Paolo Sorrentino’s 2016 television series The Young Pope operates as an ornate theatrical study of spiritual isolation, absolute authority, and the heavy burden of belief. Rather than offering a standard institutional drama, the show creates a hermetic world inside the Vatican where faith isn't just a matter of private devotion; it's weaponized, questioned, and guarded behind velvet ropes and centuries of ceremony. At the center of this world stands Lenny Belardo—Pope Pius XIII—a man who transforms the Holy See into an enigma of contradiction, withdrawal, and fierce dogmatic certainty.
Understanding the series requires looking past its striking visual compositions and surreal aesthetic choices. Underneath the papal robes, cherry red shoes, and grand corridors lies a stark exploration of loneliness, the friction between dogma and modernity, and the psychological cost of claiming to speak for God.
The Architecture of Isolation: Lenny Belardo's Papacy
When Lenny Belardo ascends to the papal throne as the first American pontiff, the college of cardinals expects a pliable figurehead they can control behind the scenes. Instead, they get a rigid traditionalist wrapped in an unpredictable modern persona. Belardo refuses to show his face to the public, issues sweeping demands for absolute orthodoxy, and alienates his closest advisers by casting doubt on everyone's spiritual sincerity, including his own.
This withdrawal isn't just about staging a power play; it's a profound manifestation of personal trauma. Orphaned as an infant by hippie parents who left him at a Catholic orphanage, Lenny's entire life is defined by abandonment. His absolute authority as Pope becomes a psychological shield. If he controls everything and demands total submission, no one can leave him again. The Vatican is rendered as a gilded cage where his high station functions as a luxury prison built on childhood wounds. For additional background on the matter, in-depth reporting can also be found on The New York Times.
- The Orphaned Pope: His theological rigor stems from a desperate, unmet need for divine connection that mirrors his longing for his missing parents.
- The Refusal of the Image: By hiding his face from the faithful, he turns the papacy into an abstract idea, forcing the church to grapple with power stripped of populist charm.
- The Paradox of Certainty: Beneath his fierce proclamations of faith, Lenny wrestles with agonizing doubts about God’s existence and his own worthiness.
Power Struggles and Vatican Machinations
While Lenny retreats into his own mind, the Vatican's administrative machinery keeps running through Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Voiello. Played with oily pragmatism, Voiello represents the earthly, political side of the church—a man who loves soccer, Italian politics, and backroom deals just as much as he loves his collar. The power dynamic between Voiello and Belardo forms the backbone of the series' political tension.
Voiello views the papacy through the lens of survival and influence. He understands vote counts, media optics, and how to neutralize internal threats. Lenny, conversely, treats the church as a spiritual battleground where worldly politics are utterly meaningless. This fundamental clash highlights a central theme across Sorrentino's work: the eternal war between institutional preservation and raw, uncompromising idealism.
Other key players navigate this treacherous ecosystem with their own agendas. Sister Mary, who raised Lenny in the orphanage and serves as his closest confidante, wields quiet maternal power that cuts through his sharp defenses. Cardinal Spencer, Lenny's mentor who was passed over for the papacy, embodies bitter disappointment and the tragedy of ecclesiastical ambition gone sour. Through these figures, the series dissects how power corrupts, heals, and isolates everyone it touches.
Morality, Dogma, and the Modern World
The Young Pope refuses to offer easy moral binaries. When Lenny demands a return to strict, unyielding dogma—alienating liberal factions and believers who hoped for a progressive shift—the show doesn't neatly endorse or condemn his stance. Instead, it examines what happens when a leader applies absolute rules in a complex, messy world.
Lenny’s conservative theological posture is deeply contradictory. He preaches detachment from worldly pleasures while living inside a palace filled with priceless art and papal wealth. He condemns modern secularism yet utilizes media manipulation and theatrical staging to project mystery. This hypocrisy isn't framed as simple villainy; it's shown as the inescapable burden of running an ancient global empire.
The series also explores human frailty among the priesthood, tackling complex questions of celibacy, loneliness, and hidden identities within the hierarchy. Characters like the tragic Father Andrew or the conflicted Cardinal Gutierrez face personal crises that expose the human cost of institutional rigidity. Faith, in Sorrentino's universe, is never simple. It is a grueling negotiation between divine mystery and human weakness.
Sorrentino's Visual Language and Surrealism
Director Paolo Sorrentino infuses every episode with striking, surreal imagery that separates the show from standard prestige television. Kangaroos roaming the Vatican gardens, slow-motion walks down endless marbled hallways, and dream sequences involving neon signs and smoking sessions create an atmosphere that feels closer to magical realism than a documentary-style church exposé.
This stylistic choice serves a thematic purpose. The Vatican is an institution built on art, theater, and ritual. By heightening the visual splendor and turning ordinary moments into uncanny tableaus, Sorrentino reminds viewers that the papacy is a performance. The clothes, the architecture, and the silence are all tools designed to manufacture awe and maintain control over millions of believers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lenny Belardo based on a real Pope?
No, Lenny Belardo is a fictional character created by Paolo Sorrentino. While the show draws inspiration from the complex internal politics, traditions, and history of the Catholic Church, Pope Pius XIII is entirely fictional.
What does the kangaroo in The Young Pope symbolize?
The Australian Prime Minister gifts Lenny a live kangaroo early in the series. The animal represents the surreal, unpredictable nature of Lenny's papacy and serves as a bizarre intrusion of the wild natural world into the hyper-manicured, artificial environment of the Vatican.
How does the series end?
The first season concludes with Lenny suffering a sudden heart attack while delivering an emotional speech to the massive crowds in Venice, leaving the future of his papacy and the church's internal balance of power hanging in profound uncertainty.
Where can I watch The Young Pope?
The series originally aired on HBO, Sky Atlantic, and Canal+. Depending on your region, you can stream it on platforms like Max or rent it through digital storefronts like Apple TV.
