Giuseppe Cardinal Sarto, Patriarch of Venice, summoned to Rome to help elect a new Pope after the death of Pope Leo XIII, left his desk strewn with papers, borrowed enough money for a ticket, and started for the station. His flock blocked the path. "Bless us once more," they cried. "Come back soon." Cardinal Sarto stretched out his arms. "Dead or alive," he said, "I shall come back."
This week, after 56 years, Venice finally saw its patriarch again. At that 1903 conclave, to his surprise, Giuseppe Sarto was himself elected Pope, and in 1954, 40 years after his death, he became...
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