Andreas Englisch

"Language - words that have slipped past unnoticed a thousand times over - can magically transform a writer into a door, allowing the reader to enter the mysterious world of the imagination." Rome-based foreign correspondent Andreas Englisch is fascinated by the power of words and the way in which they transport the reader to fictional worlds.

Englisch, head of the Italian branch of newspaper and magazine corporation Axel Springer Verlag, has lived in Rome since 1987, and remains as intrigued as ever by his adopted homeland and by the unique cosmos hidden behind the Vatican's walls. In novels such as The Silent God of Wolves (Der stille Gott der Wölfe) and Saint Peter's File (Die Petrus Akte), he plunges the reader into the mysterious world of the Papal state. But Englisch is also an accomplished non-fiction author, and his biography of the late Pope brings to life the story of a legendary contemporary figure. In fact, John Paul II (Johannes Paul II) is far more than a straightforward historical study, and it also includes details gleaned from the author's experience of life in the Vatican. As Springer's religious correspondent, Englisch had the privilege of joining the Pope on his major trips abroad, and he recounts events from a behind-the-scenes perspective. Sometimes the most compelling stories are rooted in history itself.

The Word of God
Prophecies and the Catholic Church

Prophecy through the ages – a fascinating journey into religious history.

The great biblical prophecies are as much of an enigma today as at any time in history, but their effects are very real: the Fatima prophecies inspired Pope John Paul II to help bring down the Iron Curtain, and the prophecy of the Promised Land is at the heart of contemporary politics in the Middle East. Andreas Englisch, a Vatican reporter for over twenty years, is well acquainted with the inner workings of the Vatican. In his latest book he examines prophecies through the ages and takes a closer look at the Ratzinger prophecy, showing how prophecies are still central to the beliefs and workings of the Catholic Church.

»Andreas Englisch’s style is incredibly compelling« (Hamburger Abendblatt)

• HC: C. Bertelsmann 2009


• Movie & TV: Rights free (AVA international)

Traces of the Divine
Miracles and the Catholic Church

Statues of the Virgin Mary that weep tears of blood, people bearing stigmata on their hands and feet, priests that cure the terminally ill and drive out evil spirits – it may sound like the middle ages, but it's all part of the reality of the present-day Catholic church. Andreas Englisch has spent years studying the phenomenon of miracles. Despite a healthy scepticism, he remains fascinated by people who claim to have witnessed the works of God or Satan. Englisch watches exorcisms, meets people who are possessed and talks to exorcists officially honoured by Benedikt XVI. Is it a question of overactive imagination or is the world we inhabit still controlled by forces of good and evil that intervene directly in our lives? The era of miracles is by no means over, as this absorbing, scrupulously researched and thought-provoking book observes.

• HC: C. Bertelsmann 2006


• HC: C. Bertelsmann DER CLUB 2006


• World Movie Rights: UFA Film- und Medienproduktion GmbH


• Sold to: Poland (Bertelsmann Media Sp. Z.o.o), Hungary (Ursus Libris)


• Movie Rights: UFA Film & Medienproduktion GmbH

Habemus Papam
From John Paul II. to Benedict XVI.

Benedict XVI was the first German Pope to be elected for four hundred and eight-two years, but is he the man we think he is? As Dean of the College of Cardinals and Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger helped shape the Catholic Church and the curia during the papacy of John Paul II, but will his views change now that he is Pope? Can he succeed in stepping out from his predecessor's shadow or is he merely there to bridge a gap? Andreas Englisch, Vatican correspondent for over seventeen years, is well acquainted with the inner workings of the Vatican and knows the individuals and forces at work behind the scenes. Englisch has visited the Pope's private rooms and was in the Sixtine Chapel on the day before the Papal election. In this book he describes the passing of John Paul II, the workings of the conclave and the election of the new Pope, before turning to the question as to which direction the Catholic Church is now likely to take.

• HC: Bertelsmann 2005


• PB: Goldmann 2006


• Hörbuch: AUDIOBUCH Verlag oHG 2005


• Sold to: Poland (Rafael)

John Paul II
The Secret of Karol Wojtila

When Andreas Englisch first arrived in Italy as Vatican correspondent, the Catholic Church was merely his job. The Vatican, he thought, was an antiquated and pompous institution, and the Pope an out-of-touch moralizer. But as time went by, Englisch’s attitude to the head of the Catholic Church slowly changed. In the course of his day-to-day work, he observed John Paul II conducting private audiences, leading mass, skiing and receiving medical treatment. He even accompanied him on his major trips abroad. Englisch paints a lively and intimate picture of a man of contradictions: a modern Pope who knew how to use the media to his advantage, but who spoke out against contraception in the era of AIDS. Karol Wojtyla was the first Pope to ask the Jewish people for forgiveness for the Holocaust, and he wasn’t afraid to hide his political opinions, denouncing the Soviet Union and criticizing the Iraq war. This is an entertaining and engaging account of life at the heart of the Vatican and of a Pope who won the battle for people’s hearts. A unique biography enriched by insider knowledge and a profound understanding of the workings of the Vatican.

»Andreas Englisch is an excellent reporter who observes the pope at close quarters.« (New York Times) «Andreas Englisch knows how to tell a gripping story. An alert observer of Italy and the Vatican.«

• HC: Ullstein 2003


• PB:: Ullstein 2004


• HC: Aktualisierte Ausgabe Ullstein 2005


• Audiobook: AUDIOBUCH Verlag oHG 2004


• Sold to: France (Alvik), Poland (MAK Verlag Malgorzata Gola) , Netherlands (Fontaine), Korea (Youngun Pub.), Croatia (Sadasnjost), Lithuania (Alma Littera)

The Silent God of the Wolves

Sister Magdalena has committed a terrible sin. Many years ago she found a series of photos in the Vatican picture archive, showing a document that could only have been written by the Devil himself. The contents of the manuscript shakes her faith to the core, and threatens to bring the Catholic Church to its knees.

»I was so pleased with the novel, I could have written it myself. In fact, it was better than that: I hadn’t written it myself, so I had the pleasure of reading it without contributing a word. Things could scarcely be better.« (Herbert Rosendorfer)

• HC: Weitbrecht 1995


• PB: dtv 1997:


• PB: Verlagsgruppe Lübbe (Bastei Lübbe) 2006


• Film Rights: Phoenix Film

Saint Peter's File

A dark secret lies hidden in the crypt of San Nicola church in the Italian resort of Ariccia. Translator Marion Meiering is commissioned to work on a book by an anonymous author. Gradually it dawns on her that the novel is her life story, which concludes with her imminent death. Assisted by Vincenzo Peo, a freethinking Roman Catholic vicar, she starts to investigate and soon finds herself caught up in a terrifying vortex of superstition and mysticism. A pacy Vatican thriller that draws on medieval legend and authentic documents such as the apocryphal Acts of Peter to send the reader on a suspenseful adventure balanced between fiction and fact.

• HC: Ullstein 1998


• PB: Ullstein 2001


• PB: Verlagsgruppe Lübbe (Bastei Lübbe) 2005


• BC: Bertelsmann 2005


• Sold to: The Netherlands (Uitgeverij de Fontein), Spain (Styria de Ediciones)


• Film Rights: Phoenix Film