How a vision of “Hildegard’s Cross” Cemented the Long Journey of The Seven Keys
by David Dupuis, Author of “The Seven Keys of Hildegard” historical-fiction series
I have always had an interest in history and in the summer of 1978, Pope Paul VI died after a fifteen-year pontificate. It was big news, as was the subsequent election of a new pope, Albino Luciani as Pope John Paul I. Then on a Friday, September 28th, 1978, my radio woke me as usual but with this shocking headline, “John Paul was found dead after only 34 days as pope.” I was stunned and I remember going to work feeling very sad. The world seemed sad.
From that moment, I started obsessively keeping scrapbooks about the papacy. Then I watched, “The Shoes of the Fisherman” starring Anthony Quinn, about the election of a Russian pope. I became a big Morris West fan and devoured his papal trilogy. Thus, was born my idea of writing a novel about a boy destined to be the last pope at the end of time.
I wrote 2,000 pages in longhand and my scrapbook collection grew but life got busy with family, work, volunteering and other writing projects. Then “The Thorn Birds” came out in the 1980s, the “The Celestine Prophecy” in the 1990s which were both runaway hits. Then came “The DaVinci Code”. It confirmed reader’s spirituality and interest in conspiracies, mystery, God, the church, religion, and life.
Four years ago, I started researching seers, prophets and saints. I found Hildegard, a great seer and nun from the 12th century who was so intriguing as a character. This one night I tossed and turned unable to sleep wondering if I should go with Hildegard as the catalyst for my novel. By morning, I had decided; Hildegard it was. That morning was Sunday, December 4, 2016. I went out on my deck on Penetanguishene Bay to photograph the daily sunrise to post on Facebook. The sky was clear - it would be a beautiful sunrise right before my eyes.
The sun started peeking over the far treeline on the other side of the bay, but then became so bright I could only look at it through my iPhone. To my shock, a golden, blinding cross appeared in the sky. I snapped away and the cross vision stayed. I thought I was dreaming. I took photos from every corner of my deck, down on the beach and from in the house. I instantly labelled it “Hildegard’s Cross.” The phenomenon lasted eight minutes as I captured it in over forty photos. If I had not taken pictures as proof, I would have thought I was crazy.
But I had my answer—Hildegard! Yes! My novel was on the right track. A forty-year dream of a novel or series, about a special boy in our times who would grow to be the last pope at the end of time, was about to come true.
