Vive le Roi!

Appreciating the interregnum between two popes

04/24/2025

Luke 24:35-48 The disciples of Jesus recounted what had takenp lace along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.

My friends, we are living in a great time of transition: that awkward but amazing period between two popes. This papal gap is technically called an “interregnum” which literally means “between two reigns” like between the kingship of Henry IV and Henry V.

Unless, of course, you were in France in 1422, when Charles VII took over as king immediately upon the death of his father, Charles VI. He famously (and ironically) declared: “The king is dead! Long live the king!” Of course, Charles VII actually said, “Le roi est mort! Vive le roi!”

In the Catholic Church, the person who directs ecclesiastical traffic during this papal interregnum is called the Camerlengo, or in English, the Chamberlain. Today the Camerlengo is Cardinal Kevin Farrell. Interestingly, when I spent 3 months with the Carmelites in Dallas, Farrell was the bishop, and granted me faculties to celebrate the sacraments. So, our paths have crossed, at least on paper.

Cardinal Farrell will make sure the Church operates smoothly during the interregnum until the conclave elects a new pope. For example, he officially declared the death of Pope Francis. But he is not there to say: “The king is dead! Long live the king!” The Chamberlain is not the pope, although he could be in the conclave.

I was interviewed by 5News on Monday about this papal interregnum and asked how it affects the lives of ordinary Catholics. I answered: “First of all, we are saddened by Pope Francis’ passing and we promptly pray for him. He is not the CEO of some multinational company, but our Holy Father. And we mourn his loss.

“Secondly, we pray the Holy Spirit will guide the cardinals to elect another holy and humble pope like Francis was. And third, we will no longer mention the pope’s name at Mass, but only the name of the local bishop. Sometimes silence speaks louder than what we say.”

But I also added: “This period between two popes is also going to provide a lot of positive publicity for the Catholic Church. And it will afford us an opportunity to highlight what is attractive and exciting about Catholicism. In a word, this interregnum is a chance to evangelize, and invite the world to look at a 2,000 year-old institution with over 1.4 billion members and still going strong. People might want to be part of that organization.”

And even though the pope only passed three days ago, this interregnum is already bearing spiritual fruit. What do I mean? Well, several people have already texted or called me expressing an interest in joining the Church. And I am sure these are just the first few raindrops of a mighty deluge of conversions to Catholicism in the days ahead.

In other words, every time people turn on the television, look at their news feed on their phone, or talk to coworkers at the watercooler, the leader of the Catholic Church will be on their brains, either extolling the virtues of the previous pope, or speculating on who the next pope may be. They are saying in effect: “Le roi est mort! Vive le roi!”

Liturgically-speaking we are in an interregnum too, the transition between the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. That is, for 50 days from Easter until Pentecost, we are moving from the presence, power, and activity of the Second Person of the Trinity (Jesus), to the presence, power, and activity of the Third Person of the Trinity (the Spirit).

That is why during the Easter Season, the first reading is predominantly taken from the Acts of the Apostles. Acts begins with the Ascension of Jesus in ch. 1, then recounts the day of Pentecost in ch. 2, and then for 26 chapters highlights the work of the Holy Spirit in the early Church, especially through the towering figures of Sts. Peter and Paul.

A good way to spend this liturgical interregnum of 50 days would be to study the Acts of the Apostles and you can find my 10-part study on Acts on our church website. Charles VII said egotistically: “Le roi est mort! Vive le roi!” But the Apostles said evangelistically: “Le roi est mort! Vive le roi!” meaning “Jesus the King is dead, but he is risen – Vive le Roi!” Long live the King!

Praised be Jesus Christ!