Pope Fidel Castro

There were only eight Roman Catholics there and Fidel made the mistake of going to the facilities and while he was out, they voted him in. (I've not done that, no, I would never vote for an absent person just because I didn't want the position being voted on;))
 
Here's the real question, would he keep the beard as pope?
The first 77 popes are depicted with beards, the last pope depicted with beard was Innocent XIII in the end of 17th century and the modern American cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley has a full beard. Why not?
 
POD: 1947: while studying law at the university of Havana, Fidel's passion for anti-imperialism is directed toward activism in the Catholic Church instead of student activism, believing the Church to be a stronger vessel for change in favor of the working class. He joins the priesthood in the 1950s, and is a leading critic of Batista's regime in Cuba during the early 1960s, making him internationally known to the point of sometimes being called "Cuba's Fiery Gandhi." In 1963, he was passed over for Pope in favor of Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (Pope Paul VI). However, Paul VI died suddenly from pneumonia after meeting with fellow man-of-the-cloth Karol Jozef Wojtyla on a trip to Poland in November 1969. As he had become a popular figure among millions of Catholics over the years, Fidel was chosen to replace him, entering the Papacy at the age of 43. He served as Pope for nearly 48 years, until his death in 2017, age 91.

"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the strength to fight for the right to do what we ought. As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live. A religious revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past. But the future starts today, not tomorrow. We must press onward, and never abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people - not thieves or traitors or interventionists - and hallelujah is our song. The revolution of religious reform in the Catholic church is for real, and it begins right now!" - Pope Fidel I, November 1969
 
Not as funny as Stalin becoming Pope!
I've had an idea about an alternate version of Stalin as an unremarkable parish priest. He becomes like a chaplain for an eccentric dimension-hopping crew in this elaborate work of fiction I've written none of. Hard to get him to the papacy though, unless you really wank the Ecumenical Movement.
 
I'd say Francis would be the best name for Fidel Castro as Pope, since Pope Francis IOTL chose the name due to Saint Francis of Assisi's concern for the poor. If you were being completely serious, there's really no way this could happen unless the Catholic Church ITTL got overtaken by a radical faction or Castro became seriously moderate. It would be ironic if his political views shifted and he became an ultraconservative pope.
 
Fidel was chosen to replace him, entering the Papacy at the age of 43. He served as Pope for nearly 48 years, until his death in 2017, age 91.
Following the death of Pope Francis I in 2017, the papal concave elect English cardinal, Jeremy Corbyn to be his successor as Pope Francis-Thomas I
 
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