The Accidental Pope (64 page)

Immediately after Mass, Brian went back up to the apostolic apartment to be with the children. He spent the next few hours helping to console the grief-stricken family. He also called in Tim Shanahan and Father Tucci to discuss funeral arrangements. Cardinal Robitelli and several of the other cardinals also paid their respects to the bereaved family.

“When you feel up to it, Miss Kelly, Cardinal Bellotti and I will stop by to discuss the funeral and all other arrangements,” said Robitelli.

“Thank you, Your Eminence, but Uncle Brian and I are planning them now,” Colleen replied softly but clearly.

A startled Cardinal Robitelli could only respond, “But, but…” Then, resignation in his tone, “Just as you say.” And he walked out.

Brian took out the envelope and the encyclical predated August 15, the feast day of Our Lady of Assumption.

“Are you going to release Bill's encyclical today, Uncle Brian?” Colleen asked.

“Just as the Holy Father said. He wanted it released today, and it will be released later on today. I'll get it faxed to all the members of the special drafting team so they can release it and explain it in their various languages and countries. I'll also get it to all the members of the curia and the college of cardinals,” Brian declared.

Maureen Kirby was on her way to classes at Marymount with her school friends, walking through Piazza Venezia, when they heard the bells ringing at St. Peter's Basilica. Maureen looked at her watch—ten-thirty. The bells didn't normally ring till noontime, when the Angelus was prayed.

Just as they were ready to go into the school building, the bells at St. Mark's started to ring. “What's going on? Why are all the bells ringing?” the people cried out as they started to emerge onto St. Peter's Square.

“The pope is dead,” was broadcast in Italian, English, and the other languages of the people gathered for the feast day of Our Lady of Assumption.

“Mio Dio!”
The great square was filling up with celebrants turned mourners. Even though the pope's poor health was well known, the actual news of his death stupefied everyone. In such a short time, Bill Kelly had become an icon throughout Italy and most of the world. Within an hour the people were looking up at the window of the pope's apartment, praying, almost expecting him to look out and wave as every pope had done for centuries.

Businesses closed down for the day, and the president of Italy proclaimed the following Friday, the day of the funeral, a national day of mourning.

Within three hours, the crowds were backed up all the way to Viadella Conciliazione to Castel Sant'Angelo. Within twenty-four hours, TV trucks and hundreds of camera crews filled the city. Tel Pace, RAI, CNN, Sky News, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox announced that on Friday they were going to cover the funeral live.

Cardinal Robitelli met with his loyalists, planning aspects of the funeral despite Colleen Kelly's wishes that she and Brian Comiskey should make all the arrangements. To Comiskey and a few other cardinals on the spot, it seemed more as if he was conducting a political meeting, planning the coming conclave, than a funeral. The next few days would be spent preparing for the funeral and the customary period for
Novemdiales,
the days of mourning, which could run to fifteen or more days.

This was a time usually spent praising the accomplishments of the deceased pope and discussing what the priorities of the Church should be. But for some members of the college of cardinals, their major objective was to line up the votes for the next pope, before the next conclave even began.

Meghan Kelly called her brother, Ryan, to give him the sad but not unexpected news.

“Dad knew as I was speaking to him that it was his last night,” Ryan grieved. “I could hear it in his voice. I love and respect him so much. Yes, I'll miss him deeply, but what better father could anyone ask for?”

Tim Shanahan called Kathy Kirby and asked if she and Maureen could come up to the papal apartment to help console the children. Tim was also making arrangements for Ryan and Paula to fly to Rome that afternoon from Boston.

Calls and telegrams of sympathy poured in from all over the world. From the president of the United States, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and the king of Spain to the Japanese diet, which recessed in honor of Pope Peter II. The crown prince of Saudi Arabia shocked the Islamic world by flying the Vatican flag at half-staff over the government buildings, a scene never imaginable in that or any other Muslim country.

