The Third Secret
by Steve Berry
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Fatima, Portugal, 1917. The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary's words or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows. Vatican City, show more present day, Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican's Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church's most clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the details, Michener knows that the Pope's distress stems from the revelations of Fatima. Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican's Secretary of State. Valendrea desperately covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now the Pope's interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years. When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian holy site, in search of a priest, possibly one of the last people on Earth who knows Mary's true message, a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to Pope Clement's birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church, a fate now lying in Michener's own hands. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I started reading this book and felt it had a "DaVinci Code" feel to it but probably because of the historical church aspect to it. It was a good book but towards the end I felt like it was a real let down. He took the whole concept of what the Bible said and changed it to work around main steam ideas of today.
"The Third Secret" is sorta based on true events. In Fatima, Portugal in 1917 three shepherd children had claimed that the "Virgin Mother" came to them in a vision and told them three secrets. The secrets were to be revealed at specific times and the last one not until after 1960. Pope John Paul in 1981 revealed the last secret but some feel it was incorrect and incomplete. This book takes you into a writers realm of what that show more secret is and how important it is to the world.
When the last secret is revealed it's so shocking that the people in the church are willing to kill to keep it from being released. Everyone is so wrapped up in what the secret is that they take it for absolute truth and forgetting what the Bible really says, which the secret contradicts.
Again I know this is just the writers version but I was really disappointed in the end. You can't pick and choose things in the Bible to believe, either you believe it all or you believe nothing. You also can't pick and choose things from it to fit your lifestyle or condemn others for theirs. I felt that he ended it on popular beliefs rather then traditional ones to appease the masses. show less
"The Third Secret" is sorta based on true events. In Fatima, Portugal in 1917 three shepherd children had claimed that the "Virgin Mother" came to them in a vision and told them three secrets. The secrets were to be revealed at specific times and the last one not until after 1960. Pope John Paul in 1981 revealed the last secret but some feel it was incorrect and incomplete. This book takes you into a writers realm of what that show more secret is and how important it is to the world.
When the last secret is revealed it's so shocking that the people in the church are willing to kill to keep it from being released. Everyone is so wrapped up in what the secret is that they take it for absolute truth and forgetting what the Bible really says, which the secret contradicts.
Again I know this is just the writers version but I was really disappointed in the end. You can't pick and choose things in the Bible to believe, either you believe it all or you believe nothing. You also can't pick and choose things from it to fit your lifestyle or condemn others for theirs. I felt that he ended it on popular beliefs rather then traditional ones to appease the masses. show less
This book deals with secrets surpressed by a corrupt Catholic church that threaten to change the face of Christianity and especially the face of the Catholic church. While a good read, some of the ideas presented are fairly unbelievable. However, with a suspension of belief and within the context of this book, they make sense and add to the story. A simple quick read and I think a good introduction into the world of political/religious intrigue novels. Recommend this one.
A tame thriller (is that an oxymoron?) set in the Vatican involving mysteries and secrets of related historic apparitions predicting the future.
I actually enjoyed this mix of truth (?) and fiction. Having been raised Catholic, it's fun to read a humanistic account of intense church teachings and the portrayal of the not-so-perfect heirarchy.
Good light reading with a great ending. I imagine there are Catholics out there shuddering that I would treat this so lightly. But then I have long ago rejected the church teachings that are so obviously man-made and which serve the greed and vanity of the powerful. Several current themes with which the church is struggling are tackled in this book.
I actually enjoyed this mix of truth (?) and fiction. Having been raised Catholic, it's fun to read a humanistic account of intense church teachings and the portrayal of the not-so-perfect heirarchy.
Good light reading with a great ending. I imagine there are Catholics out there shuddering that I would treat this so lightly. But then I have long ago rejected the church teachings that are so obviously man-made and which serve the greed and vanity of the powerful. Several current themes with which the church is struggling are tackled in this book.
I did read the book within a few days as it is well worded, well plotted and makes you want to read on.
While I liked Dan Brown` s Da Vinci code (not his other books) better, the books can be compared to each other and should entertain and attract a similar audience.
