Nine months into Lenny's papacy, he gives his first audience to the Italian prime minister. Dussolier carries out a controversial edict.

Dussollier blames himself after a tragedy and returns to Honduras. With Lenny's supporters dwindling, he questions whether his papacy is coming to an end.

Reeling from a personal loss, Pope Pius XIII makes an impulsive decision to visit Africa, meeting a revered missionary who stirs mixed feelings inside him.

Gutierrez is dejected by his failure to find evidence against Cardinal Kurtwell, but a new witness may be able to give him what he is looking for.