Cardinal Lamberto is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 appearing in The Godfather Part III

The Godfather Part III

The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American gangster film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire...

. He is portrayed by Raf Vallone

Raf Vallone

Raffaele "Raf" Vallone was an Italian footballer, actor and an international film star.Born in Tropea, Calabria, the son of a lawyer, Vallone attended Liceo classico Cavour in Turin, and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm...

.

In the film

Lamberto is a cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 in the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, and the man favoured to succeed the terminally ill

Terminal illness

Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...

 Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

 as head of the Church. He is visited by Michael Corleone

Michael Corleone

Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his...

 on the advice of Don Tommasino

Don Tommasino

Don Lionele Tommasino is a fictional character from The Godfather series of books and films.-Novel and first two films:Tommasino is an old friend of Vito Corleone from Vito's native village of Corleone, Sicily. By the 1920s, he has become a top-ranking soldier in the local Mafia family, headed by...

, and Michael tells him of his swindle at the hands of Frederick Keinszig

Frederick Keinszig

Frederick Keinszig is a fictional character appearing in The Godfather Part III. He was portrayed by Austrian actor Helmut Berger.-In the film:Nicknamed "God's Banker," Keinszig is the Swiss chief accountant of the Vatican Bank...

, Licio Lucchesi

Licio Lucchesi

Licio Lucchesi, often referred to simply as Don Lucchesi, is a fictional character in The Godfather Part III, in which he is, along with Don Altobello, one of the two chief antagonists...

, and Archbishop Gilday

Archbishop Gilday

Archbishop Gilday is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in The Godfather Part III. He is portrayed by Donal Donnelly. His character is said to have been based on Paul Marcinkus....

. Lamberto encourages Michael to confess his sins; Michael is initially reluctant, but eventually gives in under the Cardinal's gentle prodding. He breaks down in tears when confessing that he ordered the murder of his brother Fredo

Fredo Corleone

Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather. In the fictional universe of the novel and its film adaptation, he is the second son of Vito Corleone , head of a powerful Mafia family...

. Upon the conclusion of the confession, Lamberto tells Michael that it is just that he suffers for his sins, yet still absolves

Absolution

Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....

 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 to the papacy. A moral, thoroughly honest man, he immediately calls for an investigation into the activities of the Vatican Bank

Vatican Bank

The Institute for Works of Religion , commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute located inside Vatican City run by a professional bank CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope...

 and requests a meeting with Keinszig, the Bank's chief accountant. However, Keinszig had left Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 with a large sum of money and several documents. Fearing that their corruption would be exposed, Keinszig, Lucchesi, and Gilday plot to murder the Pope; Gilday poisons his tea, killing him in his sleep.

Inspiration

The character of Lamberto and the film's depiction of the events which lead to his murder are based upon one of the conspiracy theories

Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories

Pope John Paul I died alone in September 1978 only a month after his election to the Papacy. The suddenness of the death, and the Vatican's difficulties with the ceremonial and legal death procedures have resulted in several conspiracy theories.-Rationale:Discrepancies in the Vatican's account of...

 surrounding the sudden death of the real-life Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul I

John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of 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...

, 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

David Yallop

David Anthony Yallop is an agnostic British author who writes chiefly about unsolved crimes. In the 1970s he also contributed scripts for a number of BBC comedy shows...

's 1984 book, In God's Name

In God's Name

In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I is a book by David A. Yallop on Pope John Paul I conspiracy theories. It was published in 1984 by Bantam Books.-Potential danger:...

, have suggested that Luciani was murdered because he was investigating and planning reforms for the Vatican Bank, in light of the Banco Ambrosiano

Banco Ambrosiano

Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed in 1982. At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi and his membership in the illegal Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due...

scandal.