What made me think is what I would call a certain foreseeability and mainstream-"cheapness" of the plot:
- be careful - some spoiling might follow -
while I am not offended as a Catholic nor as a politically Conservative, I am still waiting for a modern novel where traditionalists are not villains but the heroes, where members of the higher clergy are not superevil but perhaps really supergood, where "modernists" who publicly support open homosexuality, favor women as show more priests and oppose celibacy are really the ones with sinistre motives threatening the world as we know it - just for a change, for all of today` s movies, novels, plays, but also all the nonfictional writings like Berry` s Third Secret heavily tend to work otherwise.
The plot COULD have been constructed so that the third secret of Fatima was about the church having been right in its 2000 years, about God wanting a certain hierarchy in the world with each of us at his place and with his own duty, about some things being right and others wrong as we long thought the Bible told us, about a strong pope crowned with the papal tiara as a symbol wielding the power of millions of true believers worldwide being exactly what God wants - and all such stuff. That would have been at least equally thrilling and a REAL suprise to us readers.
Do you get my meaning? Environmentalists, Modernists, Leftists, Homosexuals, Emancipationists and so on being just GOOD is not so very original a notion in today` s fictional and non-fictional art. Surprise me next time, Mr. Berry? show less
While I liked Dan Brown` s Da Vinci code (not his other books) better, the books can be compared to each other and should entertain and attract a similar audience.
What made me think is what I would call a certain foreseeability and mainstream-"cheapness" of the plot:
- be careful - some spoiling might follow -
while I am not offended as a Catholic nor as a politically Conservative, I am still waiting for a modern novel where traditionalists are not villains but the heroes, where members of the higher clergy are not superevil but perhaps really supergood, where "modernists" who publicly support open homosexuality, favor women as show more priests and oppose celibacy are really the ones with sinistre motives threatening the world as we know it - just for a change, for all of today` s movies, novels, plays, but also all the nonfictional writings like Berry` s Third Secret heavily tend to work otherwise.
The plot COULD have been constructed so that the third secret of Fatima was about the church having been right in its 2000 years, about God wanting a certain hierarchy in the world with each of us at his place and with his own duty, about some things being right and others wrong as we long thought the Bible told us, about a strong pope crowned with the papal tiara as a symbol wielding the power of millions of true believers worldwide being exactly what God wants - and all such stuff. That would have been at least equally thrilling and a REAL suprise to us readers.
Do you get my meaning? Environmentalists, Modernists, Leftists, Homosexuals, Emancipationists and so on being just GOOD is not so very original a notion in today` s fictional and non-fictional art. Surprise me next time, Mr. Berry? show less
“The Third Secret” is the second Steve Berry book I listened to recently and enjoyed it as much as the first (“The Romanov Prophesy”). This one deals with the Catholic Church and the Marian apparitions in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. A third secret is revealed, but popes for years kept it under wraps until 2000. But its message still isn’t clear. In the book, the current pope, Clement XV, comes to discover what it really means. But Secretary of State Alberto Cardinal Valendrea, who wants to be pope, also knows what the third secret says…and he wants to keep it a secret. In the middle of it all is Papal secretary Father Colin Michener, a close friend and son-like figure to the Pope. The battle between Pope Clement, Cardinal show more Valendrea, Michener, and the Virgin Mary’s words makes for an interesting, fast-paced, thoughtful historical novel.
I really only have two complaints about the book. One is that the third secret is teased in front of the reader so often it gets a little old. Sure, its revelation is pretty much the point of the book, but we frequently get so close to hearing its content before Berry snatches it away, its starts to get frustrating. In contrast, I’m reminded of how relatively early on in “The DaVinci Code” we hear of the big secret. The other complaint is some of the content of the third secret, once we finally do hear it. I’m not Catholic, nor of course will I reveal the secret here. But, I do take issue with one of the revelations. If you’ve read it and want to discuss it with me, feel free.
I will return to Berry soon as I enjoy his work a great deal. show less
I really only have two complaints about the book. One is that the third secret is teased in front of the reader so often it gets a little old. Sure, its revelation is pretty much the point of the book, but we frequently get so close to hearing its content before Berry snatches it away, its starts to get frustrating. In contrast, I’m reminded of how relatively early on in “The DaVinci Code” we hear of the big secret. The other complaint is some of the content of the third secret, once we finally do hear it. I’m not Catholic, nor of course will I reveal the secret here. But, I do take issue with one of the revelations. If you’ve read it and want to discuss it with me, feel free.
