by Ray Flynn
Bill continued to talk openly without referring specifically to the avviso, but obviously with its words still very much on his mind. “The true meaning of justice must be practiced. The laborers in the field must be justly compensated. The father must be the pillar of the family as Christ is the pillar of the Church.”
Bill’s eyes started to grow heavy, and then, as though mustering a final, resolute decision, he spoke categorically. “Pope John Paul II was sending a clear message to the world through this avviso. We are facing a crisis that is far more devastating than floods, fires, or even wars.
“Brian, please give this folder to the next pope. My encyclical is done. It’s a specific follow-up to the pope’s message and what he wanted me to do. I have tried to do all that he asked. I spoke about some of those things at the UN. The deterioration of the body, such as we have seen in Africa, and the decline of the spirit that we are seeing in so many young people in the U.S. today. They’ve no family foundation to fall back on. The breakup of the family is a far greater threat to young people than any military or nuclear power in the world.” As though pausing to catch his breath or muster the strength to proceed, Bill was quiet for perhaps as long as a minute. Neither Brian nor Colleen interrupted.
“That sealed envelope”—Bill pointed to an envelope lying on the folder marked Avviso—“contains my encyclical with a final few notes. Please release that letter on the day I die. I will date it August 15, feast day of Our Lady of the Assumption, because much of what is in the encyclical pertains to Our Lady and, specifically, her prophecies at Fatima.”
After a few moments’ silence Bill went on. “I think I’ve covered everything. The problem of thousands of Catholics who seek annulments. The Church will deny no one Communion who has lived within the law of the land, even if until now we in Rome pronounced the curia the final arbiter. But no longer.”
Cardinal Comiskey’s face showed his shock, but he only said, “Yours is the last word, Bill.”
“Christ has given me the personal gift of his love and compassion. I am grateful for his friendship. You know, allowing me to serve the poor, the needy, the weak. I thank God for his giving me my Mary and our four wonderful children. Always there for me, good times and bad.”
Just then the private phone rang. Colleen answered, her voice rising in excitement. “Ryan, it’s so good to hear from you. And how is Paula, that lovely sister-in-law of mine? Oh, that’s nice. Here’s Dad.” Colleen handed the telephone to Bill.
“Ryan, I’m so proud and thankful for you being so strong in keeping the business together and never causing us any pain. We were so happy at your wedding. I love you son, always will. You have made me happy. God bless. Yeah, I’m okay. I just wanted to say hello and tell you how much I love you, my boy. And that thing we talked about at the altar a moment before Paula came down the aisle to you? I fixed it. You’ll see. Tell our friend no one need worry. We’ll be together again soon. Maybe at Christmas, all of us. That would be great. Maybe some Christmas soon we’ll see some toys under the pope’s Christmas tree for his grandchildren.”
Colleen and Brian were fighting back the tears as Bill said “So long” to his oldest son on the phone.
“I’m a little tired,” Bill murmured. “Think I’ll catch some shut-eye.”
Climbing into his bed, Bill asked Brian and Colleen to say a decade of the Rosary with him. Then he took his rosary back from Brian. He rubbed the shiny beads a moment and then handed the rosary to his daughter. “This will remind you never to lose faith again. Look at them glow. Brian will tell you about them.” Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
* * *
The next morning, Cardinal Comiskey walked down the long marble corridor of the apostolic apartment, looking straight ahead, not saying a word. He took the elevator down to the main level of St. Peter’s Basilica, led the procession of cardinals and bishops, and celebrated Mass on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption.
It was a beautiful, warm, August 15 morning, and pilgrims from all over the world came to honor the Virgin Mother of God on her feast day, an event celebrated by Catholics everywhere. Cardinal Comiskey had been chosen by Pope Peter II himself to lead the procession down the center aisle and celebrate the Mass. The great Church was filled to capacity. Before Mass started, Brian briefly said to the assembled, “Welcome to St. Peter’s Basilica, the center of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. Today we honor Our Lady. We thank her for the love she has for all of us and for the devotion we all have for her.”
At the end of Mass and before the procession out of the basilica, Brian walked over to the podium. He stopped, cleared his throat, swallowed as if he was trying to catch his breath, and said, “Nobody loved and honored Our Lady more than Pope Peter II. Last night the Holy Father taped a message for all of you.” Cardinal Comiskey gave the signal for the tape to play.
The pope, in his recorded message, spoke movingly about Our Lady and what she had meant to the world. He thanked God for sharing his mother with everybody. “She has been our own mother who loves us, as she does her own son,” Pope Peter avowed. “She saw him born and she saw him die.”
When the brief recorded message ended, Brian looked out at the vast audience. “And now I have some sad news. Our beloved Pope Peter II, or ‘Billy Kelly, the fisherman from the Cape,’ as he often referred to himself, has passed on.”
The audience gasped and was stunned.
“As a fellow priest said, he taught us how to live and he wasn’t afraid to die. On this feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, there is one more good fisherman with Our Lord in Heaven.”
The people broke into tears, but it quickly turned to song as the large organ played “Ave Maria.” Cardinal Comiskey walked down the main aisle of St. Peter’s, singing as the tears flowed down his cheeks.
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 th
e 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.
