti, Detective Rebecca Lancaster of the Chicago Police Department drove her squad car from St. Maryâs Hospital north up Ashland Avenue then over to the Rogers Park neighborhood near Loyola, finally arriving at Father Barlowâs brownstone a half hour later.
âI still donât know why they assigned a detective to this,â Marchetti said. âThe poor man just fell.â
âSure, he could have just fallen,â Lancaster replied, pulling on an earring with one hand while driving with the other. âBut from what the nursing staff told me, they heard him say he was pushed. That opens it up to possible homicide, Father. Just doing my job here.â
As they entered the unlocked home, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Barlowâs black cat, Methuselah, sat placidly on the windowsill, watching a murder of crows perched on the electrical lines outside.
âWhat time did you say you arrived?â Lancaster asked the priest.
âActually, I didnât say. But it was sometime around one. We were going to have a late lunch and talk about the book he was finishingâone Iâm supposed to find and safeguard.â
âWell, nothing leaves this place until itâs cleared with me, understood?â
Marchetti sighed and nodded. Moving to Barlowâs desk, he searched for his friendâs work in progress.
âThatâs odd,â he noted, his bushy white eyebrows scrunched together. âWhen I was here earlier, the bookâsome seven hundred pages of itâwas sitting right there,â he pointed to an empty spot on the desk, âbut now itâs gone! Who could have taken it?â
âYou said âearlier.â Was that today, orâŠ?â
âYes! Just a few hours ago. Someone has obviously been here since and taken the manuscript. Oh, this is just terrible. All of Jonahâs hard work, gone!â
âSo, now we have a missing book and a possible homicide. Iâll get a forensics team in here and theyâll go over the place. Donât touch anything, Father. But we will need a set of your fingerprints as exemplars to eliminate yours from any others.â
As Marchetti scanned other items on Father Barlowâs desk, he found a scribbled note on a small pad with Loyolaâs logo at the top. Beneath it read, âGet Michael Dominicâs comments on ms.â
Curious, he thought. Father Dominic has a copy of the manuscript? Pity, Iâll have to tell him the sad news.
âFind anything interesting, Father?â Lancaster asked, noting the priestâs attention focused on the desktop.
âOnly a note here in Jonahâs handwriting, reminding himself to get comments about the manuscript from a priest in Rome. A Father Michael Dominic, whom I know to be prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives.â
âThe Vatican has secret archives? Why would the Church need to keep something secret?â
Marchetti smiled amusingly. âItâs not the same meaning in Latin, Archivum Secretum. Well, yes, literally it means the same, but âsecretâ in that sense simply means private or personal, since for centuries the Archives were considered the popeâs personal library. These days, of course, qualified scholars have access to most of its contents, and some of it is actually being digitized for access via the internet.â
âSo we might assume this Father Dominic has a copy of the book?â
âWell, I imagine so, given this note.â Marchetti picked it up and handed it to the detective. She glanced at it, then returned it to the desk.
âDo you have any plans to leave town, Father?â Lancaster asked.
âActually, yes, Iâm leaving for Rome in two daysâ time, for the annual International Theological Symposium, an event thatâs been planned for months now.â
âWell, Iâm sure I can reach you by phone if we need to follow up on anything.â
âIâll be staying at Villa Stritch, the Vatican residence for American priests. You can always reach me there.â
* * *
Detective Lancaster stood at the window of a little room in the coronerâs office. On the other side of the glass, the medical examiner and his assistant were performing a postmortem on Father Jonah Barlow in the examination suite. Barlowâs body was laid out on a stainless steel autopsy table, his internal organs now resting in a red plastic bag in his open abdominal cavity, having been removed and examined before Lancaster had arrived. The examiner, Dr. Polanski, reached up and toggled on the microphone hanging on a cord over the body, his gloved hand leaving a bloody smudge on the chrome.
âNice of you to join us, Detective. We saved doing the head until you got here.â
âThanks, Doc, especially since you know this isnât my favorite part of the job. Catch me up on what youâve discovered so far,â she said.
âWell, I read the attending physicianâs report from the emergency room. The spewing of blood from his mouth right before he expired was caused by a ruptured esophageal varicesâbasically, an erosion of the lining of the esophagusâand damage to the portal circulation from cirrhosis of the liver, combined with a spike in blood pressure from the seizure, which caused a vein in his throat to burst. We often see it in alcoholics and some bulimics. From the looks of his liver, though, Iâd say he had a bit of a drinking problem.â
âSo, it wasnât from âdemonic interference?ââ she asked.
âIâve been at this for over thirty years, Detective, and Iâve never seen anything that couldnât be medically explained.â
âWell, all that blood sure freaked out the staff at the hospital, not to mention that trembling bed. One nurse with him at the time had to be sent home, she was so upset.â
Lancaster watched as Dr. Polanski, having used a scalpel to cut through the scalp along the hairline, now scraped and pulled the flesh away from the skull with a stainless steel chisel.
âOkay, weâre seeing bruising on the scalp at the forehead, but none on the back of his head. That would be more consistent with being pushed rather than just falling down the stairs. Most of the time, when someone falls down the stairs, their feet slip out from under them and they fall backwards. We would see bruising on the back of the head and often on the tailbone. I didnât see any in this case. So, I suppose he could have tripped over something, but he definitely went down the stairs head first, not feet first,â the doctor concluded.
âWell, that would be consistent with the findings at the scene. His stairs take a 180-degree turn about halfway down. He was found on the landing at the turn. There was a forehead-shaped dent on the wall about three feet above the floor in the stairwell wall.â
While they had been talking, the assistant medical examiner had used an electric bone saw to cut the skull open, using a particular pattern of cuts that would enable them to reassemble the skull properly for the funeral. The doctor examined Father Barlowâs brain.
