As the Conclave begins, Card Re stresses that communion and unity are the Pope's tasks
This morning, the pro eligendo Pontifice Mass was held at the tomb of Peter, the first act of the Conclave that will elect the new pontiff. In his homily, the dean of cardinals said, “that the Pope elected may be he whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history.” In the afternoon, the procession from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel took place, ending with the pronunciation of the "extra omnes”. Card Pietro Parolin will chair the assembly. The first smoke is expected around 7 pm.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – This morning the cardinals took the first steps in the Conclave on the floor of the Vatican Basilica before the election of the 267th pope. The 10 am pro eligendo Pontifice Mass was the start, the first act by the most fascinating elective assembly in the world.
The cardinals filed in two along the central nave, wearing the red chasuble, the pointed mitre on their heads until they stopped around Bernini's canopy, in an embrace of the site where the remains of Saint Peter rest, and where the body of Pope Francis waited before the funeral more than ten days ago while more than 250,000 people honoured him.
Now is the time to look to the future, finding the heir of the pope who came "from the end of the world," the successor of the disciple chosen by Jesus to “shepherd his flock.”
The procession will be closed by Card Pietro Parolin – senior by appointment among the cardinal electors of the Order of Bishops, who will preside over the Conclave – and the celebrant Card Giovanni Battista Re, 91, Dean of the College of Cardinals.
Re was entrusted with the homily in this last public act before the "extra omnes" that this afternoon will precede the isolation of the 133 cardinal electors (24 from Asia and the Middle East) in the Sistine Chapel.
“We feel united with the entire People of God in their sense of faith, love for the Pope and confident expectation,” he said. “We are here to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit, to implore his light and strength so that the Pope elected may be he whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history.”
The invocation of the Holy Spirit and the call for prayers are the “right and proper" attitude to be held at this time of waiting. In voting for the next pontiff, the cardinals are in fact required, Re notes, “to undertake an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility and to make a choice of exceptional importance.”
To this end, “every personal consideration must be set aside, keeping in mind and heart only the God of Jesus Christ and the good of the Church and of humanity.”
The dean of cardinals cited a passage from the Gospel according to John in which Jesus tells the disciples in the Upper Room “that you love one another as I have loved you.” Love is at the centre of the “new” commandment, which “knows no limits and must characterise the thoughts and actions of all his disciples”.
Indeed, “Love is the only force capable of changing the world," Re said in the homily. Christ left us an example of this through a “surprising gesture, washing the disciples’ feet, "without discrimination, and not excluding Judas who [. . .] betrayed him", Re explained.
The celebrant mentioned “the tasks of every successor of Peter", which have been widely discussed – together with topics like the fight against abuse, economic transparency, synodality, commitment to peace – during the 12 General Congregations of Cardinals (electors and non-electors) held since Francis’s funeral.
First of all, one task is that of "fostering communion,” the cardinal said. “This is not a self-referential communion, but one that is entirely directed towards communion among persons, peoples and cultures”. Then, there is that of "maintain[ing] unity" as “willed by Christ; a unity that does not mean uniformity, but a firm and profound communion in diversity, provided that full fidelity to the Gospel”.
Also important is the continuity with the Apostle Peter, the cornerstone Jesus chose, since every pope “is the rock on which the Church is built.” Although “The election of the new Pope is not a simple succession of persons, [. . .] it is always the Apostle Peter who returns.”
The prayers and hopes of this moment are for a new pontiff “who knows how best to awaken the consciences of all and the moral and spiritual energies in today’s society, characterised by great technological progress but which tends to forget God.”
Cardinal Re also spoke about what awaits the cardinal electors in the coming few hours, namely the vote in the Sistine Chapel, the place, “as the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis states, ‘where everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God, in whose sight each person will one day be judged.’”
The pro eligendo Pontifice Mass ended with the recitation of the Regina Caeli, after the blessing imparted by the celebrant.
Two Swiss Guards walked ahead of the procession of cardinals that went back the way they came. Along the pat, some cardinals greeted the faithful present, their last steps in full view of the world.
At 3 pm all mobile phone signals were deactivated in the Vatican. The cardinals – who took an oath of secrecy – handed in their from phones, PCs and tablets. Until the election, all contacts with the outside world are banned.
At 4:15 pm, the cardinals took more steps from the Pauline Chapel – in the Vatican Apostolic Palace – to the Sistine Chapel, invoking the Holy Spirit: "Veni, creator Spiritus".
At 4:30 pm, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations pronounced the "extra omnes”. Capuchin Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, former Preacher of the Papal Household, recited a meditation.
Under Michelangelo's masterpieces, the Conclave began. Putting aside all the chatter and guessing, it is here, isolated from the world, that the history of the Catholic Church unfolds once more.
The quorum to elect the new pontiff is set at 89 cardinals, two thirds plus one of the 133 electors. If they decide to vote today, the first ballot will take place at around 7 pm, the only of the day. After the vote, the cardinals recite Vespers.
Outside, eyes will be fixed on the chimney of the Sistine Chapel for the first smoke, which will take place "no earlier than 7 pm," the Holy See Press Office announced.
If no quorum is reached today, the Conclave continues tomorrow, the first appointment being Lauds at 9 am. Two votes will take place in the morning (10:30 am and 12 noon), and two will follow in the afternoon (5:30 pm and 19 pm).
If a two-thirds majority proves impossible for 34 ballots, a runoff will take place between the two cardinals with the most votes. After three days without result, voting will be suspended for a day, with a pause for prayer.
Starting tomorrow, ballot papers will be burnt every two votes without result with the smoke expected around 12 noon and 7 pm. Or, after the first one with a majority.
After the public steps taken this morning, attention now shifts to the centuries-old immobility of the roof of the Sistine Chapel, until smoke billows out, black if no one is elected, and white, for the Gaudium Magnum, which will be accompanied by a concert of bells in the Vatican.
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19/04/2005
