The Late Pope and Lomeli

The late Pope’s care for Lomeli and refusal to release him from service shape the dean’s sense of duty after their final estrangement.

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A Trusted Colleague

A Trusted Colleague Daily proximity Lomeli has been close enough to the late Pope to remember their conversations and shared habits. The Pope’s humility and distrust of grand display influence Lomeli’s own view of service. A complicated intimacy Lomeli nevertheless feels he has been regarded as a manager rather than a spiritual companion. Their bond combines affection with the pain of not being understood.

A Request to Resign

A Request to Resign Asking to leave Lomeli tells the late Pope that his prayer has failed and asks to give up the deanery. At seventy-five, he believes retirement would be appropriate. A refusal to release him The Pope tells him that he is needed to manage the farm, not to be a shepherd. Lomeli feels wounded by the comparison but remains in office.

An Unfinished Farewell

An Unfinished Farewell Regret at the bedside Lomeli remembers that their last meeting ended coldly. He wonders whether the late Pope sensed death and whether his irritation had concealed distress. Duty replaces explanation No final conversation can resolve the hurt. The dean’s practical obligations arrive before he can make peace with the loss.

A Message in the Apartment

A Message in the Apartment Entering the sealed rooms Lomeli breaks the symbolic seals and searches the late Pope’s apartment for evidence about Tremblay. The familiar room becomes a place of grief as well as investigation. A renewed bond Kneeling by the Pope’s bed, Lomeli feels that the dead man’s memory directs him toward action. Whether inspiration or imagination, the moment strengthens his resolve to disclose the report.

A Legacy of Trust

A Legacy of Trust A secret understood Lomeli learns that the late Pope knew Benítez’s intersex condition and had left the decision about treatment to him. The secret helps explain the Pope’s exceptional trust in the newly elected cardinal. Service after death The late Pope’s refusal to release Lomeli from office also becomes clearer: the dean was needed to help the Church through this succession, even if he could not prevent every mistake.

During the late Pope’s pontificate

At their final private audience, about a month before the death

The night of October 19

The night before the eighth ballot

After Benítez’s election