New pope will face ‘difficult and complex’ moment in history, but need to show love to appeal to consciences of societies, senior cardinal says
Jakub Krupa
In his homily – seen as a guiding message for the 133 cardinals set to take part in the conclave – Re called for the help of the Holy Spirit to guide cardinals in choosing the pope “whom the church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history.”
He urged them to put aside “all personal considerations” and demonstrate love, “the only force capable of changing the world.”
He also issued a strong call to “maintain the unity of the church,” not through “uniformity,” but their “communion in diversity.”
He reminded cardinals that the election of a new pope is not just about “a simple change of people,” but a symbolic return of St Peter, the apostle, as he prayed for a pope “for the good of the church and of humanity.”
He also recalled John Paul II’s description of the conclave as “a joint concern for the legacy of the keys of the Kingdom,” recalling his wishes that standing before Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel, the electors will be reminded of the “great responsibility of placing the great keys in the right hands.”
Re said he hoped the new pope would “know best how to awaken the consciences of all,” and mobilise “the moral and spiritual energies” in societies, which occasionally forget God amid rapid technological progress.
Key events
New pontiff will have to hit ground running on many urgent issues
Harriet Sherwood
From conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, to migration, the climate crisis and schisms in the church, the honeymoon period for the new pope will be short.
In the coming days, the Roman Catholic church will have a new leader, cheered by the faithful in St Peter’s Square. Once the prayers are over and the crowds have dispersed, what issues must the new pope grapple with?
Church unity
A key task will be to strengthen unity within the church amid growing polarisation in the world and different views and expectations within the church. Some observers believe there is a real risk of schism after 20 years in which there have been popes on either end of the spectrum: the traditional/conservative Benedict XVI, and the liberal/progressive Francis.
International diplomacy
The pope has an important role to play on the international stage, particularly to ensure that religion does not become a fault line. He will face ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan plus the politically divisive issues of migration, the climate crisis, religious freedom and human rights.
Sexual abuse
The legacy of sexual abuse cast a long shadow over Francis’s papacy. He was slow to grasp the scale and systemic nature of the problem, and at first did not understand the pain and anger of survivors. That pain has not gone away, and the new pope’s approach will inevitably come under intense scrutiny.
Governance
The new pope will need to take decisions on governance within the church, including the pace of change and levels of inclusion regarding laity and women. He will need to make key appointments within days to get the new papacy up and running.
Vatican finances
There are two aspects to this for the new pope’s attention: general oversight and transparency, on which there was significant progress under Pope Francis but still more to do; and the unsustainable levels of deficit in the Vatican finances, which deteriorated during Francis’s papacy.
Sexuality and identity
Francis shifted the church’s dial on issues relating to sexuality and identity, condemning discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, meeting trans men and women and authorising the blessings of same sex couples. Francis’s standpoint prompted a backlash among traditionalists, and the new pope will be watched closely for his views.
Read more about papal in-tray:
Vatican today – in pictures
Northern Italian town rooting for cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle
Angela Giuffrida
While there is much trepidation in the Vatican over who will be the next pope, residents in Brugherio, a town in the northern Italian region of Lombardy are equally awaiting the outcome with bated breath.
The town’s population is rooting for Luis Antonio Tagle, a cardinal from the Philippines, to be the successor to Pope Francis. Not because the cardinal, who is partial to a bit of karaoke, seems good fun, but because there is a link to the town: Tagle’s first cousin was the carer of the mayor’s grandmother.
Mayor Roberto Assi said Violetta cared for his grandmother for 10 years until the elderly woman’s death in 2018, but the connection has remained strong.
“We consider her to be part of the family,” Assi told the online newspaper, Prima Lamartesana. In fact, Violetta, who now lives in Milan, still joins the family to celebrate important occasions, such as Christmas, as well as his late grandmother’s birthday, which they continue to mark each year.
Assi said that Violetta often speaks of her cousin, “the cardinal”, and that many in Brugherio hope he will be elected pope.
Tagle, 67, is among the leading contenders, although he was accused of “heresy” by Catholic traditionalists after a video of him, filmed in 2019, singing John Lennon’s Imagine emerged on social media.
A watchdog for victims of clerical sexual abuse has also accused him of mishandling child sexual abuse claims in the Philippines.
Pope’s tailor Mancinelli takes no chances with three white vestments ready for new pontiff
Angela Giuffrida
It’s a wonder that Raniero Mancinelli, tailor to the last three popes, has had any time to cut any cloth over the past week given the amount of attention he’s been getting from the world’s press.
The Guardian spoke to him in February, when Pope Francis was severely ill in hospital, but could hardly get a foot inside the door on Wednesday morning.
“It’s been a little hectic,” said one of the tailor’s assistants.
It is not guaranteed that Mancinelli, who owns Mancinelli Clero, a historic shop in Borgo Pio, just steps away from St Peter’s Square, will be tasked with dressing the new pope.
There is another Rome rival and reports in the Italian press suggest that the Vatican has plenty of white cassocks and might well honour Francis’ message of frugality.
Still, Mancinelli is not taking any chances. He has already been preparing the white vestments that might be worn by the next pontiff, and has cut small, medium and large versions just in case.
There was a long queue of TV crews waiting to speak to Mancinelli, who was suited-up, with his tailor’s measuring tape draped over his shoulders as he showed them the material.
The reporters have also lured curious tourists into the shop, wondering what all the fuss is about.
Father Giuseppe, a customer of Mancinelli, understood: “This shop is famous because he is very good.”
Asked which qualities he would like to see in the next pope, other than being well-dressed, Father Giuseppe said: “We need someone good, and someone strong, especially at this moment in time.”