âAlright, Detective. See here at the frontal lobe? There is the large hematoma, but thereâs also a smaller one at the back of his head. We call that a coupâcontrecoup injury. His brain hit so hard in the front that it bounced back and hit the back of his skull on the inside. Iâd say that means there was more force involved than just stumbling forward or tripping, unless he was running down the stairsâwhich at his age seems unlikely. No, Iâd say this is more consistent with being pushed. Looks like you do have a homicide here.â
âBefore he died, the victim said something about being pushed by a demonic force,â Lancaster sniped with a smirk.
âWell, Detective, like you, apparently, I find that dubious,â the doctor said, rolling Barlowâs body toward her to expose the back. âI donât imagine demons leave bruises on your shoulder blades when they push you.â He lowered his head as he peered at her over his spectacles. âBut then, I skipped Demonology in medical school.â
First and foremost, a large thank you to Reedsy Discovery and Gary McAvoy for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Gary McAvoy never ceases to amaze with his stellar writing, one of the reasons I rushed to begin the latest novel in the Vatican Secret Archive series, featuring Father Michael Dominic. As McAvoy collaborates with Ronald L. Moore, they examine yet another mystery housed within the Vatican, while sinister forces seek to push the limits once again. McAvoy and Moore guide readers through a historical event shrouded in secrecy, providing plausible possibilities, which only amp up the level of curiosity. The story of the Secrets of Fatima is one known to many Catholics around the world. When Pope John Paul II revealed the third secret in 2000, he did so to dispel much of the hype that had built up over the past forty years, when his predecessors began refusing to share the secret with the general public. Now, an American priest and scholar is dead, and a group known as the Knights of the Apocalypse (KOTA) claim that the End Times are nigh, as they prepare to reveal the true text of the secret. Father Michael Dominic is pulled into the middle, seeking to find the true document and ensure the sitting pope is privy to its meaning, so that the Church can face its enemies, including those from within. McAvoy and Moore do a sensational job with the action and posit some intriguing possibilities for the reader to synthesise.
When three children saw a vision of the Holy Mother in 1917, their small Portuguese town was put on the map. The Three Secrets of Fatima became one of the major miracles chronicled by the Church. Two of the three secret, depicting premonitions, were revealed, though the third, so shocking and scandalous, was never publicly shared. Popes shied away from it, as its truths, speaking of the End of Days, were too problematic. Seeking to dilute the gossip and wonder, Pope John Paul II shed light on the secret in 2000, though many believe it was a false message meant to extinguish flames of speculation and curiosity.
When a priest and scholar working on a piece about the truth surrounding the Third Secret is found murdered in Chicago, a local police constable cannot help but wonder if there is a Vatican connection. When the name of Father Michael Dominic enters the discussion, said constable is keen to learn more from the man who heads the Vatican Secret Archives. A trip to Rome is in order, where the constable connects with one of her Italian counterparts to open an international investigation.Â
After approaching Father Dominic, he is just as confused as they are, but soon learns that there is more to the story than meets the eye. During the nefarious past few years, it would seem that the sitting pope was not given access to a key collection of documents, which include the Third Secret of Fatima. All the while, a group calling itself the Knights of the Apocalypse (KOTA) begins broadcasting news that they are in the possession of the Secret and will soon reveal it. This pushes Catholics around the world into a panic and places the Vatican on the defensive.
While Father Dominic and his core team race around Europe to locate a key that will grant the sitting pope access to a safe that contains the true documents, they are followed by those who would rather see them dead. Dominic soon learns how important these documents could be, as well as the importance to obtain the truth before KOTA wrestles control of the Vaticanâs trust away from the world at large. What neither Dominic nor the sitting pope can know is just how far some people will go to discredit the Vatican hierarchy once and for all, tied to a handful of men who have been eyeing revenge for years. A brilliant addition to the series, which presents new layers of wonder related to Catholic truths and secrecy within the Holy See.Â
I have followed Gary McAvoy on this Vatican journey from the opening pages of the debut novel, which gripped me like few other series I have read. Many themes point to a Vatican that remains complex and multi-layered, which mirrors the Catholic Church in general. McAvoy brings Ronald L. Moore in as a collaborator, allowing them to find ways to bring the story to life and create gripping adventures, layered with historical events. The characters grow on the series reader as each story connects seamlessly. The authors provide a great series for all to enjoy, particularly the reader with an interest in all things Vatican.Â
Father Michael Dominic resumes his role as protagonist of the series, continuing to make his mark. His backstory remains complex and evolving, as series fans have come to discover. Devout in his faith, Dominic enjoys his work within the Vatican Archives, though he finds mysteries outside the walls of the Holy See that keep him constantly on the run. Danger appears to surround him, though he evades it with prowess, rather than pure brawn. The series has moved into some intriguing times, leaving the reader to wonder how Dominic will fit into the larger narrative, particularly with his revelation in the closing pages.
Gary McAvoy has long created a buzz around his stories and the collaborative effort with Ronald L. Moore once again puts the reader in the middle of the action. The narrative develops with each passing chapter, providing mysteries and curiosities sure to leave the reader hungering for more. As the authors intertwiine modern events with historical goings-on, explosive revelations add depth to an already strong foundation. Well-crafted characters, particularly those who reappear and build on their past developments, help create an emotional connection for the reader. While the theme may be the End of Days, once can hope McAvoy (and Moore?) have more to say on the matter, as things have reached a tense point in the series, with an obvious fork in the road towards future developments.
Kudos, Messrs. McAvoy and Moore, for another great piece in the series. You have captivated me yet again!