The first African-born pope in modern times, Gelasius III (name before his coronation: Kalingemala Lopore) dresses as a common priest and drives his own Fiat to Naples to meet protagonist Emilio Sandoz and try to convince him to return to the planet Rakhat. In his sixties, tall, ebony, thin, with an arresting face, Gelasius is the son of a Dodoth herder. He recalls Emilio in the Gikuyu refugee camp feeding his family and burying his youngest sister. He remembers him afterwards and for decades prays for him. Emilio pours out his feelings that God has betrayed and abandoned him on Rakhat and allowed so many children to perish. Citing Jeremiah's sufferings, Gelasius insists that Emilio is beloved of God and will see the difference that he has made when he returns to Rakhat.
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