Rome feels very different only two days after the funeral of Pope Francis. The city is back to merely normal amounts of Jubilee crowds after the weekend, which saw Rome already overflowing for the Jubilee of Teenagers and the (now delayed) canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis before it also had a papal funeral Mass and procession added on.
The crowds are still very present, however, at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where long lines are filing past Francis’ simple tomb, situated in between two confessionals and nearby his beloved icon of Mary as Salus Populi Romani.
But the city also feels different as the attention of the church and the conversation here now turns decisively to the question of Francis’ successor and the preparations for the conclave that will elect him. Today, we learned that the conclave will begin a week and a half from now, on Wednesday, May 7.
One of the basic questions the conclave will face, as every conclave does, is how to respond to the previous pope’s pontificate: Will the cardinals look for someone who can continue and complete the work Francis has begun, especially in the Synod on Synodality? Will they look for someone whose talents and gifts are similar to Francis’, or perhaps for someone who has complementary or different strengths?
The homilies given by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re at the funeral Mass and by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Sunday are strong indications that the College of Cardinals recognizes and values Francis’ impact on the church through his Petrine ministry, with his focus on mercy and his desire to reach out and include the marginalized and vulnerable.
But of course, two homilies do not a conclave make. There will be plenty of coverage from everywhere, including America, over the next nine days.
We’ll be offering news and analysis from Rome, packaged in stories on our website and mobile app, but also in daily Conclave Diary newsletters and podcasts as well.
My recommendation as you read and listen to all of it—our coverage and everybody else’s–is to pray both before and after: Come, Holy Spirit.
Because ultimately, more than any analysis or insight, that is who makes any of this worth paying attention to.
Here are the other stories you need to read today:
- It’s official: The date of the conclave is set to begin on May 7th.
- Italian media is reporting this afternoon that Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who was stripped of his cardinal privileges and convicted for embezzlement, will not vote in the papal conclave, despite his efforts to appeal the conviction.
- What time will we see black or white smoke? Past conclaves give clues.
