The Gold Coins Buried with Benedict
Gold coins from the reign of Pope Benedict were interred with him today. These will endure longer than the Latin “Rogito” scroll summarizing his Vita & Acta. His corpus will likely one day become cineres, as do those of most men awaiting resurrection. But those coins will linger in mute witness to the promise of his glorified body’s halo.
Amazing to think that centuries could pass, St. Peter’s could be razed and rebuilt (perhaps even more gloriously by future civilizations… it’s a most Trad and aspirational thought to consider that the most beautiful Cathedrals have yet to be built).
Inscriptions could fade or be lost to the ages… even the longevity of our data in this Age of Information is more fragile than the preservation of old vellum manuscripts, and the very situs of his tomb might pass from human memory amidst inevitable temporal vicissitudes in the Eternal City.
But our heirs might one day, in the far future, find those coins and thus identify his relics… proving the physical existence of a Pope whose hagiographies, sung by Lore-bards in languages not yet known, will piously recount his battles against dragons in miters for the sake of Princess Veritas, who becomes more luminous as the European Continuum co-operates ever more intimately with Logos.