Francesco Duretti

**Cardinal Duretti**, full name **Francesco Duretti**, and later **Pope Duretti**, is a character on Netflix's *Warrior Nun*. He is portrayed by Joaquim de Almeida.

As a cardinal of the Catholic Church, Francesco Duretti was in charge of overseeing the Order of the Cruciform Sword. His priorities were to keep holy relics such as the Halo and the Shield of Faith in the care of the Church and to keep the OCS under control to protect his reputation. After being elected Pope, he had to face the emergence of the Firstborn Children, seeing it as a threat to the Church. He tried to expose Adriel as a fraud and died a martyr.

## History

### Background

Cardinal Duretti has been in charge of overseeing the Order of the Cruciform Sword for many years. He is well aware of the history and the missions of the OCS, among them keeping Divinium under safety. He knew Father Vincent when he was still a criminal and gave him a higher purpose by joining the Church and the OCS. Duretti is ambitious and has preserved his reputation in order to be elected Pope.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

At a press event at Arq-Tech, Cardinal Duretti thanks Kristian Schaefer for sending him an invitation, and both have a discussion about the relation between faith and science. Kristian Schaefer says that Dr. Salvius is trying to reconcile both, while Duretti gives priority to faith. When Dr. Salvius presents her quantuum device, Duretti asks Kristian if he has given her divinium, and he replies that she excavated artifacts herself. At the end of the presentation, Dr. Salvius asks Cardinal Duretti what are the Church's views on her research. Duretti tells her that the divinium artifacts she excavated are holy relics that rightfully belong to the Church and must be returned.

At The Cat’s Cradle, Cardinal Duretti informs Father Vincent that Dr. Salvius is using divinium to build her machine and that Kristian Schaefer is helping her. He also tells him that the Halo should go to Sister Lilith, who is next in line and fully prepared for it. Father Vincent tells him that removing the Halo from Ava Silva may kill her, and tries to convince him to let her keep the Halo. Cardinal Duretti accepts to give her one chance.

Later, Cardinal Duretti informs Father Vincent and Mother Superion that, given the difficulties the OCS is facing, he decided to postpone his return to Rome and to stay at the Cat's Cradle until everything is back in order. In the church, he addresses the Warrior Sisters, informing them that Dr. Salvius is in possession of a sacred Divinium-plated relics being melted down in her lab. He tells them that they have to bring these artifacts into the possession of the Church immediately. Speaking in private with Sister Lilith, he tells her to bring the Halo back to the OCS, implying that she can kill Ava if she has to.

After Sister Beatrice and Sister Camila bring bring the Shield of Faith to Cardinal Duretti, he asks if there was other artifacts. Sister Beatrice says that Dr. Salvius has already melted the rest of them down into an unfinished circular device. Cardinal Duretti understands that she's building a larger version of her quantuum portal and he assumes that she needs the Divinium content of the Shield to finish it. He decides to send the Shield of Faith to Vatican City to keep it safe. When the Shield is ready for transportation, Duretti ask to Sister Beatrice if he can count on her loyalty to him. Beatrice, who doesn't trust him entirely, responds that she will always be faithful to God, leaving Duretti seemingly unsatisfied.

Later, Cardinal Duretti brings the Reject Nuns back to the OCS and reassigns Father Vincent and Sister Beatrice away from the order because of their insubordination. Although Mother Superion disagrees with these decisions, she has no other choice than to accept them.

Meanwhile, Mary has investigated Sister Shannon's death and she's convinced that she was assassinated on Duretti's orders. She tells Ava and the Warrior Sisters that she thinks Duretti his behind her Shannon's death and that he wants to consolidate power by installing a Warrior Nun loyal to him. Following the Pope's death, Mary speculates that Duretti will try to be elected Pope and then order Ava to phase into Adriel's tomb to seize the alleged power of Adriel's bones.

At the Vatican, Cardinal Duretti comes across Mother Superion who was waiting for a private audience with the Pope. He informs her that the Pope is dead and asks her why she wanted to see him. She says that she needed spiritual guidance. During the conclave to elect a new Pope, as Duretti prepares to vote for himself, he sees his divinium ring glowing because the Halo is nearby and he contacts the Reject Nuns, informing them that the Warrior Sisters are in the grottoes of the Vatican.

After a contentious vote, Duretti is elected as Pope. He enters his office and dons the white robes of the Pope. He is informed that he is expected to address the pilgrims waiting outside. When he goes out to greet the crowd, however, a large explosion is heard from underground and Duretti retreats inside, only to find Mother Superion. He asks her what is happening and she tells him the others figured out what he did and why and that he has destroyed the OCS. He states that he was protecting the order and she asks just how he protected them by killing Sister Shannon. He tells her that he didn't kill anyone and that he's only been trying to protect his reputation to win the election. He asks just who is making these accusations and Mother Superion looks troubled.

