2023 conveys to future ages an absolutely unprecedented image: the funeral of one pope presided over by another pope. An image that touches upon the very essence of the papacy, which Jesus Christ meant to be one and indivisible. In an interview given to Bruno Vespa on Good Friday of 2005, when he was still prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stated that “the pontificate is a unique responsibility given by the Lord, and one that the Lord alone can take…
Roberto de Mattei was born in Rome on February 21st,1948, son of Baron Rodolfo de Mattei (1899-1981), Professor Emeritus at the University of Rome, and Michela Tarquini.