But probably the most spontaneous outpouring of love came from the little village of Rakai in Uganda, where the pope had visited with Cardinal Motupu. It was the village where every one of the children in the school had lost at least one member of their immediate family to AIDS or another, still unidentifiable, virus. They loved the pope and he had loved them, and they knew it.

When these forgotten children heard the news of Bill's death, they worked all night painting a sign over the school door reading
POPE BILL KELLY SCHOOL
and sent out invitations to every one in the village and surrounding towns to attend a Mass and pay special tribute to their deceased friend. As one of the sixth graders told a Reuters reporter, “The pope saw goodness in each one of us, when nobody even wanted to look at us.” Reuters photographer Gail Oskin took a photo that captured the feeling of these African children as they held up a small sign reading
THANK GOD FOR THE POPE
.

In Northern Ireland, Catholic political leader John Hume and Protestant leader David Trimble introduced a measure to build a memorial to Pope Bill Kelly in downtown Belfast, the main square. This square had once been the center of the violence and the one main area connecting the Protestant community to the Catholic. It was the same square that Pope Bill Kelly had visited.

*   *   *

While the world mourned for this regular guy, Bill, there was one person on the verge of severe depression over his death, and that was Augustine Cardinal Motupu, in Africa. When Shahahan told Comiskey that Motupu wouldn't come to the phone to talk to anyone, they became deeply concerned. Repeated calls got the same response from the African cardinal's secretary: “I'm sorry, Cardinal Comiskey, but His Eminence is not taking any calls.”

Gus blamed himself for the pope's death.
I was too selfish. I coaxed him to come to Africa. He'd be alive today if he hadn't come and caught that virus. It was my fault. Why did I do it?
he kept castigating himself.

After two days of Gus refusing to come out of his room and not taking calls from the Vatican or from anyone else, Brian explained the situation to Meghan, whom Gus used to call “little princess.” Tim had the Vatican switchboard operator put a call through to Cardinal Motupu's personal and private phone number from “your little princess,” Meghan Kelly.

“Hello,” answered a man who seemed to be trying to disguise his voice. “Sorry, wrong number.”

But Meghan was prepared for that. “Uncle Gus, my father loved you very much. You can't imagine how happy and proud he was in talking about how he was going to help the poor children of Africa. That's all he talked about. He even said that maybe next summer we could all go there and work in the health clinic. He really believed in what he was doing. He believed he was doing what Our Lady wanted him to do. He was so happy. My family and I need you here. Please come.”

An hour later a message came into the Vatican switchboard that Cardinal Motupu was on his way to Rome, and he was bringing four young children with him to represent the continent of Africa.

By six o'clock on the morning of the funeral, St. Peter's Square was nearly full with people who had come from all over the world. They carried flags from Japan, Mexico, Canada, the United States, Kenya, and Germany. Old people arrived four hours before the funeral Mass would begin. Many people had to stand the whole time, as the limited chairs were given to the elderly. In each section of the square, someone would lead a group in song or prayer. Hawkers were out in force selling Pope Billy Kelly souvenirs: hats, photos, and even miniature fishing rods with
Pope Bill the Fisherman
printed on them. The U.S. president and First Lady, with thirty members of the U.S. House and Senate, were joined by heads of state or other high-ranking representatives from nearly every other country in the world.

At Colleen Kelly's request, Brian Comiskey, Gus Motupu, and American cardinal William Baum, who had also been Kelly's personal confessor, celebrated the High Mass. At the end of the Mass, the deceased pope's son, Ryan Kelly, was invited to speak for the family. His remarks moved the audience to tears and laughter. In his eulogy, Ryan talked about his father's loyalty to God and family, and about the inner conflicts that this dual loyalty sometimes entailed.

“Whenever anything bothered him and this tension developed, he would go down to the fishing dock to do some work around the boats. Every once in a while, it would appear obvious that something else was disturbing him. He often rhetorically asked the question whether he had done enough for Jesus. We later realized that his problem wasn't that he chose family over God or that he loved one less than the other. His dilemma was how he could love both God and family more. In his heart he had made the right decision to become a priest. He also made the right decision, when he fell in love, to get married. But leaving the priesthood made him feel guilty. He kept thinking, Had he let God down? Could he have done more? Is that all there is to my relationship with Christ? Leading a good life and going to Mass on Sunday when I'm not out at sea?'

