Ukrainian bishop Kiril Lakota, a political prisoner in a Soviet gulag for twenty years, is unexpectedly released and sent to the Vatican, where, upon the sudden death of the Pope, leader of the Catholic Church, he must face a challenging destiny that will put the future of the entire world in his hands.
Anthony Quinn
as Kiril Lakota
Oskar Werner
as Fr. David Telemond
David Janssen
as George Faber
Vittorio De Sica
as Cardinal Rinaldi
Laurence Olivier
as Piotr Ilyich Kamenev
Leo McKern
as Cardinal Leone
John Gielgud
as The Elder Pope
Barbara Jefford
as Dr. Ruth Faber
Rosemary Dexter
as Chiara
Frank Finlay
as Igor Bounin
Burt Kwouk
as Peng
Arnoldo Foà
as Gelasio
