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The pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next seventy-two hours one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on Earth.… (more)
Could hardly put it down. Father Lomeli is the Dean of the Cardinals of the Catholic Church at the Vatican. The story opens as the last Pope has died in the night. The cardinals from around the world must now gather to elect a new pope.
Later as they are gathering, a new man appears with documentation that he has been appointed a Cardinal (Latin word meaning in secret). He is the Cardinal of Bagdad whose life is constantly in danger, also a man who has served the poorest of poor in violent countries.
The story tells of the conclave: the men vying for the title of Pope, those that seem humbled, those that are ambitious, and those that have secrets. The vote goes for more than seven times before a violent terrorist act occurs not only in Rome but in parts of Europe.
The ending is a total surprise. At first one I felt was contrived, but as it finished, felt it was an interesting ending. Will read more by this author. ( )
As a life long Catholic I found this tale of the inner workings of a Papal Conclave interesting and thought provoking. I'm not sure a non-Catholic would feel the same. I'm knocking off a point because there's a bit at the very end that I found unnecessary and I might have preferred the story to reach a similar conclusion but not precisely this one. I do not believe that what happens would ever come to pass in this day and age but perhaps someday.
'I thought it wiser not to eat with the cardinals. I ate in my room. At the eleventh hour I was elected Pope. O Jesus, I too can say what Pius XII said when he was elected: "Have mercy on me, Lord, according to thy great mercy." One would say that it is like a dream and yet, until I die, it is the most solemn reality of all my life. So I'm ready, Lord, "to live and die with you ." About three hundred thousand people applauded me on St Peter's balcony.
The arc-lights prevented me from seeing anything other than a shapeless, heaving mass.'
POPE JOHN XXIII , DIARY ENTRY, 28 OCTOBER 1958
'I was solitary before, but now my solitariness becomes complete and awesome. Hence the dizziness, like vertigo. Like a statue on a plinth—that is how I live now.' POPE PAUL VI
Non credetti bene di scendere a desinare coi cardinali. Mangiai in camera. All'undicesimo scritinio, ecconmi nominato papa. O Gesù, anch'io dirò con Pio XI quando riuscì elettopapa: "Abbi pietà di me, o Dio, nella tua grande misericordia". Si direbbe un sogno ed è, prima di morire, la realtà più solenne di tuttta la mia vita. Eccomi pronto, o Signore, "per morire insieme e insieme vivere|. Circa trecentomila persone mi applaudivano. I riflettori mi impedivano di vedere altro che una massa amorfa in agitazione. PAPA GIOVANNI XXIII, annotazione sull'Agenda quotidiana, 28 ottobre 1958
Già prima ero solitario, ma ora la mia solitudine diventa totale e terribile, dà le vertigini. Come una statua sopra una guglia, ecco come vivo ora. PAPA PAOLO VI
Dedication
For Charlie
To Charlie
First words
Even voor tweeën in de ochtend verliet kardinaal Lomeli zijn appartement in het Paleis van het Heilig Officie en liep haastig door de donkere kloostergangen van het Vaticaan naar het slaapvertrek van de paus.
Il cardinal Lomeli usci dal suo appartamento nel palazzo del Sant'Uffizio poco prima delle due di notte e attraversò in fretta i porticati bui del Vaticano, diretto alle stanze del papa.
Quotations
Accese l'abat-jour e lesse qualche pagina dalle Meditazioni prima della celebrazione della Santa Messa di Guardini:
Se qualcuno mi chiedesse con cos ha inizio la vita liturgica, risponderei: con l'imparare il raccoglimento...quel raccoglimento attento in cui può attecchire la parola di Dio. Dev'essere ragiunto prima che inizi la funzione, se possibile con il silenzio mentre si va verso la chiesa, ancor meglio con un breve periodo di meditazione la sera prima.
Ma come si raggiungeva quel raccoglimento? Quella era la domanda a cui Guardini non offriva risposta e, al posto del raccoglimento, man mano che la notte si trascinava lentamente, il rumore nella testa di Lomeli si fece ancora più insistente del solito. "Ha salvato gi altri, non può salvare se stesso". Lo scherno degli scriba e degli anziani ai piedi della croce. Il paradosso al centro del Vangelo. ll prete che celebra la messa ma non riesce a trovare la comunione.
"Io ti chiamo a gran voce, Dio, ma tu non mi rispondi." Nell'ultimo anno una specie di insonnia spirituale si era impadronita di lui, qualcosa di simile a un'interferenza che gli impediva di trovare quella comunione con lo Spirito Santo un tempo così naturale. E, proprio come accade col sonno, più si ambiva a una preghiera piena di significato, più questa diventava inafferrabile.
Last words
Hij kon de schoorsteen en de witte rook niet onderscheiden, maar alleen de bleke glans van het zoeklicht op het schemerige plafond, even later gevolgd door het verre gedruis van honderdduizenden stemmen die aanzwollen tot hoopvol gejuich.
Lomeli lasciò vagare lo sguardo lungo la canna fumaria fino al punto in cui questa usciva dalla finestra senza vetri nel cielo buio. Non riuscì a vedere il comignolo né il fumo bianco, solo il riflesso pallido del rifelttore sul soffitto, seguito un attimo dopo dal boato lontano di centinaia di migliaia di voci che vibravano di giubilo e di speranza.
The pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next seventy-two hours one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on Earth.
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Pápež zomrel. Za zamknutými dverami Sixtínskej kaplnky stoosemnásť kardinálov z celého sveta hlasuje v najprísnejšie strážených voľbách. Stoosemnásť svätých mužov, ktorí majú nielen svoje vlastné ambície, ale aj rivalov. O sedemdesiatdva hodín sa jeden z nich stane hlavou katolíckej cirkvi a jednou z najvplyvnejším a najmocnejších osobností na svete.
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Later as they are gathering, a new man appears with documentation that he has been appointed a Cardinal (Latin word meaning in secret). He is the Cardinal of Bagdad whose life is constantly in danger, also a man who has served the poorest of poor in violent countries.
The story tells of the conclave: the men vying for the title of Pope, those that seem humbled, those that are ambitious, and those that have secrets. The vote goes for more than seven times before a violent terrorist act occurs not only in Rome but in parts of Europe.
The ending is a total surprise. At first one I felt was contrived, but as it finished, felt it was an interesting ending. Will read more by this author. (