Victorian Britain’s celebrity preacher, the Irish-born Monsignor Thomas John Capel, hid a dark secret. Behind his handsome looks, rich aristocratic friends, and close ties to two Popes, he was a sexual predator and exploiter of vulnerable women. His lustful encounters, heavy drinking and wild spending ended in humiliation, disgrace and suspension by Rome.

In his travels through Europe and the United States, this superstar of the Catholic Church left behind a trail of broken hearts and admirers shorn of their savings. His behaviour threatened to bring the Church in Britain to its knees. For the first time in a century and a half, this groundbreaking book recalls the sensational decline and fall of a man who was once admired and acclaimed worldwide.