The Pope Must Die

The death of the previous pope leaves the College of Cardinals deadlocked for 25 days. The Mafia's tame Cardinal Rocco persuades them to elect Albini in absentia, masking his absence as him working tirelessly for environmental concerns. This political maneuver sets the stage for a controversial papacy.

Fr. Rookie, who is hard of hearing, records the pope-elect as 'Cardinal Albinizi'. This misnaming seeds confusion about the pope's identity and future events. The mix-up underscores the murky lineage surrounding the election.

Cardinal David 'Dave' Albinizi is elected pope and takes the name David I. He is presented as an honest, unorthodox priest with a benign interest in cars, women and rock and roll. His background includes work at an orphanage, shaping his gospel approach.

Inside the Vatican, the new pope quickly forms a rapport with Bish, the security coordinator, and with the nun who brings his meals. His warmth and casual outlook contrast with clerical formality. These bonds foreshadow a more unconventional papacy.

After a failed assassination attempt, the pope contemplates abdication. The nun confidante persuades him to stay, convincing him to endure the challenges ahead. Her intervention steadies him for the trials to come.

A journalist questions corruption within the Vatican Bank, prompting the pope to demand to see the accounts. He uncovers gun-smuggling and stolen merchandise operations, and Cardinal Rocco is defrocked as a result. The financial rot becomes a central threat.

While seeking material to blackmail the pope, Rocco learns that Albinizi fathered a son with Veronica Dante before entering the priesthood. Veronica never told him about their son. The revelation ties the pope to a personal secret that could undermine his authority.

The son Joe Don Dante becomes a rock star and dates Vittorio Corelli's daughter Luccia. Corelli disapproves and deploys thugs to keep them apart, highlighting the feud between personal loyalties and mafia influence. The romance becomes a flashpoint for future violence.

A bomb targeting the couple kills Luccia and gravely wounds Joe Don Dante. The pope learns of his son and travels to visit him before he dies, deepening the personal stakes of his papal crisis. The tragedy humanizes the political warfare surrounding the Vatican.

The pope dissolves the Vatican Bank as part of cleansing the corruption. He is forced to resign when his affair becomes public knowledge, and Corelli's candidate Albini is elected pope. The power struggle within the Vatican escalates dramatically.

Albini moves into the papal apartments with Corelli. Albinizi reunites with Veronica and learns the orphanage where he worked has closed. The personal and institutional fractures deepen as power shifts continue.

After reading that Albini has become pope, Albinizi rushes back to the Vatican and asks Bish for help to stop the coronation. They encounter a dying Cardinal Rocco, whose confession is interrupted by a phone call from his female partner. The plot to crown Albini intensifies.

Monsignor Fitchie frees Bish as Albinizi hurries to the Sistine Chapel. There he reveals that the man calling himself Albini is actually Corelli in disguise. The veil drops on the coup, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown.

Corelli proclaims himself Pope Vittorio I, Emperor of the Vatican, and fires a few shots at the ceiling. The ceiling collapses onto him, ending his bid. The nun who had served Albinizi as pope is chosen as the first female pope and vows to give the Vatican's gold to the world's poor, while blessing Albinizi to marry.

Bish officiates at Albinizi and Veronica's wedding, symbolizing a personal reconciliation amid the political upheaval. They adopt the children from the orphanage in addition to having their own, signaling a hopeful future for the Vatican and its people.