Pope Joan

By: Pablo Zaragoza

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In this twelfth century historical tale, Joan, a young girl, rebels at her father’s insistence that she marry a fat, ugly oaf. Joan had come to know a young priest, Andrew, and when the time was right – and with his encouragement – they flee the town and travel backroads to various monasteries. Joan soon learns how to wrap her body to disguise her gender, and her contralto voice helps her further to fit in as a male in monasteries where she and Andrew find refuge.

While Andrew pursues the world of numbers and accounting, Joan becomes an avid student, learning to love reading and acquiring knowledge, eventually – through a string of circumstances – propelling her to higher and higher offices within the church and finally becoming the first and only female pope.

How long does Pope Joan keep her gender a secret?