Pope Francis is dead, but the conspiracy theories are very much alive—and one of them is so cinematic, you’d swear it was Vatican fanfic. Except, according to Spanish journalist Vicens Lozano, it might not be fiction at all.
Meet La Cena de los Cuervos—The Dinner of the Crows—a covert series of meetings allegedly held by ultra-conservative political and religious leaders to bring down Pope Francis. The reason? His reformist agenda. His progressive values. His refusal to bow to right-wing ideologues. And according to Lozano, this wasn’t just angry tweets and muttered Latin. This was a coup in robes.
See also: The Pope Is Dead—and You’re Taking Selfies? When Mourning Becomes a Show
Pope Francis had enemies in high—and unholy—places
From the moment Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis in 2013, he was a problem for the Catholic old guard. He spoke openly about climate change, indigenous rights, LGBTQ+ inclusion, capitalism’s failures, and colonial sins.
To the far-right, he wasn’t a pontiff. He was a Marxist. A heretic. The so-called “Rainbow Pope.”
And it wasn’t just angry bishops clutching pearls. Lozano alleges that figures like Santiago Abascal (leader of Spain’s ultra-right VOX), Donald Trump, Javier Milei, and even disgraced former archbishops were part of a coordinated attempt to undermine Francis—and eventually remove him.
See also: The Pope Who Sold God: How Benedict IX’s Corruption Forced the Church to Invent the Conclave
July 4th, 2021: The day they said he died
According to Vaticangate: The Ultra Conspiracy Against Pope Francis, the first “Dinner of the Crows” happened on July 4th, 2021—ironically, the same day Pope Francis underwent surgery.
Behind closed doors, this group reportedly began planning a campaign to force his resignation or… worse.
“It was said that the Holy Father was very ill, that he needed to be pushed to resign at any cost, and that everything should be ready for the next conclave,” Lozano writes.
The meetings didn’t stop there. At least six more took place between 2022 and 2023, where the goal was crystal clear: end Francis’s papacy—and shape the Vatican into something much more politically convenient.
Pope: John Paul I, the Pope Who Lasted Only 33 Days: The Strange, Shadowy Story Behind His Death
Enter Steve Bannon, because of course
And who allegedly had his hands all over this spiritual coup?
Steve Bannon. The former Trump strategist and self-proclaimed enemy of liberalism is named as the alleged orchestrator of these Vatican power moves. If true, it would confirm what many have long suspected: that the far-right sees the Vatican not as a church, but as a prize.
Other names reportedly involved? Former Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò (a QAnon favorite), and cardinals Raymond Leo Burke and Robert Sarah, all known for their vocal opposition to Pope Francis.
See also: The Trans Man Who Met Pope Francis—Remembers How They Changed the Church Forever
Now that he’s gone, is the crow dinner back on?
Francis’s death may have brought an end to his progressive reign, but if this conspiracy holds weight, it’s only the beginning.
Lozano suggests that the group behind the “Dinner of the Crows” could now be regrouping—with one clear goal: installing a pope who plays by their rules. Someone who will roll back the reforms. Someone who won’t speak up for the poor, the migrants, the queer, the colonized. Someone who knows how to stay quiet and stay bought.
Maybe the Vatican doesn’t need an exorcism. Maybe it needs a leak.
This article was originally written in Spanish by Fernando Eslava in Cultura Colectiva.
