ROME, March 19, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) —Marcantonio Colonna, the pseudonymous author of The Dictator Pope, has been revealed as a top flight historian and Knight of Malta.

His name is Henry Sire (H. J. A. Sire). Born in 1949 in Barcelona to a family of French ancestry, Sire was educated at the Jesuits’ centuries-old Stonyhurst College and at Exeter College, Oxford, where he gained an honors degree in Modern History.

Sire’s true identity was revealed today by Regnery Press on a pre-order Google Play publicity page.

Originally self-published and available only on Kindle, Regnery Press is now publishing a revised and updated hard copy of the book titled The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy.

Henry Sire is the author of six books on Catholic history and biography, including one on the famous English Jesuit, writer, and philosopher Father Martin D’Arcy, SJ.

He is also the author of Phoenix from the Ashes: The Making, Unmaking, and Restoration of Catholic Tradition, which examines the state of the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.

According to Regnery, The Dictator Pope is “the fruit of Henry Sire’s four-year residence in Rome from 2013 to 2017. During that time he became personally acquainted with many figures in the Vatican, including Cardinals and Curial officials, together with journalists specializing in Vatican affairs.”

Drawing on sources within the Vatican and in Argentina, the book tells the story of Francis’ pontificate and his life before becoming Pope.

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The explosive book, which first appeared in Italian and then in English in early December, has provoked praise and consternation and drawn considerable attention, particularly in Catholic media.

Shortly after its release, LifeSiteNews interviewed the then-mysterious author.

“The popular image of Pope Francis is one of the most extraordinary deceptions of the present time,” Marcantonio Colonna told LifeSiteNews in December.

Asked why he wrote The Dictator Pope, Colonna said he didn’t know whether his book could have the effect of “encouraging cardinals and other churchmen to tell Francis, ‘The game’s up.’” But what he principally had in mind was “trying to avoid a similar mistake being made again in the next Conclave.”

Since the book’s release, Sire has also maintained an official ‘Dictator Pope’ Twitter page here.

The revised and updated hard copy of The Dictator Pope is due out from Regnery Press on April 23.