Pope Joan Page #8

Now we must leave Rome.

If you're discovered, they will

torture you to death.

Johanna!

I understand you better than you think.

I know your heart is torn, but...

now you are with child, the decision

is out of our hands.

Give me until Easter.

That's more than three months away!

I can do so much with that time.

Yes, but... whatever you'd do

your successes can easily undo.

Not when they see that it is good.

If need be, I will get you out of the city,

even against your will.

Holiness, this cannot truly

be your intent!

It is!

Why else would I

trouble you with this?

A school for girls?

Never before...

Never has been such a thing!

You mean we should abandon

the idea just because it's new?

We can only be sure

of one truth,

the truth that has been handed down

to us through the ages.

Everything that is old...

was once new.

Holiness! As I'm sure you know,

the more a girl learns,

the smaller her womb becomes.

- Where did you read?

- It... It's commonly knowledge.

So common that no one has

bothered to write it down?

You do not need books for

what is obvious to all.

No one has written that wool comes

from sheep, and yet, it's known to all.

Then how do you explain the

extraordinary fertility

of educated women like Laeta?

She exchanged letters with St. Jerome,

who reports she brought

15 children into the world.

An aberration.

A rare exception to the rule.

Jordanus, if I remember correctly,

your sister Julia can read and write.

Just enough to keep the

household books.

And nonetheless,

according to your theory,

these abilities must have had

their effect on her fertility.

How many children

has she birthed?

- I haven't counted them.

- Is it not twelve?

Another aberration?

I promise, if in 20 years there aren't

any children left in Rome,

I will close the school.

I thank you all.

His Holiness does not understand that

he needs strong allies.

He has not learned that...

even a Pope must show gratitude.

Well, what do you expect

from a stranger?

Maybe we should

build a school for him.

Let me put it bluntly, my friends,

the Church does not need

a glib trouble of the people,

It needs a man of influence.

A man whose family has shaped

Rome's destiny for decades.

- No doubt you mean a man like you.

- Who is not afraid to show his strength.

You want to take

the Papal Throne by force?

- Let us call it... liberate.

- Are you sure it can be done?

Such a bold plan requires the

support of influential people.

It seems I have that already.

Still...

Is that also true

with the Papal Guard?

They are devoted to their captain.

So he... seems to be the key

to our success.

- Are you feeling unwell?

- It's nothing. I'm fine.

Holy Father! Show mercy and give me

your cloak. Mine is old and dirty.

With that ring on your finger,

I can feed my family for a year.

We don't need a procession.

We need bread!

Here! Look what we have to eat!

Arighis, what if it's a trap?

Calm yourself, Holiness, no one

threaten the Superista.

Watch out!

Arighis...

Stop them. Now!

I command you to help

your Superista.

Holiness!

Lean on me!

After Johanna's death,

Anastasius occupied the Lateran Palace...

and claimed St. Peter's Throne

for himself.

But the Romans, horrified by

this violent grab for power,

refused to accept him.

Soon words spread that it was Anastasius

who had ordered Gerold's murder.

Even his own supporters turned against him.

And Anastasius was deposed and

sent to monastic exile.

But hatred festered within him.

And after many years,

he finally found a way

to take his revenge on Johanna.

He wrote the "Liber Pontificalis,"

a chronicle of all the popes.

All except Johanna.

He concealed her papacy,

and erased her entire existence.

Rome and the Church

were delighted with the book

and make sure to

circulate it widely.

It helped them forget this most

shameful chapter in their history.

40 years after Johanna's death, I too heard

about the suppression of her papacy...

and made my way to Rome.

So extraordinary a life

must not be forgotten.

There should be at least one manuscript

where the truth can be read.

My father Arn, my entire family

have so much to thank her for.

This act is the very least

I could do for Johanna.

Following in her footsteps, I wonder...

if I have met other sisters over the years

without recognizing them,

other women who chose the same

arduous path as I did?

How many of us are there?

With this book a debt is paid...

and something new begins.

One day someone will

read these pages,

and once again Johanna's story

will be told.

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