Cardinals from around the world have descended on Rome for the secretive conclave to to decide the next Pope.
Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are among the favourites to succeed Pope Francis ahead of the Papal Conclave, but a Catholic priest has said it is “everybody’s guess” as to who is chosen.
The ritual begins with a mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, and later in the afternoon, the 133 cardinal electors will walk to the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel while chanting the litany of the saints.
Once there, the cardinals will take a vow of secrecy, and stand before Michealangelo’s famous vision of heaven and hell to swear to carry out the solemn duty of selecting a new leader of the Catholic Church. Then, the work of debating and voting on who among them could lead will begin.
The conclave comes after the funeral of Pope Francis, who made liberal changes to the Catholic Church during his 12-year papacy. Pope Francis also increased the diversity of cardinals, who will now elect his successor. The question is whether they will choose someone to carry on Pope Francis’s legacy, or opt for a more traditional figure.
Italian police and Swiss Guards mobilised ahead of conclave
Thousands of Italian police officers including the carabinieri, as well as the Vatican’s Swiss Guard have been mobilised to enhance security around the Vatican for the conclave.
Police were carrying out enhanced checks of people entering St Peter’s Square on Wednesday, as cardinals attended a special pre-conclave Mass inside the Basilica.
More than 4,000 officers have been deployed, and an anti-drone system and signal jammers have been set up to block communication between the cardinals and the outside world once they enter into their secret assembly.
“The safety of the cardinals is a priority, but so is that of the faithful outside,” said Fabio Ciciliano, head Italy’s Civil Protection agency.
Catholic priest says ‘it’s everybody’s guess’ ahead of voting on next Pope
A priest and Catholic analyst says it was all guesswork at this stage as to who would become the next Pope.
The conclave of 133 cardinals from 70 countries must reach a two-thirds consensus, meaning at least 89 clerics must agree on who will lead the Catholic Church.
Jesuit priest Father Thomas Reese told the BBC it was “all guessing at this point”.
“If the conclave is over quickly it’s going to be one of the leading candidates like Cardinal Parolin, the current Secretary of State, but it’s everybody’s guess at this point,” he said.
Watch: Support staff take vow of secrecy before conclave
The 100-or-so support staff including cooks, drivers, clerics and cleaners, have all taken an oath of secrecy before the conclave begins.
The staff will support the 133 cardinals during their conclave, which could last days or even weeks as they work to reach a two-thirds consensus on who should be the next pope.
The punishment for breaking the vow is automatic excommunication from the Church.
Some cardinals watched ‘Conclave’, the film, before actual conclave
Some Cardinals have watched the film ‘Conclave’, before taking part in the real thing later today.
“Some have watched it in the cinema,” a cleric told Politico.
The film, starring Ralph Fiennes, is based off a novel by Robert Haris, and depicts the election of a new pope as a gossipy affair filled with political manoeuvring and infighting.
The film is not a documentary, but it did recreate a real conclave as accurately as is possible for a ritual meeting that remains shrouded in secrecy.
‘Tagle-core’ sweeps social media as Gen Z back Asian cardinal for pope
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle seems to be the favourite among TikTok users to become the next pope.
Several videos of the Filipino cleric have gone viral on the social media platform, including one titled ‘Tagle-core’ stitching together clips o the Cardinal.
In another, he is speaking to a Polish congregation and admits he only knows a few words in Polish – and one of those words is ‘wodka’.
One commenter wrote: “If he becomes pope, more youth will become closer to [the] Church because of his youthful charisma”.
Another said: “I like this guy, he has sense of humor, would be a good Pope.”
Key frontrunners to be the next pope: Luis Antonio Tagle
Among the 133 cardinal electors there are key names that continue to be raised as possible successors to Pope Francis.
One of those is Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
The 67-year-old former archbishop of Manila would be the first pope from Asia, if elected, and Asia is seen as a vital growth region for Catholicism.
Tagle is also seen as similar to Francis in many ways, and is on the progressive side of politics.
“He would represent a continuity of what Pope Francis has been doing,” said Reverend Emmanuel Alfonso, a former student of Tagle’s who has known him for decades.
According to the bookmakers, Tagle is currently the second favourite to be the next pope, at odds of 5-2, just behind Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state.
There are also 24 Asian cardinals in the conclave, and they could present a united front in support of Tagle.
But Tagle’s candidacy could be weakened by a management scandal from three years ago.
Read more about Tagle below:
Where are the 133 cardinals from?
Not all cardinals are eligible to take part in the conclave. Only those under the age of 80 when it begins can join in, reducing the number of eligible cardinals to 135.
Two of those cardinals – one from Spain, and another from Keyna – were unable to attend, so 133 cardinals will take part.
Here’s a bit of a breakdown of where they are from.
Europe: 52
Unsurprisingly, Italy has the most cardinals, with 17 in total. European cardinals are also from countries including Spain, France, the Netherlands and Hungary.
Asia and the Middle East: 23
These cardinals are from countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, India and Japan.
Africa: 17
The African cardinals come from countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa.
North America: 16
Of these, 10 are from the United States, four are from Canada and two are from Mexico.
South and Central America: 21
These cardinals represent countries including Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.
Oceania: 4
There is one cardinal each from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
Watch: Cardinals celebrate final Mass ahead of conclave to elect new pope
Cardinals and other members of the clergy have celebrated a mass at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the conclave.
Dean of cardinals calls for energetic Pope who values unity in diversity
A senior cardinal has urged the cardinal electors who will soon begin the conclave to decide the next pope to put personal interests aside and choose someone who prizes unity in diversity.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, has presided over Mass in St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the conclave beginning later this afternoon.
Re, who at 91 is too old to take part, reminded cardinals that the conclave was the highest church responsibility, and they must set aside “every personal consideration”.
In his sermon in Italian, he said the new pope should foster unity within the church.
Re said the cardinals should elect someone “whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult, complex, and turbulent turning point in history”, Le Parisien reported.
“Let us pray that God grants the Church a Pope who will be able to awaken the consciences of all, as well as the moral and spiritual energies in today’s society, characterised by great technological progress, but which tends to forget God.”
In pictures: Mass at St Peter’s Basilica to mark beginning of conclave
The 133 cardinal electors have attended a final mass at St Peter’s Basilica before entering the conclave this afternoon.
Source: independent.co.uk
