The St. Gallen Mafia: Exposing the Secret Reformist Group within the Church

The mid-1990s, a clandestine group of high-ranking churchmen began gathering in St Gallen, Switzerland. Opposed to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the circle plotted a revolution in stealth.

By 2015, their secret ached to be told. Before an audience, Cardinal Godfried Danneels joked of being a part of a “mafia.” But as explosive as Danneels’s confession was, a thick cloud of mystery still enshrouds the St Gallen mafia.

In this compelling book, Julia Meloni pieces together the eerie trail of confessional evidence about the St Gallen group. The St Gallen Mafia sheds light on:
• The mysteries of the 2005 conclave, where mafia members grew divided over a plan to back Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope.
• The war against Benedict XVI by the mafia’s Cardinal Achille Silvestrini—and the mysterious “confessions” believed to be linked to him.

• The enigmatic, complicated relationship between the mafia’s Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini and Benedict XVI.
• The mafia writings that presaged a new Francis—and the 2013 conclave that elected him.
• Martini’s enduring role as an “ante-pope” —a precursor for Pope Francis.

Copiously researched and grippingly narrated, The St Gallen Mafia exposes a long-simmering plan to dramatically reshape the Catholic Church.

“I have studied the text and find it to be excellent.”
-Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
“Reading this book is as exciting as reading a novel, but everything in it is documented with a rigorous historical method… Julia Meloni tells the story of a real conspiracy, of which she accurately exposes the end goal, the means, the places, and the protagonists.”
–Roberto de Mattei, historian, Lepanto Foundation
“Julia Meloni’s new book The St Gallen Mafia provides a valuable service to readers curious about the origins of the current pontificate. Drawing on a wide range of sources, she fills in the picture of the St Gallen Mafia, a group of influential liberal prelates who plotted for years to elect a progressive-minded pope.”
–George Neumayr, Journalist, The American Spectator