The Great Reformer, by Austen Ivereigh

Chief among the multiple revelations in this book is that its author was tipped off about the identity of the new pope before the decision of the Vatican conclave was revealed. Austen Ivereigh is a former adviser to the retired archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, a cardinal who was involved in 2013 preconclave meetings but was too old to participate in the actual conclave that chose Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Be­tween the appearance of the white smoke and the revealing of the new pope, Ivereigh reports, Murphy-O’Connor tipped him off that it might just be Bergoglio. This is the first time Ivereigh has put this anecdote—previously told only to friends—in print.

This tip was not the only thing that prepared Ivereigh to say something knowledgeable about Pope Francis from St. Peter’s Square for a British news channel just seconds after the new pontiff emerged from behind the curtains on the balcony—while quite a few talking heads bungled things in those first moments. The months that Ivereigh had spent living in Buenos Aires 20 years earlier researching a dissertation on Argentinian politics and the church helped him as well.

Also important to The Great Reform­er, the most expansive and important biography of Bergoglio yet published, are Ivereigh’s claims about what happened in the secrecy among the cardinals before and after Bergoglio’s election—claims now denied by a Vatican spokesperson. The claims have led to a small controversy involving the author, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, and Pope Francis’s office. Ivereigh seems to have overstepped the boundaries of friendship and confidence in the writing of his book. Even Murphy-O’Connor’s press secretary (probably a former colleague of Ivereigh’s) has insisted that some of what Ivereigh wrote about his old boss is not accurate. Everyone is in an awkward spot. I suspect that Ivereigh overreached to arrive at original conclusions. Either that or he didn’t realize the problems he might cause by telling the tales.