The Show’s Historical References To Real-Life Popes Add Weight To Its Story The Young Pope episode 4 features a plotline in which Pius XIII threatens to expel priests suspected of homosexuality ...

The plot followed Lenny Belardo (Law), a newly elected American pope. Unlike the real pope, who hails from Chicago, Lenny was from New York. Law’s character took on the name Pope Pius XIII.

As his papal name, he chooses Pius XIII - a provocation, as previous popes Pius XI (1922-1939) and Pius XII (1939-1958) didn't shy away from making pacts with fascist dictators Benito Mussolini ...

Like Leo, it begat a procession of memes solely based on our first glimpse of Jude Law as Pope Pius XIII, the fictional first U.S.-born pontiff, played by a British actor.