L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE LUCA BORTOLI F o r m i l l i o n s o f Catholics around the world, the Pope is a spiritual leader. For t h e R o m a n s , h e ' s a fellow Roman, regardless of where he comes from. We Ital- ians see the Pope as one of our own, used as we are to the pres- ence of his State at the very heart of our capital, of which he, throughout the centuries, often dictated fortunes and misfor- tunes. And, indeed, in history, h e ' s b e e n a p i v o t a l f i g u r e , whose political and diplomatic choices have often defined the structure of Europe. Catholic or not, we Italians tend to think of the Pope as "an Italian thing," and I have the impression that many around the w o r l d f e e l t h e s a m e , a b i t b e c a u s e o f t h e f a c t h e i s i n R o m e , a b i t b e c a u s e o f t h e already mentioned weight he always had in the history of the country. A symbol of Italy, in m a n y w a y s , b u t w h a t d o w e really know about his figure throughout history? When we began calling him Pope T h e w o r d " p o p e " c o m e s from the Greek πάπας and the L a t i n p a p a , b o t h m e a n i n g "father." It is used to refer to the Bishop of Rome, who is also Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church and leader of the Vati- can State. The term was used for the first time by Pope Siricius in 384, in specific relation with the Bishop of Rome. T h e P o p e w a s n ' t a l w a y s elected in conclave To us, of course, the Pope is elected by cardinals during the conclave. That's what we see on TV and hear on the news, that iconic white smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel's chimney t e l l i n g u s a c h o i c e h a s b e e n made. It hasn't always been like that, though. Initially, the Pope was elected by the people and the clergy of Rome and, during t h e e a r l y y e a r s o f t h e H o l y Roman Empire, he had been s o m e t i m e s a p p o i n t e d b y t h e Emperor. In 1059, the election by conclave was introduced, the v e r y s a m e t h a t i s s t i l l u s e d today. The conclave has to gather between 15 and 22 days after the death of the previous Pope. F o u r b a l l o t s p e r d a y a r e allowed, where cardinals cast t h e i r v o t e s e c r e t l y ; i n f a c t , secrecy is crucial, as cardinals are not allowed any contact with the outside world during the process. The only communica- tion between the conclave and the rest of the world are the famous fumate, black or white, curling up towards the Roman skies after each ballot: this is how we commoners learn about the election. Interestingly, once upon a time all baptized males could be Pope, even if the elec- tion of someone who wasn't a bishop and, in more recent cen- turies, a cardinal, have been rare. Disappearing Popes The Pope is without a doubt the ruling figure who had lasted t h e m o s t i n t h e h i s t o r y o f E u r o p e : P e t e r w a s t h e f i r s t , some 2000 years ago and his successors continue to exist. Not many may know, however, that there has been some succession issues here and there throughout the centuries. It's the case, for instance of Pope elected Stephen. A Roman, he was called to the Vatican See on the 22 nd of March 752, suc- c e s s o r o f P o p e Z a c h a r y I . Stephen was, however, an elder- ly man of weak health and, alas, he died only four days after his e l e c t i o n , v i c t i m o f a s t r o k e . Problem was, he had yet to be consecrated Pope and this creat- ed some, let us say, bureaucratic issues. In those years, everyone c o u l d b e c o m e P o p e , w h i c h meant that, sometimes, a Pope elected had to be consecrated cardinal before taking officially up his pontifical role: this was the case of Stephen, who was a bishop, but not yet a cardinal; albeit elected, he could not be considered Pope until cardinal consecration had taken place. For this reason, he kept pop- ping in and out of the official papal lists until the 16 th century, when he officially entered the Annuario Pontificio (the Pontifi- c a l Y e a r b o o k ) , o n l y t o b e r e m o v e d – f o r g o o d , a t t h e moment – in 1961. Lay histori- ans prefer to include him in the papal list, for clarity and histori- cal completeness. The complex m a t t e r i s t h e r e a s o n w h y Stephen's successors are num- bered so curiously: they come with two numbers after their name, the official one that does- n't count Stephen, and the sec- ond that does. As if the Stephens diatribe wasn't enough, there are issues a r o u n d P o p e J o h n s , t o o . W e have a Pope John XXI, a Pope J o h n X X I I a n d , o f c o u r s e , a Pope John XXIII, who recently became a Saint. Pope John XX is, however, missing. The mys- tery can be explained quite easi- ly, though, as it's all down to the lack of historical data referring to the pontificate of Pope John XV and Pope John XIX, which lead some historians in the past to add a John XX to make up for missing years. When the messy patch up work was dis- covered, John XX was swiftly removed from the papal list, but the numbering of his successors remained the same. The Pope's age M o s t o f u s a s s o c i a t e t h e P o p e w i t h a m i d d l e a g e d o r e l d e r l y m a n , b u t t r u t h i s i t hasn't always been like this. H i s t o r i a n s a g r e e t h a t t h e youngest of them all was Pope John XII, who rose to the Vati- can See in 955 at the age of 18. Pope Gregory V, elected in 996, at 24, was also pretty young. Seven Popes were aged between 25 and 40, the last being Leo X in 1513. 11 Popes were between the age of 41 and 50 and 24 were elected when in their 50s: the most recent among them, Saint John Paul II, who was 58 when elected. Was there really a Papes- sa? A female Pope, that is. The legend has been going around for many centuries and is large- ly based on a series of Medieval sources stating that, in 855, a woman became Pope after the d e a t h o f L e o I V , t a k i n g t h e n a m e o f J o h n V I I I . S h e h a d arrived in Rome as a friar name Giovanni Anglico or Angelico and ruled over the Church for three years before being discov- ered in 858 when, apparently, she gave birth during a proces- sion. History, however, tells us things didn't go quite that way, as the election of Benedict III took place only two weeks after the death of his predecessor, Leo IV - the Pope our Papessa should have followed - making t h e p r e s e n c e o f a P o p e i n between the two impossible. According to some histori- ans, there are simple reasons behind the birth of the female Pope legend. Powerful women were common in early Medieval Rome and, later, many members of female monastic orders were famous for their culture and the- ological knowledge, making them perfect candidates to the papacy, had they been males. It is, indeed, possible, that t h e m y t h i c a l f i g u r e o f t h e Papessa was simply a literary mirror to the many powerful and knowledgeable women of Medieval times. The Pope! The Pope! Historical curiosities on the spiritual leader and a symbol of Rome In many a way, the Pope is a symbol of Italy, but what do we really know about his figure?

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