''The Vicar of Christ'' is a bestselling 1979 novel by Walter F. Murphy. The novel tells the life story of the fictional Declan Walsh, who at various stages of his life is a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient for actions during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Chief Justice of the United States, and finally

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Francis I (Latin: Franciscus Primus). It uses as a narrative framing device the format of being a transcription of tape recordings of interviews made in preparation for writing a biography of the now-dead 'Papa Francesco'.Galeotti uses the Italian version — "Papa Francesco" — throughout his narration. The four interviewees are, in order: Master Gunnery Sergeant Giuseppe Michelangelo Guicciardini, Jr.,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

retired, who recounts Walsh’s wartime experiences;

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...

C. Bradley Walker, III, who recounts the circumstances leading to Walsh’s appointment, career, and eventual resignation as Chief Justice; Ugo Cardinal Galeotti, who recounts the election of Declan Walsh (at the time a simple monk who had resigned as Chief Justice after the death of his wife) by a bitterly deadlocked

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

and his subsequent career as Papa Francesco; and Walsh’s Papal

Press Secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dut ...

Robert Twisdale, who recounts the assassination and funeral of Papa Francesco. Each of the four interviews is prefaced with a short quotation from a poem by Zbigniew Herbert.

References

External links

Will Pope Francis Break the Church?
This includes a plot summary. 1979 American novels Works about the United States Marine Corps Fictional Medal of Honor recipients Novels set in Washington, D.C. Novels set in Italy Novels set during the Korean War Fictional popes {{1970s-war-novel-stub