As cardinals from around the world gathered the morning of May 5 for another day of general congregations ahead of the May 7 conclave, their comments to the media offered a window into both the diversity of the college and the unity of purpose guiding their discernment.
Cardinal Fernando Chomalí of Santiago, Chile, reflected on the beauty of the Church’s universality. “You see cardinals from Mongolia, from the Roman Curia, others working among the poorest in Latin America or Africa. It’s a beautiful sight,” he told reporters. “It does us all good. It’s part of our 2,000-year heritage – and also the legacy of Pope Francis.”
For Cardinal Chomalí, the days since the pope’s funeral on April 26, have been more than just logistical preparations, but truly about getting to know one another. Asked whether the internal mood is tense, he declined to speak on behalf of the congregation but emphasized, “This is a moment of hope – not only for us, but for the world.”
Some cardinals believe more time is needed before entering the Sistine Chapel on May 7 afternoon, when they will cast the first vote. Cardinal Luis José Rueda of Bogotá, Colombia, acknowledged that while the week of meetings has been “important to get to know one another,” more time would be welcome. “We will have two more sessions tomorrow,” he noted, underlining the ongoing conversations. An additional afternoon session takes place in Rome May 5.
In the afternoon on May 6, the cardinals are expected to move to the Casa Santa Marta residence, the hotel within Vatican grounds where they will live during the duration of the conclave, completely shut off from the world, with no access to any electronic devices nor a landline.
Others, like Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako of Baghdad, Iraq, suggested the college is ready.
“We’ve been together for a week – I think we know each other well enough to elect the next pope,” he said. He called for a pontiff who is “a father, a pastor, who preserves the unity of the Church and the integrity of the faith.”
Talking exclusively with OSV News April 30, he had emphasized the need for the next pope to be able to dialogue with other religions, “particularly with Islam,” a pressing need in his country where Christians are still recovering from genocide at the hands of ISIS.
The question of continuity with Pope Francis was met with nuance. “Yes, there should be continuity,” Cardinal Sako said, “but the world continues to develop. The pope must read the signs of the times and not retreat into his palace.”
Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta, Indonesia, who arrived in Rome on May 4 in the evening, missing most of the general congregations, offered a simple response to that same question: “It will depend on the Holy Spirit.” He said he would enter the Sistine Chapel “with an open heart.”
Some moments were more lighthearted. English Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe paused to autograph a baseball for a visiting American – a collector who hopes that among the dozens he has collected these days, one carries the signature of the future pope.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers, urged patience. “There’s no rush for the white smoke,” he told reporters. When asked if he hoped for a French pope, he smiled and replied, “An Algerian one would be fine too.”
“But we need a good pope,” he said, all laughter aside. When pressed about what that would mean, he answered: “Someone who can carry the message of the Gospel. Who can share the beatitudes with the world. You know what I mean. Someone who can do what Pope Francis did,” he said.
“We are not discussing names in the congregations, but describing the personality we are looking for in the next pope, who must be a man with a strong personality, but who is also a good person for whom sharing the Gospel is a priority,” he said.
