All the prevalence, drama and solemnity of the Catholic Church, 133 cardinals began a centuries-old ceremony on Wednesday to elect Pope Francis’ successor, celebrate the morning mass, and then hold the most diverse conferences in the history of Faith 2,000 years.
Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the Cardinal College, presided over the service, urging voters to put aside all personal interests and find a pope who rewards the unity. He said the world today needs a leader who can awaken conscience.
On the altar of St. Peter's Basilica, pray that the Cardinal can “consensus in the pope that our time needs” as he began a series of marching orders before entering Sistine's church late Wednesday to begin a secret vote.
Cardinals from 70 countries were isolated from the outside world, their cell phones surrendered and around the Vatican to prevent all communication until they found a new leader of the church of 1.4 billion.
Francis named 108 of the 133 “Church Princes” as 108, selecting many pastors from his image, such as Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga, who had never had a cardinal before.
He decided to exceed the usual limits of 120 major voters and included young voters from the “Global South” (usually marginalized economic influence countries) injected unusual uncertainty in a process that was always full of mystery and suspense, and the smoke signal told the world whether the pope was elected or not.
Many cardinals didn’t meet each other until last week and lamented that they needed more time to get to know each other and raised a question about how long a man could ensure a two-thirds majority (or 89 votes) would take to become the 267th Pope.
“Wait a moment, be patient,” said Cardinal Mario Zenari, Vatican Ambassador to Syria.
The final mass, then “go all out”
The Cardinal began one day and attended Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, where Vatican officials and the public participated in a frenzy brief rain shower, watching the proceedings on a huge TV screen. The 91-year-old college dean RE prays to the Cardinal find wisdom, lawyers and understanding to elect a valuable new shepherd.
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The Cardinal dressed in bright red costumes and processed to sing for the boys' choir of Sistine Church in the central aisle of the cathedral. They sat around the main altar, which is located above the traditional cemetery of St. Peter, and is considered the first pope.
RE presided over Francis' funeral and gave a heartfelt sermon to the Pope of the Reformed Pope supervised by Francis, the first Latin American pope in history.
At 4:30 pm (1430 GMT; 10:30 AM ET) the Cardinal will solemnly walk into the Sistine Church, chanting the meditative “lit of the saints” and the Latin hymn “veni Creator”, begging the saints and the Holy Spirit to help them choose the Pope.
Once there, they promised to keep it confidential to know what is about to break out and not allow any intervention from outsiders to influence their vote.
Each cardinal stood before Michelangelo's vision of heaven and hell, put his hand on the gospel, and vowed to perform this duty.
The awe of the church’s frescoes, especially Michelangelo’s, is intended to remind the Cardinal of heavy responsibility. St. John Paul II wrote in the statutes on the meeting: “Everything is beneficial to the consciousness of God’s existence.”
After the cardinal took the oath, the senior cardinal meditated. Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the master of the Pope's liturgy, called for “extra omnes” and “go all out” in Latin. Anyone who is not qualified to vote then leaves, the church doors close and let the work begin.
The Cardinal doesn't have to vote first on Wednesday, but the meeting is expected. Assuming no winner was found, the Vatican said, could stand out in the chimney of the Sistine Church around 7 p.m.
The Cardinal retired tonight and returned on Thursday morning. They can hold up to two votes in the morning and two votes in the afternoon until the winner is found.
Although the Cardinals said this week they expected a brief meeting, it may take at least a few rounds of votes. For much of the past century, it has conducted three to 14 votes to find the Pope. John Paul I – The Pope, who ruled for 33 days in 1978, was elected to vote for the fourth vote. His successor, John Paul II, needed eight. Francis was elected fifth in 2013.
Lobbying before the meeting
Although the Cardinal should resist any “secular” influence of his choice, in the days before the meeting, Rome lobbying reminded the Cardinal in various groups, reminding the Cardinal what the ordinary Catholics in the leaders wanted.
The young Catholic wrote an open letter reminding the Cardinal that there were no young people, and women and lay people did not have churches. The conservative Catholic media slipped over a cardinal copy of the glossy book containing their assessment of the competitors. Survivors of clergy sexual abuse warned the Cardinals that they would take responsibility if they failed to find a leader who would hit decades of abuse and cover-up.
Advocates of women’s appointments are sending pink cigarette letters to the Vatican, asking women to be allowed to become pastors and attend meetings.
Even the White House was involved, posting photos of President Donald Trump wearing the pope. Trump said it was a joke, but former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi condemned the gesture because it was a “indecent” political intervention, a “indecent” political intervention in the affairs of faith, which traces back to the time when secular rulers habitually waved religion to maintain their rule.
Lisette Herrera, a 54-year-old tourist from the Dominican Republic, was deeply moved and found herself stumbled upon herself at the beginning of Rome. She decided to skip the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain on Wednesday morning and pray in St. Peter's Square.
“I’m praying to the Holy Spirit, praying for a young pope who will be with us for a long time,” she said. “I don’t believe in convention politics, I just feel like the Holy Spirit is here, and that’s everything we need to know.”
Armando Statti, a pilgrim from Crotone, Italy, said he hopes the Cardinal will settle in the image of Francis or John Paul II.
“We hope to announce for the sake of peace all over the world and that he will announce it as soon as possible and embrace him all,” he said.
Challenges facing the new pope
Many challenges face the new pope and weigh the cardinal – most importantly, whether to continue and consolidate Francis’ progressive legacy in promoting women, LGBTQ+ acceptance, environment and immigration, or roll back in an attempt to unify a church that has become more biased within his remit. The sexual abuse scandal of clergy hangs in pre-criticism negotiations.
Since Francis chose 80% of voters, it is likely to be continuity, but the form it may take is uncertain and identifying the leader is a challenge.
However, some names keep appearing in the list of “Papapobill” or cardinals with papal qualities.
– Pietro Parolin, 70, is the main competitor, the Italian of Secretary of State Francis and the Vatican No. 2.
– Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle, 67, is the first top candidate for Asian pope in history. He works in the same high-profile work, responsible for the Vatican’s Evangelism Office, which is responsible for the Catholic Church in most developing countries.
– Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, 72, Archbishop of Budapest, is a leading candidate for representing the church's more conservative wings.
–AP reporters Giada Zampano and Vanessa Gera contributed.
