The cardinals who will enter one on Wednesday (7) to choose a new pope still do not have a clear idea of who will be the successor of, said several of them, and the speeches of each cleric at this week’s meetings can be decisive.
The 133 cardinals are holding almost daily meetings to discuss the issues faced by the Catholic Church of 1.4 billion members before the Conclave, when they will be isolated at Casa Santa Marta and without contact with the outside world.
Although some cardinals are seen as favorites to succeed Pope Francis – two of them are often mentioned, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle – many of the clerics who will vote have not yet decided.
“My list is changing and I think it will continue to change in the coming days,” he told Reuters British Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who participates in his first conclave. “It’s a process that is far from being completed for me, far from being completed.”
As cardinals are gathering this week in the so -called “general congregations,” they can make speeches to give their vision of the future of global faith.
During the 2013 conclave, it was during this time that Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio gave a speech that, according to many reports, deeply impressed his peers. Days later, he was elected as Francis.
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Nichols, the highest authority of the Church in England and Wales, said the speeches this time have been fundamental again to help form opinions about who could be the next Pope.
“There will be times when, as if a stone were thrown into a lake, the waves will spread and I will sit thinking, ‘Oh, yes, that’s important,'” said the cardinal.
Asked if there are cardinals who are in front and who are more likely to become Papa, Nichols replied, “I came with some ideas … (E) They have changed.”
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Cardinal William Goh Seng Chye, Singapore’s archbishop, told the Il Messaggero newspaper that he also didn’t know who the next Pope would be. “It may seem strange, but we really don’t know,” he said. “We haven’t started to vote yet, so we don’t know. The game is still underway.”
Comparing dinner notes
The cardinals would meet for two pre-competition sessions on Monday and were expected to have at least one more on Tuesday.
The Conclave itself begins on Wednesday morning with the celebration of a special mass in the Basilica of St. Peter.
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In the afternoon, the cardinals will formally enter the Sistine Chapel, the famous 15th century worship space adorned with Michelangelo frescoes, where they will begin to vote for the next Pope.
They are expected to vote on Wednesday afternoon. In the following days, there will be two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon. A majority of two thirds is needed for someone to be elected.
According to the Conclave regulations, if no one is chosen after the first three days, the cardinals should make a “prayer break” one day before continuing.
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The only sign given to the outside world over deliberations will come from a chimney installed above the chapel. Cardinals will burn their banknotes, adding a chemical to create one of two smoke colors: black for an inconclusive vote; White when there is a new Pope.
Italian cardinal Fernando Filoni, a former Vatican employee who participates in his second conclave, told the Corriere della newspaper that he expected the first votes to be undefined.
“The first two votes are for guidance, then we started adjusting things,” he said.
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The fact that the cardinals are isolated from the world and eat together in the house of guests Santa Marta, in the Vatican, where they also sleep, is also important, said Filoni.
“When we voted, we didn’t talk, but then we ate together, we stayed together and compare notes,” he said.