I will return to Berry soon as I enjoy his work a great deal. show less
I wasn't especially impressed with this one -- it felt forced and overly dramatic. Lots of writers have done similar storylines & have done it better. I had some trouble keeping the characters straight & the storyline seemed disjointed at times, but that may have been attributable to this being the abridged audio version.
Here's the deal: if you hated the DaVinci Code for its content, you'll probably really hate this one. Me, I know it's fiction (like the DaVinci Code), so the content didn't really bother me. But I think I was a wee bit disappointed in the story; I guess I expected something a little more earth-shattering as far as a revelation at the end. I was hoping for something a little more explosive, I suppose. Oh well. I saw this book reviewed on Amazon by one customer as "an insult to all Christians..." I mean, get real! Read the blurb in the dust jacket then decide if you want to read it or not. It's FICTION, okay??? If you're easily insulted, don't read it!
Having said this, let me try a brief synopsis:
The "Third Secret" is the last of the show more secrets entrusted by the Virgin Mary to three children back in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal. Personally, I'm fascinated by the whole phenomenon of Virgin Mary sightings...in tortillas, in a grilled cheese sandwich, on windows, in blotches on the street. But then again, I have always been interested in goddess literature and studies relating the Virgin Mary to vestiges of goddess worship. Moving right along, there were 3 messages in total given to these children. Berry examines the notion that the third of these, made public by John Paul II in 2000, was not the actual message...that there was a plot to cover up its real contents because it would shake the faith of the modern Catholic world. The girl, Lucia, who received that message, was in her 90s at the time this secret was made public and according to Berry's novel, her hearing was failing, her eyesight bad, and she had been sworn to secrecy, yet she confirmed that the message made public by the pope was the one given to her by the Virgin Mary.
In Berry's novel, he notes that these documents were contained under lock and key in the Riserva, the private archives so secret that only the Pope could go in there and have access to the documents stored there. In the story, a number of popes knew the true secret, and in the case of John XXIII, he wept while reading it. As the novel opens, we are in the reign of Pope Clement XV, a German pope who knows the secret and is troubled by it. He has been on the papal throne for 34 months and he is torn because he knows he should let the world know, but also knows that he would be tearing the Catholic world apart once he reveals the secret. He sends a friend Colin Michener, a priest at the Vatican, to Romania to contact a Father Tibor, currently working in an orphanage there. Father Tibor, it seems, was the translator of the Third Secret, and Clement wants advice as to what he should do. Clement does not entrust the secret to Michener, but sends him on the mission. Now this wouldn't be so complicated, except for the fact that at the same time, the cardinal who did not become the pope in the conclave where Clement was elected, Valendrea, can't wait to become pope and is already exercising his power over those who would support him in the event of the death of Clement. He is one of the nastiest villains I've seen in a long time and I really enjoyed his character. Anyway, he knows something about the third secret and sends his goons and a reporter that Michener was once in love with after Michener to keep track of what he learns in Romania. As Michener learns more, things begin to heat up at the Vatican and the suspense sets in up until the last minute of the book.
If you like books about religious conspiracies, startling revelations & really evil people, you'll like this one. I thought the book was okay; made for an interesting two days and one night of reading. The pace is good, and the book is suspenseful, but to me, I just wasn't wowed by the revelations at the end. I had the most fun with Valendrea's character...what an evil genius! show less
Having said this, let me try a brief synopsis:
The "Third Secret" is the last of the show more secrets entrusted by the Virgin Mary to three children back in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal. Personally, I'm fascinated by the whole phenomenon of Virgin Mary sightings...in tortillas, in a grilled cheese sandwich, on windows, in blotches on the street. But then again, I have always been interested in goddess literature and studies relating the Virgin Mary to vestiges of goddess worship. Moving right along, there were 3 messages in total given to these children. Berry examines the notion that the third of these, made public by John Paul II in 2000, was not the actual message...that there was a plot to cover up its real contents because it would shake the faith of the modern Catholic world. The girl, Lucia, who received that message, was in her 90s at the time this secret was made public and according to Berry's novel, her hearing was failing, her eyesight bad, and she had been sworn to secrecy, yet she confirmed that the message made public by the pope was the one given to her by the Virgin Mary.
