Castel Gandolfo is a town located in Italy, in the Lazio region. It is located about 25 kilometers southeast of the center of Rome. Castel Gandolfo is located on the shore of Lake Albano, in the Alban Hills (Colli Albani), a volcanic area southeast of Rome. The town is best known as the location of the Pope’s summer residences, including the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. It was traditionally the summer residence of the popes and is surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo
Just 25 kilometers southeast of Rome and easy to reach by train is the small town of Castel Gandolfo. The town with just more than 8,000 inhabitants, which is located on the green Alban Hills, is mainly known for the papal summer residence. The palace is a so-called exclave of the Vatican City. The complex contains the Apostolic Palace, the Villa Cybo, the Villa Barberini and even a small farm.
The Vatican acquired the Castel Gandolfo castle in 1596 as a payment for a debt owed by the Savelli family. The palace was then built in the 17th century at the behest of Pope Urban VIII and was designed by the architect Carlo Maderno. Since then, the palace has been used by many popes as a popes summer residence and has a beautiful view over the lake of Lago Albano (a volcanic crater lake).
Barberini Gardens
According to archaeologists’ research, Castel Gandolfo is located exactly where ‘Alba Longa’ used to be. This was a city in ancient Latium, which often was in fight with Rome. In the Barberini Gardens of the palace, for example, you can still find remains of a villa of the Roman Emperor Domitian. These 30 hectares of gardens are now a place to stroll among the fountains and statues, enjoy the green surroundings or admire the beautiful view over the lake from the terrace.
Archbishop Peter Ignastius immediately contacted Thomas Jenner and Devon Howard and told them they needed to come to the Vatican ASAP for an essential meeting with the Pope. He then scheduled using his helicopter of choice, AgustaWestland AW139, from the Air Force. They also needed to be prepared to stay overnight at the Castel Gandolfo. Thomas, being single and with no attachments, was able to comply immediately. On the other hand, Devon had to tell his wife of the sudden trip he would have to make and the possible repercussions of the meeting he and Jenner would have with the Pope at Castel Gandolfo. Despite this slight delay, he arrived at the Vatican moments after Jenner did.
To facilitate short trips throughout Italy and to his summer palace, the Pope had access to helicopters provided by the Italian Air Force. The Vatican had a helipad near St. Peter’s Basilica precisely for these flights. It consists of a 25 × 17 m (82 × 56 ft) rectangular concrete landing area linked with a circular parking area. It is also used by visiting heads of state.
Vatican Helipad
AgustaWestland AW139, used by the Pope, and on loan from the Italian Air Force
Two hours after Pope Pius XIII met with his brother Lorenzo Matteo Chiesa, he was now meeting with Thomas Jenner and Devon Howard in the Barberini Gardens of the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo. As they started strolling the private gardens, the Pope started the conversation, “I am sorry about the suddenness of this meeting and all of the clock and dagger surrounding it. This meeting cannot be discussed with anyone, as it can never come back to the Vatican. If it did, it could cause the collapse of the Roman Catholic Church as we know it. I know that I can trust both of you gentlemen implicitly, as neither one of you has ever failed me. As you have already surmised, this meeting is very important to me. While I love God and the church, I also love my family. I am finding this very hard to talk about, because it involves the death of someone very close to me.”
The Pope continued. After briefly pausing to compose himself, “Marco Enzo Chiesa was the son of my younger brother, Lorenzo Matteo Chiesa. As you know, I can never marry nor have children of my own, so I have taken a great interest in my nephews and nieces, and in some small way have tried to play a part in all of their lives. I was particularly close to Marco. I was overjoyed when he took the beautiful Sitti Maria (Santos) Chiesa as his bride. I could tell that she was the love of his life when he called me with the news. So you can imagine how heartbroken I was when I found out that his body was just found a few days after getting married. I only just discovered the events surrounding his death from my brother Lorenzo. I am not going to sugar coat this: my nephew was the victim of an organ harvesting ring in the Philippines. Now this is where you come into the picture. My brother has no faith in the police’s ability to bring those individuals responsible for his son’s death. He feels that even if they were caught, the punishment would not match the terrible crime that they committed. I know I don’t have the right to ask this of either of you, but I will anyway. I want you to bring them to justice—an eye for an eye. I also don’t want you to stop with this local group. I want you to root out this infestation once and for all, I don’t care where it takes you. I want it stopped. I will trust you to mete out punishments as you see fit. I will also provide any assistance that I can. But, and this is a big but, it can never come back to me or the Vatican. I am not worried about myself; if bringing these evil people to justice means that I have to sacrifice my life, I will gladly do so. I don’t want the catholic church destroyed because of my actions. Countless lives have either been taken or have been irrevocably harmed due to this illegal trade. It has to stop.”
Both Devon and Thomas listened somberly to the Pope as he discussed what amounted to slaughter on an epic scale. That was the only way you could take this reason for this meeting. When the Pope finished talking, there was a moment of silence as the two young men looked at each other. Finally, after each giving a nod to the other, Thomas, being the senior member, spoke up. “Your Holiness, we will do as you ask. We will put an end to this evil that is infesting the world. We will do whatever it takes, no stone will remain unturned, and those found guilty by us will be appropriately chastised.”
The Pope gravely replied, “Thank you, my sons; may the Lord our God have mercy on you.” The trio remained silent, lost in their own thoughts, as they finished touring the gardens. Beautiful as they were, the gardens brought no solace to these troubled men. When they arrived back at the Palace, dinner was ready for them. However, none of them felt like socializing, so they took their meals privately in their rooms.
In the morning, the Pope decided to take his breakfast in his room to give Devon and Thomas time to talk together in private, which is precisely what they did as they listlessly picked at their plates. Devon spoke first, “I don’t know about you, Thomas, but I am certainly no angel. I have spilled blood, way too much blood, in the past. However, I hoped to keep it there as I started a new chapter with my wife and our baby daughter. After this job is finished, if we survive, it will be my last one for the Gendarmerie and the Pope.” “I know where you are coming from, Devon. While I don’t have a family, I always considered the church my family. However, His Holiness is asking for a lot from us. I feel bad about the loss he and his brother have suffered, but you are right; I think this will also be my last job. To finish, yes, I have spilled blood in the name of the church, though I am not anxious to do so again. Let’s meet at my apartment back in Rome tomorrow morning to ‘hash out the details’ of our new mission.” Thomas added.
The flight back to the Vatican was quiet as each of the three remained lost in their own thoughts. When they arrived at the Vatican and landed at the helipad, the Pope was the first to exit the helicopter. When Devon and Thomas followed him out the door of the helicopter, they met the Pope standing facing them and still under the wash of the slowing blades. “I will never forget either of you for what you are about to do.” Afterwards, he turned and walked back to his quarters.