INSIDE OLD CATHOLIC

By ++Gabriel O. Obiano Historical fiction based on real events. The summer heat settled over Rome in 1870. Long before the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang across the Eternal City, bishops were already walking through its great halls. They came from every corner of the Roman Catholic world. Some wore simple black cassocks. Others arrived in flowing purple robes trimmed with scarlet. Their languages differed, but they all carried the same burden: the First Vatican Council. Outside, pilgrims admired the grandeur of the Vatican. Inside, something far more significant was unfolding. The corridors echoed with quiet conversations. Small groups of bishops gathered beneath marble arches. Some spoke confidently about the future. Others lowered their voices whenever unfamiliar footsteps approached. No one doubted that an important decision lay ahead. The question was whether the Church would remain as it had long understood itself, or whether it would define something entirely new. One eve...