1 - The New Pope : Season 1 Episode

Voiello's bitter rival, also played by Orlando.

Nine months after his sudden heart attack, (Lenny Belardo) remains comatose, while a cult of followers gathers outside his hospital, treating him as a living saint. Worried about the rise of "Pius-idolatry," the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Voiello , moves to elect a new pope. The New Pope : Season 1 Episode 1

In the series premiere of The New Pope (the follow-up to The Young Pope ), the Vatican is thrown into chaos as Pope Pius XIII remains in a coma. This guide covers the key events, characters, and stylistic choices from Season 1, Episode 1. Voiello's bitter rival, also played by Orlando

The short-lived pope whose radical Franciscan humility threatens the Vatican elite. In the series premiere of The New Pope

Mostly seen comatose, though he remains the central figure of the show's cult-like devotion.

After a deadlocked conclave between Voiello and his doppelganger, , Voiello engineers a tactical vote for a supposedly malleable candidate: Cardinal Viglietti . Taking the name Pope Francis II , Viglietti unexpectedly becomes a radical reformer, opening the Vatican to refugees and demanding the Cardinals surrender their personal wealth.