Chapter 11 Summary

Francis is awed, watching the majestic basilica prepared for the canonization ceremony. Every action contributes to the dignity and overpowering beauty, even the sampetrius' placement of a footstool before the papal throne and particularly a review of the armored and immobile papal guard. Pilgrim throngs are admitted, breaking the silence, and the guard goes on the ready. To a peal of trumpets that makes Francis' scalp crawl, the crowd rises, and a frail old man in white is carried in on a chair. The ceremony is brief but intense. Aguerra chants three requests to Pope Leo XXI to number Leibowitz among the saints. A heroic portrait, sans smile, is unveiled. After a Te Deum and Mass in Leibowitz's honor, it is finished. The small group of pilgrims, including Francis, makes its way through a series of checkpoints to attend the Pope's reception. The...