Cui Caelum Negat

Disaster befell just after I had attained my fortieth year. I had been praised by the Vatican for my dedication to the church and been offered a new position assigned by the Pope himself. I was to enter into the ranks of the Servus within the Sanctuarium Hominum A Deo Tactum, which is as prestigious a position as attending to the Pope himself.

No technology is allowed near the Sanctaurium, so when I exited the car, I still had over a kilometer's hike ahead of me. I shouldered the lone pack that I was allowed to possess and began the long, arduous hike toward my future residence. The heat of the late summer day made me want to conserve my energy, so I took the path of least resistance and didn't press too hard. Rocks studded the countryside and there was no visible path that I could locate, so my languorous trip to the Sanctuarium took more than a few hours.

As I crested the final hill, I was taken by the majesty of the structure below. It was massive. It had at least three stories crafted after the Palladian architectural style with hints of a substructure below indicated by the slits that appeared along its base at ground level. The walls were made of humongous slabs of marble that had the appearance of being in place for possibly hundreds of years. The Sanctuarium was ringed by a colonnade that looked to be made from the same marble as the rest of the structure. It was humbling to look at the grounds of such a place.

I took a breath and hastened toward my new home as night began to fall and I didn't want to be hiking in the rocky terrane in the dark. When I finally reached the massive, ancient doors that would allow me entrance, I found myself hesitating. I had left my diocese to answer the call of the Pope and yet I knew very little of my future roll within the walls of the Sanctuarium. What would I be tasked with and what kind of training would be required to fulfill my new role?

I took a deep breath and put my faith in God that all shall be revealed in time before lifting the larger knocker and letting it fall against the door. Moments later, a wizened old man allowed me entrance into a large vestibule with paintings lining the walls within. The paintings were taller than I and each depicted a scene from the bible illuminated by braziers along the wall. One showed Lot's flight from Sodom while another had Moses parting the Red Sea in vivid detail. I marveled at the images of and the Virgin of the Rocks. Apparently, I was not the first to be shocked into such reverence as the gatekeeper simply waited silently for me to finish so that we could continue.

We went through a small door in the left wall and entered into a long, tight passageway. The only light was that of the stars shining through high, narrow windows that appeared to open into a courtyard beyond. After walking for a time, the gatekeeper pulled to a halt before a door and knocked firmly on the aged wood. Moments later, the door opened to reveal a tall, blond man in a red cassock. He nodded to the gatekeeper and motioned me to enter his chambers.

The chambers were sparsely decorated. The only embellishments were a fresco of Jesus on the cross among others being crucified and a small statue of the virgin mother on a credence table along the south wall. Opposite the fresco, a large desk nearly filled the room leaving barely enough room for the chairs that sat on either side. I was directed to the only other chair as my host moved around the desk to take the chair behind it. Once we were both settled, he spoke the first words that I had heard since arriving at the Sanctuarium.

"You must be Sebastian. I am Luigi Cardinal Cartanini, Archbishop of the Sanctuarium Hominum A Deo Tactum," he said as a way of introduction. "I was made a Cardinal in Pectore by his Eminence, Pope Castulus nearly ten years ago. I was tasked with the operation of Sanctuarium Hominum A Deo Tactum. We are a monastic sect that has been operating for over four hundred years and each of the Servus within the Sactuarium have been assigned a ward that has taken a vow of silence, which I expect to be honored. So thus, no talking while attending the Cui Caelum Negat. I apologize if any of this is already known to you but it is best to get everything out in the open prior to you settling in. If any of this is unacceptable, then I can arrange to have to you taken back to your diocese. Any questions?"