Of all candidates to be the next Pope, Danny King may not be the obvious choice. His hairy hair was colored green and the other day he wore a cone T-shirt under his ritual robe.
“I'm an Ashkenazi Jew from Orlando, so I'm not very Catholic,” he said. That's also true.
This is not disqualified in the University of Chicago class, known as the “Italian Renaissance: The War of Dante, Machiavelli, Pope and King.” The highlight of the class is a 1492 Conclave simulation, a historic gathering filled with scandals and accusations of corruption.
It's been 15 years since Professor Ada Palmer began running the simulations, but this is the first time he has been interrupted by the actual death of the Pope. Pope Francis passed away on April 21st. Students were scheduled to vote for their conclave.
The class arrived that day at Rockefeller Chapel, a Gothic revival structure on campus. There is a surreal sense of the weight of their decisions on campus.
“I'm a Catholic, so I smoked a bit, but it was exciting,” said Joseph Depola, a 21-year-old third-year student who took the class two years ago and returned to volunteer this year.
When the Ascanios Forza Cardinal was elected in the fifth vote in the simulation, Mr. Kin of Orlando was elected, volunteers waving a white flag from the balcony, symbolizing the bold smoke from the Sistine Chapel when the Cardinals chose a new person.
Historian and novelist Dr. Palmer compared the class to a historical version of the linguistic immersive class. And this approach does more than help students remember their names and dates. It is also a lesson from “multiple powers,” and anyone can change the course of history.
In the simulation, “Everyone has power, but no one has control,” Dr. Palmer said. “Even the most powerful people don't have enough control over things to actually get the results they want, and when they work for it, they can influence and influence what will happen in the end.”
By last week, the final stretch of the simulation, some students struggled to distinguish between 15th century identity and real life.
Elsa Kuchierman, who portrayed the noble family Francescet Cybo, said she once misrepresented her real boyfriend by the name of her character's wife. Others desperately responded to reports of betrayal of mobile rivals at nightclub at 3am
“Don't eat, don't talk, just Pope.” (This year's simulations have evolved differently.)
“We are great friends in real life,” Emily Curran wore the red robes of the Cardinal Aldisino della Porta Jr., who opposed the Borgia family's aspirations. “We couldn't hang out because we couldn't speak anything except for the Pope class.”
On April 30th, the final day of the simulation, students arrived at a bush of excitement. They ran through racks of clothing Dr. Palmer has been sourced over the years from sources such as the Renaissance Fair and the BBC costume department. She has alerted Etsy and eBay about the phrase “used Shakespeare's costume.”
The Pope began his lawsuit in a moment of silence. At one point he's a frenzy of “Hell, yeah!”
A duel broke out between Michael Tachaniota Marlus and Pandolfo IV Malatesta. The Pope himself then abandoned his robe and began his own duel with Cesare Borgia. (Borgia quickly surrendered, to the Pope's obvious disappointment.)
In real life, the 1492 Conclave ended with the choice of Rodrigo Borgia. Rodrigo Borgia ended as Pope Alexander VI.
However, the class is a simulation, not a re-enactment, Dr. Palmer explained. In other words, students portray (mostly) real historical figures, but they are slowly set up to make their own decisions.
Therefore, the 2025 election of Ascanio Sforza was not the person who existed as Pope Ambrose.
The recent success of the film “Conclave” added to the sense that this year's simulations are related to the real world. One group went to the theatre at Cardinal Costumes, which was loaned out by Dr. Palmer. As for the actual conclave in Rome this week, Kind and several others said they are rooting for Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, a Philippine candidate often referred to as “Asian Francis.”
At the end of the final simulation, students purchased art, arranged to hurry up to marry, and rushed to achieve as many characters as possible. They then took off their costumes and headed to the classroom, where they revealed various schemes and misconceptions.
Cesare Borgia arrives with a torch of his skateboard. Kind opened his laptop and posted playlists such as Joy Division and Modest Mouse. A flock of gods and angels who had snacks at Oreo.
For Kind, his election as Pope Ambrose was the pinnacle of a long-standing dream. He asked about his class from a high school history teacher and wrote an admission essay to the university about his desire to participate. Just before the vote, he kissed his grandfather's little silver mezuza.
Pinto was not the first Jewish pope, Dr. Palmer said. There were also two Muslim popes and a trans Catholic pope.
Mr. Kind broke with tears when he removed his red cardiac bestments to wear the white and gold robes of the pastor of Christ. The experience was mostly intoxicating. “Last Monday, I started excommunicating a man,” he said. And given the swirling situation outside of campus, it was difficult not to escape about the possibilities of real power.
“As far as I know, I am now the only person in the world who claims to be Pope,” Kind said. “I think it technically makes me the pope.”
