Monday was my first full day in Rome, where I am covering the papal conclave that convenes this Wednesday afternoon. It began with the requisite caffeinated fuel for the day from the best place in Rome to get it: Sant’ Eustachio Il Caffè. In God’s providence, this is only 250 feet from my lodgings at the beginning of my walk to Vatican City. This will be a daily ritual.
After picking up my credentials from the Holy See Press Office, I settled into the daily routine of journalists covering the lead-up to the conclave: morning writing in the Vatican briefing room, a 1:00 p.m. press briefing from Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni, afternoon writing in the briefing room, and an 8:00 PM press briefing from Bruni.
This is all followed by consolidating notes from the briefings and associated Q&A. All this, of course, is interspersed with the enjoyment of nourishment from nearby eateries.
Monday’s press briefings focused on the activities of the cardinals, who have been meeting in daily congregations since Pope Francis’ funeral. Two congregations were held on Monday, giving all the cardinals who wanted a turn to speak. Between the sessions, 46 made contributions.
As of Monday, all 133 cardinals participating in the conclave are in Rome, meeting in daily congregations. This includes those who cannot vote because they are 80 and above. These non-voting cardinals can influence the conclave through their brief speeches, called “interventions,” which they offer alongside the speeches of the cardinal-electors.
There are 135 members of the College of Cardinals who are under 80 and eligible to participate. Two cardinals, one from Kenya and one from Spain, could not travel to Rome due to health reasons, bringing the number of electors down to 133. There is no provision for remote voting.
There were only 132 electors in the Monday morning and evening congregations, raising the question of whether an elector is ill. Bruni had no information regarding that elector’s condition.
He did note that there is a provision for what would happen if a cardinal becomes ill during the conclave and cannot be present in the Sistine Chapel to cast his ballot. Such electors would be confined to their room in the attached residence, the “House of Saint Martha” (Domus Sanctae Marthae in Latin and Casa Santa Marta in Italian; it is often referred to simply as Santa Marta).
In such a case, a delegation of three randomly chosen cardinals would go to the ill elector’s room, collect the ballot, and take it to be cast in the Sistine Chapel along with the other votes. This would not be considered remote voting, since the ill elector is still separated from all communications with the outside world that might influence their votes.
The interventions made by cardinals in the daily congregations prepare the way for the conclave. They share the church’s experiences in the regions where they live, their sense of the challenges faced by the church locally and globally, and their perspectives regarding the sort of leader the church needs in a new pope. They can also give a glimpse into potential candidates for the papacy.
It has been reported that in the 2013 conclave that elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis, Bergoglio’s brief intervention played a role in his eventual election on the fifth ballot.
Cardinals recognized to speak were granted seven minutes but routinely exceeded that limit. Bergoglio finished his speech in five minutes. Several fellow cardinals were said to comment on how compelling and succinct he was in stating the issues confronting the church.
Cardinals Raise Key Issues
In Monday’s sessions, cardinals spoke of qualities the future pope should possess. Bruni described the cardinals’ speeches by saying the pope should be “a figure who must be present, close, capable of being a bridge and a guide…favoring access to communion for a disoriented humanity marked by the crisis of the world order; a shepherd close to the real life of the people.” The cardinals also emphasized that the pope is called to be a “true pastor” who can “go beyond the confines of the Catholic Church” to promote dialogue and build relationships with people from other religious traditions and cultures.
Several cardinals who spoke on Monday mentioned the church’s mission in relation to challenges that the Church must address. According to these cardinals, the Church must embrace “caritas” (love/charity) as central in fulfilling its calling to provide relief, defend the poor and bear witness to the justice of the Gospel.
They characterized the Church as a missionary church that, according to Bruni, “must not withdraw into herself, but rather accompany every man and woman towards the living experience of the mystery of God.” Cardinals mentioned care for creation, war and migration as challenges this “missionary church” must face.
Several cardinals offered testimonies about the effects of violent conflicts in their countries. Cardinals from Africa and Asia spoke of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Cardinals identified migration as a significant issue, calling migrants “a gift for the church.” They spoke of the urgency of the church’s task of accompanying migrants and supporting their faith during their journeys and in the countries where they arrive.
One cardinal in the morning congregation noted the large number of journalists covering the conclave in Rome. He saw this as a sign that the Gospel remains relevant and a reminder of the church’s responsibility to the world.
In one press briefing, a journalist asked whether the cardinals had spoken of women in the church. Bruni responded that there was discussion of the role of laypeople in the church without specific reference to their gender. Thus far, women have only been spoken of in general terms regarding the participation of laypeople in the church’s “synodality.”
Being Together on the Way
The term “synodality” comes from the Greek word synodos, which is loosely translated as “being together on the way.” In 2020, Pope Francis announced that he would convene a synod devoted to helping the Catholic Church become more fully communal in its deliberations.
The goal would be for input to come not only from the clergy but also from the laity. Additionally, voices from other Christian traditions, other religions and non-religious persons would be considered alongside those of Catholics.
The ”synodal path” of the Synod on Synodality involved three phases: a local diocesan phase in 2020 and 2021, a continental regional phase in 2022 and 2023, and a universal phase convened at the Vatican in 2023 and 2024. Each phase emphasized listening to voices at each level and synthesizing those discussions so they could be considered in the next phase.
During the local diocesan phase, a Catholic parish held a listening session at Gardner-Webb University for local college students, not just Catholic students, to share their experiences and ask questions.
Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Elijah Brown participated in the opening prayer vigil of the universal phase of the synod in St. Peter’s Square on September 30, 2023. Baptist theologians Elizabeth Newman (USA) and Valérie Duval-Poujol served as Baptist “fraternal delegates” to meetings of the Synod in Rome that followed.
One question that looms over the papal conclave is this: Will Pope Francis’s successor continue to implement this emphasis on the Catholic Church as a communion of discernment that listens to all voices, or will he offer qualifications or encourage redirections of the synodal path?
Predictions on Conclave Length
Between Monday’s press briefings, I ran into America Magazine editor-in-chief and frequent ABC News Catholic commentator Fr. James Martin, S.J. at a restaurant near the Holy See Press Office. (Martin is a Jesuit, as noted by the initials “S.J.”)
I introduced myself as a Baptist theologian from North Carolina covering the conclave for Good Faith Media. He observed, “It must be interesting for a Southern Baptist to cover the conclave.” This allowed me to tell him about the “Baptists Formerly Known As Southern,” a.k.a. the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
I asked Fr. Martin if he had any predictions for the length of the conclave. He said, “I think it will be a short one.” He speculated, in the present context, the cardinals will not want a lengthier conclave to give the impression that they are divided among themselves.
We will see if Fr. Martin is right. Modern conclaves have been concluded within four days since the beginning of the twentieth century. The shortest was in 1939, when Pope Pius XII was elected early on the second day of the conclave on the third ballot.
In 1978, Pope John Paul II was elected on the eighth ballot, which took place on the third day. Pope Benedict XVI was elected on the fourth ballot on the second day of the 2005 conclave. Pope Francis was likewise elected on the second day of the 2013 conclave, but on the fifth ballot.
On Wednesday afternoon, the cardinals will hold the first round of voting after the 4:00 p.m. opening mass. Assuming they don’t reach a two-thirds majority, they will then retire for the evening.
On Thursday and each subsequent day, there will be four rounds of voting, two in the morning and two in the afternoon/early evening, until the two-thirds majority is reached. I’ll be here to tell you all about it!
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Professor of Historical Theology at Gardner-Webb University. Harmon is serving as a GFM correspondent for the papal conclave in Rome.
