During a recent NHK interview, a Japanese cardinal offered an unexpected insight into the papal election:
“To become Pope, you must be a cultural Italian.”
He wasn’t referring to ethnicity, nor to legal citizenship obviously.
He was pointing to something subtler—an unspoken requirement rooted in culture, history, and institutional memory.
This is what makes the papacy fascinating.
On the surface, it’s the most global of offices—representing over a billion Catholics worldwide.
But structurally, it remains the Bishopric of Rome, deeply tied to a particular city, a particular history, and a particular way of conducting power.
I wrote more about it in the past as well. Please refer below.
https://fabiocaipirinha.com/archives/4995
- What Is a Cultural Italian?
Now, a cultural Italian is not defined by passport.
He—or she—is someone who understands Rome’s tempo, speaks the language of the Curia (literally and figuratively), and knows how to navigate its unwritten codes.
In the case of the Vatican, this means:
- Knowing how to negotiate power through nuance, not confrontation.
- Understanding hierarchy, but also human relationships.
- Being fluent in the history, rituals, timings, and silences of Italian ecclesial life.
It’s no coincidence that even non-European Popes like Benedict XVI (German) and Francis (Argentine) were steeped in Roman experience long before ascending the throne of Peter.
- Global Roles, Local Roots
I think, this paradox—universal leadership requiring local fluency—is not limited to the Church.
The CEO of a global company may be headquartered in New York or Singapore, but unless they grasp the “cultural operating system” of their internal power center, they’re unlikely to succeed.
It raises the question:
- Can one truly lead a culture one doesn’t belong to?
- Perhaps the real skill isn’t in mastery, but in becoming “culturally bilingual.”
- What About Us?
This made me ask myself: In what contexts am I a “cultural insider” without being a native?
Am I a cultural Tokyoite? A cultural Londoner?
Can I write as a cultural Japanese in English?
And what does it mean to lead, teach, or create in a culture that isn’t legally yours—but which you’ve learned to inhabit deeply?
To be a “cultural Italian,” in this broader sense, may be one of the most important (and overlooked) forms of leadership today.
- Belonging Before Leading
Leadership is often portrayed as the power to move others.
But the Church teaches us a different lesson:
You must belong before you lead.
This belonging isn’t about conformity—it’s about sensitivity, fluency, and respect for hidden systems.
The next Pope may come from Africa, Asia, or Latin America—but he will still, in one way or another, be a “cultural Italian.”
And maybe that’s not a limitation.
Maybe it’s the Roman model that is eternal.
If you’ve ever tried to lead across cultures—or write across them—you might be more of a “cultural Italian” than you think. ◾️