### Season 2

Francesco Duretti is the Pope of a troubled Catholic Church, as their influence is threatened by the emergence of Adriel, who has amassed a group of followers known as the Firstborn Children. Duretti takes a meeting with Yasmine Amunet, a member of a Coptic order of nuns in Egypt. She claims to be researching lost artifacts, saying that it is for an article she is writing. She then asks him if the attack on the Vatican is related to the emergence of the Firstborn Children, but he claims that there is no connection, only wild speculation. She then asks him about the Order of the Cruciform Sword, which she states she has recently learned of in her research. He tells her that they have gotten off-track and when she tries to press the issue dismisses her.

Later, Duretti has another meeting, this time with Kristian Schaefer. He tells him he's come to offer his services, saying that Arq-Tech's discovery of a multi-dimensional universe could dovetail with Christian goals. Duretti, however, accuses him of working with Adriel and says that Jillian Salvius is trying to co-opt the Catholic Church to her ends. Kristian, however, tells him that Jillian is on sabbatical and handed oversight of the company to him. He tells him a divine being is on Earth, but Duretti replies that Adriel has blinded him just as he has others. He tells him that he defiles the Vatican with Adriel's name and orders him away.

Following this, when Adriel personally pays a visit to the Vatican, Pope Duretti greets him with warm words, asking how he likes the Vatican. Adriel replies that it is better than the catacombs. When Duretti asks him why he is there, he asks if a man cannot come home. He asks if humanity hasn't suffered enough and if they don't deserve a better world. He tells Duretti that they could change the world together. He says that he could wipe away the Vatican with a wave of his hand, but that the two of them ought to work together. He says that Duretti has spent every moment of his life thinking about the same idea. Duretti then shouts that he casts him out, telling him to leave. Adriel then creates a large rumbling, telling Duretti that for a thousand years the Catholic Church has used his power to fuel their rise. He tells him that his offer stands and to give it thought.

Later, Pope Duretti organizes a secret meeting in the Princesa Plaza hotel in Madrid to discuss the current situation of the Church, with several cardinals and church representatives attending as well as Mother Superion and Sister Yasmine. However, several cardinals and security agents are revealed to be Firstborn Children and kill every non-believers except Duretti, Mother Superion and Sister Yasmine, who hide in another room in the hotel. After they are rescued by Ava, Beatrice, and Camila, Duretti decides to stay and surrender to the FBC to carry out a secret plan to expose Adriel as a fraud, as he know that Adriel needs him alive to legitimize him to the world.

Ultimately, Pope Duretti's plan is a failure. During a global broadcast in Adriel's cathedral, he goes onstage, pretending to have finally accepted Adriel's truth, stating that they have prayed through hard times, never knowing if their prayers would be answered and that now it seems they have been. He declares it a momentous day to have witnessed the arrival of a divine being. He then, however, calls Adriel a fraud, a liar and a devil, stating that he is trying to usurp the Catholic Church through trickery and fear. He tells the audience that the plagues were actually manufactured by Kristian Schaefer using Arq-Tech technology. "Behold the plagues of a fraud", he declares, this being the cue for Camila and her team, who have infiltrated Arq-Tech, to reveal the deception. It transpires, however, that Adriel and his forces have double-bluffed them, only letting them believe that they had gained access in order to try to destroy them. Thus, Duretti himself is electrified by Adriel's lightning and killed. His death is the catalyst that leads Father Vincent to realize that Adriel is not what he claims himself to be.

## Personality

Duretti is a devout and pious Catholic, but very ambitious. He manipulates activities behind the scenes and does everything to consolidate his power. He is willing to condone torture if it gives him answers that he wants. After the return of Adriel and the rise of Adriel's Firstborn Children, he wholly rejects them, feeling them a threat to his power. He fails to recognize the corruption within his own ranks and he is ultimately murdered by Adriel.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* *Proverbs 31:25*
* *Ephesians 6:11*
* *Ecclesiasticus 26:9-10*
* *Matthew 7:13*
* *Isaiah 30:20-21*
* *Ephesians 4:22-24*
* *2 Corinthians 10:4*
* *Revelation 2:10*

### Season 2

* *Galatians 6:4-5*
* *Colossians 3:9-10*
* *Luke 8:17*
* *Mark 10:45*
* *Isaiah 40:31*