| Cardinal Lamberto | |
|---|---|
 Cardinal Lamberto, as portrayed by Raf Vallone in The Godfather Part III | |
| First appearance | The Godfather Part III |
| Created by | Mario Puzo |
| Portrayed by | Raf Vallone |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | John Paul I |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church and later the Pontiff |
Cardinal Lamberto is a fictional character appearing in the 1990 film The Godfather Part III . He is portrayed by Italian actor Raf Vallone. [1] [2] [3]
Lamberto is a Sicilian clergyman and he is the cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church favoured to succeed Pope Paul VI. He is visited by Don Michael Corleone on the advice of the elderly Sicilian Mafia boss Don Tommasino (Michael's Sicilian ally and his father's before him). Michael tells him of the swindle at the hands of corrupt Vatican bank officials Frederick Keinszig, Licio Lucchesi, and Archbishop Gilday. Lamberto encourages Michael to confess his sins; initially reluctant, he eventually does so under the Cardinal's gentle prodding, breaking down in tears when confessing to ordering the murder of his brother Fredo 20 years before. Lamberto tells Michael that he deserves to suffer for his terrible sins, yet absolves him and tells him he still has a chance for redemption.
Upon the death of Paul VI, Lamberto is elected the new pontiff; he takes the name John Paul I upon his accession. A moral, thoroughly honest man, he immediately calls for an investigation into the activities of the Vatican Bank and requests a meeting with Keinszig, the Bank's chief accountant. However, Keinszig has left Rome with a large sum of money and several documents. Fearing that their corruption will be exposed, Keinszig, Lucchesi, and Gilday plot to murder the Pope. Gilday poisons the pontiff's tea, killing him in his sleep.
The character of Lamberto and the film's depiction of the events which led to his murder are based upon one of the conspiracy theories surrounding the sudden death of the real-life Pope John Paul I, Albino Luciani. Like the Lamberto character, Luciani was discovered dead in his bed in 1978, 33 days after his election to the papacy. Various theories, such as the one outlined in David Yallop's 1984 book, In God's Name , have suggested that John Paul I was murdered because he was planning reforms for the Vatican Bank, in light of the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. [4] The purported equivalent of the character Keinszig, banker Roberto Calvi, was mired in the scandal and in fact found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in London under dubious circumstances. Curiously, Calvi had reviewed Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, the basis for the film series, calling it "the only novel which shows how the world really is run." [5] [6]
Pope John Paul I was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent year of three popes and the first to occur since 1605. John Paul I remains the most recent Italian-born pope, the last in a succession of such popes that started with Clement VII in 1523.
Roberto Calvi was an Italian banker, dubbed "God's Banker" by the press because of his close business dealings with the Holy See. He was a native of Milan and was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in one of Italy's biggest political scandals.
Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank that was established in 1896 and collapsed in 1982. The Vatican-based Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, was Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder. The Vatican Bank was accused of funnelling covert United States funds to the Polish trade union Solidarity and to the Nicaraguan Contras through Banco Ambrosiano.
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, Bridget Fonda, George Hamilton and Sofia Coppola. It is the third and final installment in The Godfather trilogy. A sequel to The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), it concludes the fictional story of Michael Corleone, the patriarch of the Corleone family who attempts to legitimize his criminal empire. The film also includes fictionalized accounts of two real-life events: the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981–1982, both linked to Michael Corleone's business affairs.
The Pope Must Die is a 1991 British Catholic Church comedy film directed by Peter Richardson, who also wrote the screenplay with Pete Richens derived from elements of an earlier screenplay for a three-part mini-series satirising the Catholic Church, and which had been rejected by Channel 4. The film stars Robbie Coltrane as a low ranking priest who is mistakenly elected Pope, then has to avoid being assassinated by the Mafia. The film co-stars Adrian Edmondson, Annette Crosbie, Herbert Lom and Alex Rocco. The film was released by Palace Pictures with the backing of Channel 4 Films.
Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. In the three Godfather films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominated for Academy Awards. Michael is the youngest son of Vito Corleone, a Sicilian immigrant who builds a Mafia empire. Upon his father's death, Michael succeeds him as the don of the Corleone crime family.
Vincenzo Santino Corleone is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film The Godfather Part III. He is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.
The papal conclave held on 25 and 26 August 1978 was the first of the two held that year. It was convoked to elect a successor to Paul VI, who had died on 6 August 1978. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, they elected Cardinal Albino Luciani, Patriarch of Venice, as the new pope on the fourth ballot. He accepted the election and took the name John Paul I.
The Corleone family are fictional characters in both the novels and the films created by Mario Puzo, first appearing in his 1969 novel, The Godfather. They are an organized crime family originating from the Sicilian town of Corleone, and based in New York City.
Paul Casimir Marcinkus was an American archbishop of the Catholic Church and president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989.
The Sicilian is a novel by American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group (ISBN 0-671-43564-7), it is based on the life of Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano. It is set in the same universe as Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather (1969), and contains characters from The Godfather. It is regarded as The Godfather's literary sequel and is the second book in The Godfather novel series. It was adapted into a film in 1987, though all Godfather references were removed for copyright reasons in the film adaptation.
Michele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a banker for the Sicilian Mafia and the Vatican. Sindona was a member of the fascist Propaganda Due (#0501), a secret Masonic lodge of the Grand Orient of Italy. He was fatally poisoned in prison while serving a life sentence for the murder of lawyer Giorgio Ambrosoli.
Albert "Al" Neri is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy of films based on it. In all three motion pictures, he is portrayed by actor Richard Bright. He functions as Michael Corleone's personal enforcer, bodyguard and assassin.
The Banda della Magliana was an Italian criminal organization based in Rome. It was founded in 1975. Given by the media, the name refers to the original neighborhood, the Magliana, of some of its members.
Pope John Paul I died suddenly in September 1978, 33 days after his election. Following his death, several conspiracy theories have sprung up.
Francesco Di Carlo was a member of the Sicilian Mafia who turned state witness in 1996. He was accused of being the killer of Roberto Calvi, nicknamed "God's banker", because he was in charge of Banco Ambrosiano and his close association with the Vatican Bank. He died after contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic on April 16, 2020.
Mafia films—a version of gangster films—are a subgenre of crime films dealing with organized crime, often specifically with Mafia organizations. Especially in early mob films, there is considerable overlap with film noir. Popular regional variations of the genre include Italian Poliziotteschi, Chinese Triad films, Japanese Yakuza films, and Indian Mumbai underworld films.
Giuseppe "Pino" Puglisi was a Roman Catholic priest in the rough Palermo neighbourhood of Brancaccio. He openly challenged the Sicilian Mafia who controlled the neighbourhood and was killed by them on his 56th birthday. His life story has been retold in a book, Pino Puglisi, il prete che fece tremare la mafia con un sorriso (2013), and portrayed in a film, Come Into the Light in 2005. He is the first person killed by the Mafia who has been beatified by the Catholic Church.
Giorgio Ambrosoli was an Italian lawyer who was gunned down while investigating the malpractice of banker Michele Sindona.
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