“Hello?”
“Your Eminence, it’s Gerry. I’m calling you
from Rome. I hope I’m not disturbing you. The pope has resigned.”
The
process began like this. The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI sent shockwaves
through the Vatican and the Catholic world. For the first time in hundreds of
years, a pope was stepping down from his position. "For a moment I was
paralyzed." Francis would later use these words to describe the shock
he felt.
He
received the news not in Rome, but in Argentina. It was an ordinary day. The
phone rang. The caller was his long-time friend, journalist Gerry O’Connell.
When Gerry said, “The pope has resigned,” Francis was stunned. The
sentence didn’t fully register at first because it was not just any piece of
news.
I could hardly believe what
I was hearing. This was something I had never expected to hear in my lifetime:
a papal resignation, though technically allowed under canon law, felt
unimaginable. In those first few moments, I thought to myself, “I must have
misunderstood. This can’t be real.”
That
morning, Gerry had only said those few words, then quickly hung up, promising
to call back later. He had a lot of work to do. Two or three hours later, he
rang again. This time, he explained everything clearly. The resignation would
take effect on February 28, at 8:00 PM. The conclave to elect the next pope
would begin shortly after March 10.
Get your tea or coffee ready; we are about to take a
long journey…
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| Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, second from left, travels on the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2008. (AP Photo/Pablo Leguizamon, File) |
Cardinal Jorge Mario
Bergoglio arrived in Rome just before Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. He had made the long journey
from Buenos Aires, as always, without ceremony flying economy class.
Pope
Benedict XVI’s resignation placed the College of Cardinals in an unusual and
historically unprecedented situation. For the first time in over seven
centuries, a pope was leaving his office not by death, but by choice. This
extraordinary decision gave a different tone to the “General Congregation” meetings
held before the conclave. Unlike in the past, when quiet alliances and familiar
names dominated the room, the atmosphere now felt more open and more free. For once, there were no fixed scripts. No secret promises. Just a group of men
trying to discern the future of the Church. Many names were mentioned as papabili
potential candidates for the papacy. Some attracted media attention, others
were whispered about in back rooms. But no clear favourite had emerged. The
picture was so unclear that even the name of Bergoglio long overlooked by many had
yet to be spoken aloud. And in the middle of all this uncertainty, an Argentine
cardinal, dressed plainly and carrying no air of ambition, was quietly moving
toward a moment that would change history.
Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s name started to come up often as a possible candidate
for pope. However, some political groups in Argentina worked to stop him from
being chosen. I will write about that process in a separate blog. In the 2005
conclave, when Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, Bergoglio was also one of the
important candidates. But would he be among the candidates again in the 2013
conclave? An anonymous cardinal shared what happened in 2005 with the Italian
journalist Lucio Brunelli. Brunelli published parts of this diary in the autumn
issue of Limes, an Italian geopolitical magazine. According to the
cardinal, the first vote was very divided. About 30 out of 115 cardinals
received votes. But only seven cardinals got a significant number of votes.
This shows the hidden balance and surprises in the election process.
According to The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Account of the Conclave That Changed History by Gerard O’Connell:
"In the first round of voting, Cardinal
Ratzinger seemed almost unstoppable with 47 votes. However, there was a
significant group opposing him, and they voted for different candidates.
Leading this group was Jorge Mario Bergoglio with 10 votes. He was followed by
Martini with 9 votes, Ruini with 6, Sodano with 4, Rodríguez Maradiaga with 3,
and Tettamanzi with 2 votes.
In the
second round, the numbers shifted: Ratzinger increased his votes to 65, while
Bergoglio received 35.
By the
third round, Ratzinger had 72 votes, just 5 short of the required 77 for
election, and Bergoglio had 40 votes. This was enough to block the German
cardinal’s election. One of the key moments in the conclave was this deadlock.
Later, during lunch at Santa Marta, Ratzinger’s supporters—especially Latin
American Cardinal López Trujillo—tried to convince the region’s cardinals to
vote for Ratzinger. Meanwhile, Cardinal Martini suggested that if opposition
continued and the election became deadlocked, a compromise candidate could be
found. The diary notes that tensions ran high during this lunch, with various
discussions taking place. Some electors believed Bergoglio realized that if
Ratzinger’s election was blocked, the conclave could be prolonged and might
lead to divisions within the Church. He also understood that this situation
could result in the election of a lower-profile third candidate. It is said
that because of this, Bergoglio withdrew from the contest to preserve Church
unity.
In the fourth round, as votes were counted, Ratzinger took notes and around 5:30 PM was elected with 84 votes. Bergoglio received 26 votes. Cardinals Schönborn, Biffi, and unexpectedly Law from Boston each received one vote. Two other votes were cast but not recorded.