“When Our Lady of Fatima, to whom he used to privately pray all the time when he was working out at sea, called him once again to serve God and Church, it was all that he could have hoped for. For this way he was able to love God and family more. It was a short but remarkable life. So, while our family has lost a wonderful father, the Church its pope, and society a compassionate friend, all of us won. I know exactly what my dad would say if he were here with us today. He'd say thank you to all the people for their kindness and patience in helping him lead a Church and a religion he loved and passionately believed in. He'd say thank you to all those he worked with, from the docks of New Bedford and Buzzards Bay to the ancient palatial buildings of the Vatican. And as even now he is saying thank you to his partner in life, his wife, Mary, our mom, he would say, ‘I love you, kids,' because he really did, and he constantly tried to prove it. He'd certainly say thank you to the Holy Mother for always being there with him, in good and difficult times. And lastly, he'd thank Almighty God, for giving him the opportunity to know, love, and serve him.

“We will leave my father's body here with another fisherman, St. Peter. When we go back to our home and boats, we will take with us a spirit and memory of not just another important man, but a special man—a man who was happy to achieve his life's goal. Good-bye to our pope, a widower, a dad, and a caring friend, a fisherman.”

Walking over to his dad's casket and placing a red rose on it, Ryan said, “The journey's complete, O Captain. Home is the captain, home from the sea.”

Following the burial service, limousines carrying the Kelly family, Brian, Gus, and Tim drove out of St. Peter's Square and headed to the Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Cardinal Robitelli, smarting because he'd had no serious role to play since the pope's death, immediately went to his private dining room to have lunch with the rest of the voting members of the college of cardinals, those under eighty, to try to lock up their votes at the conclave.

Bellotti already had a detailed game plan worked out for how to get the vote of each and every one of these cardinals.

“Eugenio is trying to lock this up early, tighter than a drum,” Canadian cardinal Pegot was heard to say later that afternoon.

Over a million people, holding signs and waving U.S. and Vatican flags, lined the route from St. Peter's Square to Leonardo da Vinci Airport to say good-bye to the deceased pope's family. When the Kellys got there, they drove directly onto the tarmac, where the U.S. president and his delegation stood alongside the huge Air Force One jet, decorated with the seal of the United States of America on it.

Not much was said on Air Force One until an hour out of Rome. Ed Kirby invited the four children to join the president and First Lady in the forward cabin. Colleen Kelly, Ed, and the president talked about how moving the funeral was and how proud everyone was of Ryan.

“Colleen, would you like a drink?” Ed Kirby offered. “I know your dad liked Irish Mist.”

She nodded.

“See what the others want too,” said the president.

Ryan and Paula also accepted the offer of an Irish Mist. The steward took the orders and soon returned with the drinks.

“Ms. Kelly,” the president went on, “your father made quite an impact on everyone, and all Americans are truly proud of you and your family. The Massachusetts congressional delegation and I would be honored to name, in his memory, a commercial and recreational fishing pier and park to be constructed next to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay. I know your father loved the area very much. My staff has already talked to the officials in the town and at the academy. They say that they would be delighted.”

“If you think it appropriate, Mr. President, our family would be honored,” Colleen said.

“Then it's settled,” said the president.

The Kellys regaled the president and First Lady with funny stories about their experiences at the Vatican together. It was a kind of wake now commencing. Meghan told the president and First Lady how her brother had had to get stitches over his eye when, skateboarding inside the Vatican, he crashed into one of the Swiss guards wearing armor and carrying a large steel ax. Roger told how his sister had fallen into the tomb of St. Paul. A wistful Colleen indicated she would miss her Swiss guardsman, but that he was going to come over to visit her on his next vacation. The entire flight home was taken up with enjoyable stories about the Kelly family's days at the Vatican.