The cardinals of the Catholic Church have convened for their ninth session in a series of nearly daily meetings at the Vatican, in preparation for the election of a new pope.
These private “general congregations” provide an opportunity for them to discuss the challenges that the new pontiff will face before they enter the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to cast their votes.
Navigating through crowds of pilgrims and journalists on their way to the morning meeting, the so-called “Princes of the Church” revealed little, not even hinting at how long the conclave might last.
“We do not know; we just wait for the Lord to guide us,” remarked Cardinal William Seng Chye Goh, Archbishop of Singapore, who is regarded as one of the more conservative prelates.
On Wednesday, 133 of them will enter the Sistine Chapel and will remain until they have reached a two-thirds majority through a series of secret ballots for the successor to Francis.
“We acknowledge his contributions, but no pope is flawless; no one can accomplish everything, so we will seek the best individual to succeed St. Peter,” Mr. Goh told reporters.
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers, expressed his hope that the conclave would select a pope who would continue in the progressive tradition established by Francis.
“We need to uncover the one whom the Lord has already chosen,” he stated.
“We could have spent much more time in prayer together, but I am confident that when the moment is right, we will be ready to provide the Church with the pope that the Lord desires.”
The papal election is being closely watched by the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, and even some non-Catholic leaders are showing an unusual interest.
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump shared a humorous image of himself dressed as the pope on his Truth Social platform, after joking that he would be interested in the position.