When Ratzinger reached the required 77 votes, there was a brief silence followed by long, heartfelt applause. Cardinal Danneels’ remark, “This conclave tells us the Church is not yet ready for a Latin American pope,” captured the mood of the moment."
Towards the Conclave
After the unexpected
resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, a sense of uncertainty spread throughout the
Catholic world. Cardinal electors began arriving in Rome, and before the
conclave began, they met with one another, discussed possible candidates, and
reflected on the kind of leader who could open the door to a new era for the
Church. No one knew who would emerge as the leading figure, but a few names
were gaining attention. One of them was Cardinal Wilfrid Napier from South
Africa. Known for his dynamic personality, frank speech, and views that
reflected the spirit of the African continent, Napier believed that the next
pope should be “young, spiritually deep, open to reform, and in harmony with
the world.” In his view, the ideal candidate would be in his sixties, energetic,
humble, and someone with a genuine relationship with Jesus.
Another notable name was
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. George pointed out that this time, the list
of candidates was more serious than in past conclaves. “Now we have not only
names people want to see,” he said, “but candidates who can truly lead the
Church.” For George, the next pope had to be a good administrator, sensitive to
the needs of the poor, capable of representing the universal Church, and a
person of strong character. As the cardinals shared their thoughts, it became
clear that this conclave was not only about electing a spiritual leader it was
about finding someone who could also reform the Roman Curia and bring real
change to the governance of the Church.
The words of Cardinal Telesphore Toppo captured the spirit of the upcoming conclave. Hailing from the Indian state of Jharkhand, Toppo was the world’s first tribal cardinal and he had just arrived in Rome, carrying more questions than answers. He didn’t claim to know who the next pope would be, but he had a clear conviction: a pope is not merely the result of personal virtues, but of a strong local Church. His view echoed the recent history of the papacy: John Paul II had emerged from the rooted Catholicism of Poland, and Benedict XVI from Bavaria, a bastion of German Catholic tradition. For Toppo, regions like the Philippines, where the faith was vibrant and united, might one day give rise to a pope. In this context, one figure stood out: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, whom Toppo called “Asia’s number one.” But Tagle wasn’t the only name being whispered. As Toppo put it, while the guidance of the Holy Spirit was the official principle, cardinals often tried to listen for that Spirit’s voice even in the murmurs of the room.
When it was announced that the conclave would begin on March 12,
Italian newspapers screamed the headlines with dramatic flair. That same day,
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio gave a short but powerful speech during the
General Congregations a moment that shifted the entire atmosphere of the hall.
When he finished speaking,
there was silence. Then, applause. Then came the quiet, focused glances as if
something had suddenly changed in the minds of a few:
“Could
this be the one?”
Years later, Cardinal
Murphy-O’Connor would recall the moment: “I believe that some cardinals heard
an inner voice. Maybe this man was the one to lead the Church into a new
direction.” The conversations behind the scenes began to stir. That very
afternoon, Bergoglio was having a modest lunch with his old friend, Cardinal
Lozano Barragán. No one told him that his name was no longer whispered, but
spoken out loud. Meanwhile, in other places for instance, at the apartment of
Curia heavyweight Cardinal Attilio Nicora about fifteen cardinals had gathered
to "establish a direction" before the first vote. Some were from
Europe, but most had come from other continents. One name had already emerged: Bergoglio.
That evening’s estimates
suggested he would enter the conclave with at least 25 votes. Compared to
Ratzinger’s commanding lead in 2005, this was a strong base. Yet nothing was
certain. As Cardinal Coccopalmerio would later reflect: “Sometimes it’s a
feeling, an inner voice… Maybe it’s the whisper of God. We think it’s just our
own thought but maybe it isn’t.”
Coming
Next: The Conclave Begins
In the second part of this
series, we will walk through the 2013 conclave step by step: the vote counts,
the early surprises, the shifting alliances, the tense lunchtimes, the moments
of hesitation and finally, the arrival of that timeless declaration:
“Habemus
Papam.”
We will follow it all, line by line, and uncover what happened behind the curtain.
References
· O’Connell,
Gerard. The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Account of the Conclave
That Changed History. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2019.
· Pope
Francis. Life: My Story Through History―An Autobiography of the Life and
Legacy of Pope Francis. Thomas Nelson, 2022.
Picture
3: Cardinal
Wilfrid Napier speaks at the Vatican Press Office on Oct 14 2014. Credit
Bohumil Petrik/CNA
Picture 5: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-02/patent-vaccine-coronavirus-turkson.html
Picture 6: https://www.vaticannews.va/pt/igreja/news/2024-08/cardeal-scherer-coragem-crer.html
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