In the jasmine-scented, tourist-thronged streets of Rome, a quiet drama unfolds behind closed doors.
Cardinals, gathered to elect Pope Francis’s successor, engage in a discreet dance of dinner parties, coffee meet-ups, and private conversations, all aimed at discerning who possesses the qualities to lead the Catholic Church.
This pre-conclave manoeuvring echoes the events of March 2013, when Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, then retired archbishop of Westminster, and other European reformers championed the candidacy of an Argentine Jesuit, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who ultimately became Pope Francis. Their behind-the-scenes advocacy proved decisive.
While Cardinal Vincent Nichols now holds Murphy-O’Connor’s former position, he has adopted a different approach to the pre-conclave period. “We’re of quite different styles,” Cardinal Nichols admitted during an interview at the Venerable English College in Rome.
“Cardinal Cormac would love to be at the centre of the party. I’m a little more reserved than that and a little bit more introverted.”
Despite his more reserved demeanor, Cardinal Nichols, 79, offered a glimpse into the current dynamics among the cardinal-electors. Between meals of Roman carbonara, these figures are engaging in a process of mutual assessment, getting to know one another after bidding farewell to the pope who appointed the majority of them.
Cardinal Nichols says he is spending these days before his first conclave listening, as cardinals meet each morning in a Vatican auditorium to discuss the needs of the Catholic Church and the type of person who can lead it. These meetings are open to all cardinals, including those over 80, while the conclave itself in the Sistine Chapel is limited to cardinals who have not yet reached 80.
Cardinal Nichols said a picture of the future pope is beginning to form, at least in his mind, as cardinals look back at Francis’ 12-year pontificate and see where to go from here when they begin voting on Wednesday.
“I suppose we’re looking for somebody who even in their manner not only expresses the depth of the faith, but also its openness as well,” Cardinal Nichols said.
Pope Benedict XVI named Cardinal Nichols archbishop of Westminster in 2009 but he didn’t become a cardinal until 2014, when Francis tapped him in his first batch of cardinals. Francis went on to name Cardinal Nichols as a member of several important Vatican offices, including the powerful dicastery for bishops, which vets bishop nominations around the world.
“My experience so far, to be quite honest with you, is there’s a lot of attentive listening,” Cardinal Nichols said. “That’s listening to the people who might have an idea today of who they think is the best candidate, and I wouldn’t be surprised if by Monday they might have changed their mind.”
Cardinal Nichols said the picture that is emerging is of seeing Francis’ pontificate in continuity with the more doctrinaire papacies of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and of appreciating the multicultural reality of the Catholic Church today.
Francis greatly expanded the College of Cardinals to include cardinals from far-flung places like Tonga and Mongolia, rather than just the traditional centres of European Catholicism.
Yes, divisions and disagreements have been aired. “But I can never remember a time when Catholics all agreed about everything,” Cardinal Nichols said.
