A young cardinal from New York City, Lenny Belardo is elected pope as a compromise after the leading contenders fail to secure a clear victory in the papal conclave, taking the name Pius XIII. He instantly signals a willingness to rewrite how the Vatican operates, setting the tone for a dramatic clash with centuries of tradition.
Among his first bold moves is a public statement about the pope’s visibility and his relationship with the faithful: he decrees that ordinary people are not worthy to gaze upon the pope’s face, and he makes a stark appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, shrouded in darkness. This provocative entrance underscores his intent to redefine the papal image and authority.
With a new sense of direct influence over the church’s machinery, the pope proclaims that he will now become directly involved in the political affairs of the Vatican, effectively taking control of the Secretariat of State. The move unsettles the college of cardinals, who fear further upheaval to an institution steeped in tradition.
In response to the upheaval, he elevates the woman who raised him, the nun known as Sister Mary, to serve as his chief adviser, and he openly denounces several senior cardinals who oppose his approach. He also signals that he may confiscate the assets of various religious orders—most notably the Franciscans—if they refuse to submit to his leadership.
Continuing to wield symbolism as a tool of power, the pope orders the papal tiara of Pope Paul VI to be removed from display at a major shrine in Washington, D.C., and returned to the Vatican as his personal crown. The gesture is both a challenge to tradition and a statement of his unilateral authority over church ritual.
Desperate to curb the pope’s ambitions, the cardinals arrange a tense meeting with the Italian prime minister. The pope intimidates the official and hints at employing an archaic papal procedure that could urge Italian Catholics not to vote in elections, fueling concerns that he might be aiming to restore the Papal States.
Behind the political maneuvering lies a personal truth: the pope is grappling with a deep depression, and his sweeping actions appear driven by a need to confront the parents who abandoned him as a boy. In this tension between ambition and vulnerability, the story probes how power can mask and magnify a deeply human pain.
