When the Pope dies

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WHAT’S UP!

The last time a Pope died in office (before Francis) was in 2005. Pope John Paul II had been in office since 1978 and had come to define a whole generation of Catholics. In addition, his death was also drawn out, with thousands observing a vigil in Rome, praying for his recovery.

That is when I realised that it is not business as usual when a Pope dies. I asked my Catholic friends why all the fervour, knowing full well that if the current Pope dies, another would soon be elected to take his place and the throne of St Peter will carry on being the anchor to the billions of Roman Catholics in the world it had been for almost 2,000 years. They told me I did not understand and that I should shut my trap.

The death of Pope Francis (first of his name) probably caught many faithful by surprise; one day he was meeting with dignitaries, the next the Vatican announced his death. In a way, that probably saved us weeks of nothing else on major news TV stations. I still do not understand that model where Western TV repeats the same story hour after hour, day after day, at times week after week. After one hour, I either switch channels or turn off the TV. How do the people in the UK and the US deal with it? Because they must be watching, otherwise the TV stations would change their model. No wonder they have Trump for President.

This time around, I didn’t even bother switching on the news, I knew what would happen. So, to go with the times, I checked out social media to see how the world was taking it. Much of the discussion was about what happens when a Pope dies, and a lot of it was about the novels of Dan Brown (Angels and Demons) and David Yallop (The Power and the Glory). Both books, although largely fiction, sought to shed light on the most secretive institution in the world.

Someone related the fact that a Pope is buried in three coffins, one of cypress, another of lead and the third of elm. Apparently, the first (cypress) represents humility, but they also put in bags of copper, silver and gold coins. The second is lead, and the cypress one goes into it. The last is elm, an expensive wood which represents the ‘dignity and significance of the papal office’. You didn’t know that now, did you?

I thought of asking my said Catholic friends about that, but remembered my trap is supposed to be shut.

Then Jim Spire Ssentongo posted about the temporality of life, and how discussions are already ongoing on who the next Pope will be. That got him trolled, and his wife got mentioned along the way.

After that was discussed to death (no pun intended), attention turned to the election of a new Pope, and again, netizens were throwing around all kinds of supposed facts about the papacy. Like that there was a woman Pope, Pope Joan (855–857), although some scholars dispute the fact.

Then another claimed that one Pope succeeded his father, and pointed out that according to records, Pope Innocent I (401–417) was the son of Pope Anastasius (399–401; and that Pope Valentine (Aug-Oct 827) was most likely the son of Pope Eugene II (824–827).

And the actual election? Talk was all about the film The Conclave (2024), based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris. It is about the intrigue and scandals that abound when Cardinals meet to elect a new Pope. It’s not streaming anywhere, but demands for ‘soft copies’ are in almost all groups I’m in.

Does anyone know if Eddie ‘Soft’ is still in business? The rest of the stuff was how Ugandans remembered Pope Francis’ visit in 2015. I was nowhere near where the Pope was, but I was in charge of putting together the magazine commemorating his visit. At the end of it all, I swear I could count the number of hairs on the pontiff’s chin.

Then, of course, there is the speculation of who will be the next Pope. It is ironic that the descendants of the people who killed Jesus, the Romans, have provided more than 80% of the Popes to date.

England, Netherlands, Poland and Argentina have had one Pope each. France (16) has the second highest number, while others are Germany (6), Syria (5), Greece (4), the Holy Land (modern day Israel) (3), and Roman Tunisia (3).

So, of the 266 Popes who have been on the throne of St Peter, 217 were Italians. In fact, there was a period of 455 years when all the Popes were Italian. But the last three (John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis) have been non-Italian.

So, speculation is rife that given the times, it might be a black African who could become the next Pope. But I wouldn’t hold my breath on that. Even with divine inspiration and influence, and with Europe having 40% of the votes (down from 51% when Francis became Pope), chances are slim that an African will become Pope anytime soon. Incidentally, Uganda’s Cardinal Wamala, at 98 years of age, is way above the 80 years cut off for eligibility to vote.

Interestingly, among the front runners cited in a BBC story, one is Congolese and another is Ghanaian.

Pope Francis’ burial was held last Saturday, and a conclave typically takes place 15-20 days after a Pope’s death, so it should happen sometime in mid-May. And hence, the ‘white smoke vs black smoke’ game begins. I wish all my Roman Catholic friends the best in this trying time. May the best Cardinal win.

@KalungiKabuye