Preparations for choosing the future pontiff, at Santa Marta. The most diverse conclave in history. The continent who sends the most voters
After moving the body of Pope Francis to Saint Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican, in parallel, the procedures necessary to organize the conclave that will designate the new Sovereign Pontiff. The Santa Marta House, the pontifical home in which Pope Francis lived, becomes, once again, the logistical center of the most discreet and solemn decision -making process of the Catholic Church.
Cardinals Electors will be accommodated at the Santa Marta/Photo House: X
This residence is in fact the Vatican pension that John Paul II renovated to give the carders a decent place where to stay during a new pontiff. Until then, cardinals in small austere rooms in the Vatican. John Paul II wanted a change: a decent, but sure space, where the cardinals could live and deliberately.
Starting on Tuesday, all those who lived temporarily or permanently in the building – members of the “pontifical family”, diplomats, prelates – were invited to release the rooms. With the move of the pope in apartment 201, the procedures were accelerated: the rooms are sanitized, the windows covered to prevent any contact with the outside, and the common spaces are reorganized for meals, prayer and confession. All this takes place under the strict supervision of the Vatican Guard, in a climate of maximum discretion.
Every day, the cardinals will travel twice, in silence and order, the road from Santa Marta to the Sistine Chapel, through the court of Saint Damasus. It is a well -guarded route, which becomes symbolic: a path of retreat, in search of divine guidance.
A place with discreet and protected history
Santa Marta, before becoming a kind of hotel for Conclav, was at the end of the 19th century a pontifical lazaret, founded that the cholera epidemic-called “Asian Morb”-could reach Rome. Pope Leon XIII ordered, in 1884, the transformation of the building into a shelter for the pontifical families and for those in the vicinity of Saint Peter, having a church dedicated to Saint Marta. During World War II, he served as a refuge for Jews and diplomats from countries in war with Hitler Germany. Only in 1998, after the renovations ordered by John Paul II, Santa Marta became the “Conclav House”, as we know it today.
Time sedate there a culture of discretion, protection and peace. Since 1998, following the restorations ordered by John Paul II, Santa Marta has become what it is today: a withdrawal space, but also of decision.
The most international conclave in history
The conclave to be convened is announced the most diverse in the recent history of the church: 135 Cardinals electors, of which 80% were appointed by Pope Francis. An obvious majority that reflects the vision of a pope who looked less towards Europe and more to the outskirts: to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The geographical distribution of cardinals emphasizes this opening: Europe sends the most voters (53), but closely follow the Americas (North, South and Central), with 37 votes, Asia with 23, Africa with 18 and Oceania with 4.
Italy remains the country with the largest number of voters – 17, followed by the United States – with 10. The oldest of those who will enter Conclav is the Spanish cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, who will turn 80 in May, while the youngest is the Ukrainian Mikola Biciok, only 45 years.
Shades of vision, but only one choice: the man appointed by God
Although many of the cardinists have been elevated to this church rank by Pope Francis, the conclave is not announced without theological or ideological tensions. Among them are opponents of his pontificate – such as the German Gerhard Ludwig Müller – but also African cardinals with conservative positions in ethical issues, divergent from the recent direction adopted by the Vatican, including issues related to gay couples' recognition.
In a recent interview, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne, said he is expecting “a longer conclave” than in 2013. “There is no German phalanx. Each cardinal votes according to their own consciousness. It is not a matter of politics, but of recognizing the will of God.”
Woelki spoke about the need for a pope to gather, not divide: “We need a man of faith, a man of the gospel, who will emanate the smell of Christ. As Gandhi said: If you look with Him, no one can stand against you.”
