Only when the pope dies is there a celebration — some events are so rare that celebrating them is entirely justified. Used to justify an exceptional celebration or treat.
The election of a new pope — preceded by the death of the old one — was historically one of the most dramatic and infrequent events in the life of a Catholic Italian community. The conclave, the white smoke, the Habemus Papam: these moments came perhaps once in a generation. In Lombard popular culture, the event became the measure of maximum rarity, and the proverb is used whenever someone is accused of indulging in something unusual: of course we are celebrating — an event this rare deserves it. The Milanese use the proverb with the cheerful practicality of people who do not normally permit themselves excesses but know how to justify them when they do.
Milanese proverb measuring rarity against the papal succession — one of the most infrequent public events in Catholic Italian life. Reflects the Milanese tendency to justify exceptional celebration with exceptional circumstances.
A Milanese family opening an expensive bottle of wine
— Stai aprendo il Barolo Riserva? — Ogni mort de papa se fa la festa. Oggi mio figlio si è laureato.
— You are opening the Barolo Riserva? — Only when the pope dies is there a celebration. Today my son graduated.
A Lombard factory worker taking an unexpected day off
— Sei venuto a pescare un mercoledì? — Ogni mort de papa se fa la festa. Ho finito il progetto e il capo mi ha mandato a casa.
— You came fishing on a Wednesday? — Only when the pope dies is there a celebration. I finished the project and the boss sent me home.
A grandmother buying a cake for no particular reason
— Perché la torta? Non è il compleanno di nessuno. — Ogni mort de papa se fa la festa. Vostra madre ha trovato lavoro, festeggiamo.
— Why the cake? It is nobody's birthday. — Only when the pope dies is there a celebration. Your mother found a job, we celebrate.
A Milanese couple going to a fancy restaurant on a Tuesday
— Perché andiamo al Marchesi un martedì sera? — Ogni mort de papa se fa la festa. Trent'anni di matrimonio non si festeggiano al bar.
— Why are we going to Marchesi on a Tuesday evening? — Only when the pope dies is there a celebration. Thirty years of marriage are not celebrated at the bar.