Jakub Krupa
Let’s now go across to our Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida to get an idea of what’s going on in the Vatican…
Vatican today – in pictures
Today in Focus: How to elect a pope
If you’d rather get up to date on the pomp and the politics of the conclave, the process to elect Pope Francis’s successor, good news: we’ve got you covered.
It is, as Guardian journalist Harriet Sherwood explains, an election rich in ceremony and ritual. Yet it can get very dirty too: cardinals lobbying in corridors and Vatican gardens; allegations of leaks to the media to discredit rivals; even the emergence of a video of one cardinal – a bookies’ favourite to be the next pope – singing ‘atheist anthem’ Imagine by John Lennon.
As Michael Safi hears, the conclave comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Catholic church and the various factions vying for its control.
Listen to Today in Focus here:
‘Diverse, but divided’ college to choose the next pope
Angela Giuffrida
One of the legacies of Pope Francis, who died last month aged 88, was to leave behind a widely diverse but divided college of cardinals, with some in harmony with the progressive church he promoted and others wanting to overthrow his changes and turn back the clock.
The 133 cardinals with the power to vote have been getting to know each other and sharing visions for the future of the church during daily pre-conclave meetings since 28 April.
However, the challenge of the task in hand appeared to be summed up by Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, the archbishop of Jakarta, who was the last cardinal to arrive in Rome and was playing catch-up on Monday.
“There’s a lot of confusion,” he told journalists after hearing addresses from 50 cardinals. “We have heard many voices, it’s not easy to draw conclusions.”
The cardinals swear an oath to secrecy, as do all Vatican staff assisting them, from cooks and cleaners to drivers and medics.
‘Sea of red and purple’ in St Peter’s Basilica as top cardinal urges electors to be guided by love
Angela Giuffrida
A sea of red and purple has filled St Peter’s basilica as the world’s cardinals and bishops gather for mass before conclave begins later on Wednesday.
The 133 cardinals tasked with voting for a successor to the late Pope Francis are seated around the main altar of the packed basilica while the bishops are in the rows in front.
The mass is being led by Giovanni Battista Re, the same Italian cardinal who led the funeral mass of Pope Francis. His homily was equally as passionate and direct.
“We are here to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit, to implore his light and strength so that the pope elected may be he whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history,” he said.
In a passage about love, he said Jesus’ love knew no limits and that love must characterise “the thoughts and actions” of all his disciples in order to “build a new civilisation”.
“Love is the only force capable of changing the world,” said Re.
New pope will face ‘difficult and complex’ moment in history, but need to show love to appeal to consciences of societies, senior cardinal says
Jakub Krupa
In his homily – seen as a guiding message for the 133 cardinals set to take part in the conclave – Re called for the help of the Holy Spirit to guide cardinals in choosing the pope “whom the church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history.”
He urged them to put aside “all personal considerations” and demonstrate love, “the only force capable of changing the world.”
He also issued a strong call to “maintain the unity of the church,” not through “uniformity,” but their “communion in diversity.”
He reminded cardinals that the election of a new pope is not just about “a simple change of people,” but a symbolic return of St Peter, the apostle, as he prayed for a pope “for the good of the church and of humanity.”
He also recalled John Paul II’s description of the conclave as “a joint concern for the legacy of the keys of the Kingdom,” recalling his wishes that standing before Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel, the electors will be reminded of the “great responsibility of placing the great keys in the right hands.”
Re said he hoped the new pope would “know best how to awaken the consciences of all,” and mobilise “the moral and spiritual energies” in societies, which occasionally forget God amid rapid technological progress.
Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, is delivering his homily now; the last message to cardinals before they go into the process to elect the new pope.
I will bring you the key quotes here.
You can follow the mass live here:
And you can follow the texts here.
Pre-conclave mass starting in the Vatican
As the conclave day begins, the special mass – Mass for the election of a Roman Pontiff – is now starting in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re.
He is not an elector himself – he is 91 years old so above the limit of 80 to take part in the vote – but will lead this morning’s prayers.
You can follow all the texts from the mass here, in Latin, Italian and English.
After the mass, the cardinals will return to Santa Marta, have lunch, and then start their proceedings in the Sistine Chapel.
What to expect today – timeline
As it’s the first day of the conclave, the timing is slightly different than we will see in the following days (if, as anticipated, they are needed).
So, here’s what to expect:
At 10am Rome time, the cardinals will gather at St. Peter’s Basilica to take part in a mass Pro eligendo Romano Pontifice, the Mass for the election of a Roman Pontiff.
At 3pm, mobile signal across the Vatican will be deactivated, with all devices taken away from the cardinals, as they are sequestered for the duration of the electoral process.
At 4.15, they will start a procession to the Sistine Chapel, where they will start their proceedings approximately fifteen minutes later, at 4.30pm.
Due to a late start, we expect only a single round of voting today, with the result to be announced with black or white smoke from the chapel’s chimney around 7pm.
If they fail to elect the new pope today, they will return tomorrow morning, switching to four rounds of voting a day: two in the morning (10.30am, midday), and two in the evening (5.30pm and 7pm), for as long as needed.
Morning opening: Extra omnes
Jakub Krupa
133 Catholic cardinals will meet behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel for the first time today to decide who should be the 267th successor of Saint Peter, following the death of Pope Francis last month.
One of the most fascinating electoral processes in the world, the conclave always attracts global attention – not just because of its global significance in choosing the next head of the Catholic church leading 1.4 billion faithful, but also because of its centuries-old traditions and mysteries.
At around 4.30pm local time, the famous phrase “extra omnes” – all out – will be heard inside the Sistine Chapel telling everyone but the cardinals to leave the plenary, formally starting the secretive election process.
We will bring you all the latest here.
It’s Wednesday, 7 May 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