In Berry's novel, he notes that these documents were contained under lock and key in the Riserva, the private archives so secret that only the Pope could go in there and have access to the documents stored there. In the story, a number of popes knew the true secret, and in the case of John XXIII, he wept while reading it. As the novel opens, we are in the reign of Pope Clement XV, a German pope who knows the secret and is troubled by it. He has been on the papal throne for 34 months and he is torn because he knows he should let the world know, but also knows that he would be tearing the Catholic world apart once he reveals the secret. He sends a friend Colin Michener, a priest at the Vatican, to Romania to contact a Father Tibor, currently working in an orphanage there. Father Tibor, it seems, was the translator of the Third Secret, and Clement wants advice as to what he should do. Clement does not entrust the secret to Michener, but sends him on the mission. Now this wouldn't be so complicated, except for the fact that at the same time, the cardinal who did not become the pope in the conclave where Clement was elected, Valendrea, can't wait to become pope and is already exercising his power over those who would support him in the event of the death of Clement. He is one of the nastiest villains I've seen in a long time and I really enjoyed his character. Anyway, he knows something about the third secret and sends his goons and a reporter that Michener was once in love with after Michener to keep track of what he learns in Romania. As Michener learns more, things begin to heat up at the Vatican and the suspense sets in up until the last minute of the book.
If you like books about religious conspiracies, startling revelations & really evil people, you'll like this one. I thought the book was okay; made for an interesting two days and one night of reading. The pace is good, and the book is suspenseful, but to me, I just wasn't wowed by the revelations at the end. I had the most fun with Valendrea's character...what an evil genius! show less
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Steve Berry was born in 1955. He is a graduate of Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law. He was a practicing attorney when he started writing in 1990. His first book, The Amber Room, was published in 2003. His other works include The Romanov Prophecy, The Third Secret, The Columbus Affair, The Patriot Threat and the Cotton Malone show more series. He also writes e-book original short stories including The Balkan Escape, The Devil's Gold, and The Admiral's Mark. He and his wife founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding the preservation of our heritage. In 2015, The Patriot Threat made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Het Derde Geheim
- Original title
- The Third Secret
- Original publication date
- 2005
- People/Characters
- Jakob Volkner / Pope Clement XV; Monsignor Colin Michener; Katerina Lew; Cardinal Alberto Valendrea
- Important places
- Vatican City
- Epigraph
- The Church needs nothing but the truth
POPE LEO XIII (1881)
There is nothing greater than this fascinating and sweet mystery
of Fatima, which accompanies the Church and all of humanity
throughout this long century of apostasy, and without a doubt will
accompany them up to ... (show all)their final fall and to their rising up again.
-- ABBE GEORGES DE NANTES (1982),
on the occasion of Pope John Paul II's first pilgrimage to Fatima
Faith is a precious ally in the search for truth.
--POPE JOHN PAUL II (1998) - Dedication
- For Dolores Murad Parrish
Who left this world far too soon
1930-1992 - First words
- Lucia stared toward heaven and watched the Lady descend.
- Quotations*
- De Kerk heeft niets dan de waarheid nodig. (Paus Leo XIII (1885)) Er gaat niets boven het fantastische, zoete mysterie van Fatima, dat de Kerk en het hele mensdom vergezelt door deze lange eeuw van afvalligheid heen, en dat h... (show all)en ongetwijfeld zal blijven vergezellen tot aan hun definitieve val en wederopstanding. (Abbé Georges de Nantes (1982) ter gelegenheid van de eerste bedevaart die paus Johannes Paulus II naar Fatima ondernam) Het geloof is een kostbare bondgenoot in de zoektocht naar de waarheid. (Paus Johannes Paulus II (1998))
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"In fact, it's only just beginning."
- Blurbers
- Neville, Katherine
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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