The Pope, like all sovereigns, has two bodies, one natural and one mystical, and since time immemorial the king’s two bodies have constituted a great mystery (1). Since the Pope is a unique sovereign in history, the historical mystery of his two bodies is unique.
(1) Cfr., by German historian Ernst H. Kantorowicz (1895-1963), The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology. Introduction by Conrad Leyser. Preface by William Chester Jordan. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press 2016.
