[1] In this Catholic comic thriller Pope Marx the First returns to the Vatican after being thought lost in an air crash two years previous.

He takes over from Cardinal Stephen, who had been elected as Urban IX, an "accidental Pope" during the time Marx was thought lost.

Stephen, who opposes these planned changes, is now serving as the Vatican's Secretary of State so that the Pope "can keep his eye on him."

A number of miraculous occurrences happen and some say these events are due to the founder's intercession while others contest this.

This leads to diplomatic friction between the USSR, Spain, The United Kingdom and the Vatican.