Choosing the Pope: 'The conclave is intimidating'
Following Pope Francis's death, the next Pope will be chosen by the College of Cardinals, who will gather for a tradition known as the conclave.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols will vote with more than 100 others, but almost missed out, as he is only a few months off his 80th birthday, the age limit for voting rights.
The Merseyside-born Archbishop of Westminster said he thought it would "pass me by" until he heard the Pope was seriously ill and thought: "Oh Lord, this is going to come my way."
The conclave, which traditionally starts after a two-week mourning period, sees the College of Cardinals gather in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to cast a series of votes to choose the next pope.
Theoretically, any baptised man can be elected as pope, but a cardinal is usually picked.
There are currently 252 cardinals and while all can take part in the debate about who should be chosen, the voting age restriction means only the 135 who are under 80 can vote.
Cardinal Nichols, who leads six million Roman Catholics in England and Wales, exclusively told BBC North West he "never thought" he would be voting because Pope Francis "didn't show many signs of slowing down" and appeared to be recovering from double pneumonia.
However, he played down any suggestion of remaining in the Vatican as the next pope himself.
"I'm coming home," he said.
"You can be sure of that."
The 79-year-old archbishop, who was born in Crosby on the Merseyside coast, said he had met Pope Francis several times during high-level meetings in Rome, but had two abiding special memories.
"One particularly has never left me," he said.
"He said to me: 'From the moment of my election as Pope, my peace has never left me'.
"Despite the pressure of all he has to deal with, he has lived close to God."
Cardinal Nichols also said he had fond memories of their last meeting two years ago.
He said an author had asked him to give a copy of their latest book to Pope Francis.
"I gave him the book and said the author was 'very keen that you might have this'," he said.
"He came back after lunch with a handwritten card and a copy of one of his own books for me to give as a return gift.
"That was quite astonishing."
Following Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday, Cardinal Nichols will join his fellow cardinals to vote for the 267th pontiff, who will go on to lead the world's estimated 1.4 billion Catholics.
He said the prospect was "quite intimidating frankly".
He added that he believed the cardinals would their "best work once the doors of the conclave have been shut", as at that point, there would be "a peace and a prayerfulness between us".
"I know I have got to get myself together and be a little nuanced to all the political manoeuvring and Paddy Power's bets and all that and say 'actually, this is a group of men trying to discern the will of God," he said.
"That's the only thing that matters."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Man who stoked Southport disorder loses bid to challenge sentence
A taxi driver who is believed to have received one of the longest sentences for disorder following the Southport attack has lost a bid to appeal against his prison McIntyre was jailed for seven and a half years in January for encouraging violent disorder and criminal damage and possession of a knife, after the attack in the Merseyside town on 29 July last set up a Telegram channel called "Southport Wake Up" in the immediate aftermath and shared content about a protest in the seaside town on 30 for McIntyre, of Rufford, near Ormskirk, Lancashire, claimed his sentence should have been lower as he was not given enough credit for his guilty pleas. Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Holroyde said: "It was for the judge to decide what reduction was appropriate."It is not arguable that the total sentence was excessive, let alone manifestly so." After the Southport attack, McIntyre said in one post: "Rise Up English Lads. 8pm tomorrow St Luke's Rd Southport."Hours before violence broke out in the town on 30 July, he wrote: "Message to All ... Stand in our way, even if you're just doing your job ... prepare to fall."Liverpool Crown Court heard in January that McIntyre's phone was in the area of St Luke's Road in Southport at 19:00 BST on 30 July, and the car he was later arrested in was also in the area when the disorder took the following days, McIntyre congratulated those involved in the disorder and shared information about immigration was arrested in Liverpool on 8 August, with a knife found hidden in the boot of his court heard that when his home was searched, officers found weapons and a copy of Hitler's Mein him, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said McIntyre was "motivated by racial hatred" and was "prominent" among those spreading misinformation after the jail term is believed to be the second-longest handed down for disorder related to the Southport attack, with the longest believed to be nine years. 'He boasted' On Thursday, Julian Nutter, for McIntyre, said he should have been given a shorter sentence to reflect his guilty said the case did not concern an offender who had "provided the means" to commit offences or "instructions to make those means".He added: "The sentence should have been about a year less."Arthur Gibson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, told the hearing in London that the evidence of McIntyre's offending "was there for the defendant to accept or deny as he so wished".He said: "There were guilty pleas entered, but subsequent to that, even, the applicant was not accepting his full responsibility."The learned judge was entitled to use his discretion in determining a reduction in sentence for pleas of guilty."In the Court of Appeal's ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mrs Justice Yip and Sir Robin Spencer, said: "The applicant incited violence and criminal damage by many people at different locations on multiple occasions."He thereby threatened public safety, promoted widespread damage to property and exposed police officers to serious injury."He boasted about the scale of disorder which disfigured Southport and other towns and cities. Throughout, his conduct was racially motivated."If the applicant wanted greater credit for his pleas, he could and should have entered those pleas at an earlier stage."He did not do so. Instead, he delayed until it suited him to enter them, and even then, he continued to contest aspects of the claims against him."McIntyre watched proceedings by videolink from HMP Garth in Lancashire. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Taxi driver jailed over Southport disorder loses bid to challenge sentence
A taxi driver who is believed to have received one of the longest sentences for the disorder that followed the Southport attack last summer has lost a bid to appeal against his prison term. Andrew McIntyre was jailed for seven and a half years in January for encouraging violent disorder and criminal damage and possession of a knife, after the knife attack in the Merseyside town on July 29 last year. After the attack, McIntyre set up a Telegram channel called 'Southport Wake Up' and shared content from a site called Tommy Robinson /Britain First/For Britain about a protest in Southport on July 30. At the Court of Appeal on Thursday, barristers for McIntyre claimed his sentence should have been lower as he was not given enough credit for his guilty pleas. Dismissing the appeal bid in his final oral judgment before retirement, Lord Justice Holroyde said: 'It was for the judge to decide what reduction was appropriate.' He continued: 'It is not arguable that the total sentence was excessive, let alone manifestly so.' After the Southport attack, McIntyre said in one post: 'Rise Up English Lads. 8pm tomorrow St Luke's Rd Southport.' Hours before violence broke out in the town on July 30, he wrote: 'Message to All … Stand in our way, even if you're just doing your job … prepare to fall.' Liverpool Crown Court heard in January that McIntyre's phone was in the area of St Luke's Road in Southport at 7pm on July 30, and the car he was later arrested in was also in the area when the disorder took place. Over the following days, McIntyre congratulated those involved in the disorder and shared information about immigration advisers. He was arrested in Liverpool on August 8, with a knife found hidden in the boot of his car. The court heard that when his home was searched, officers found weapons and a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf. Sentencing him, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said McIntyre was 'motivated by racial hatred' and was 'prominent' among those spreading misinformation after the attack. McIntyre's jail term is believed to be the second-longest handed down for disorder related to the Southport attack, with the longest believed to be nine years. On Thursday, Julian Nutter, for McIntyre, said he should have been given a shorter sentence to reflect his guilty pleas. He said the case did not concern an offender who had 'provided the means' to commit offences or 'instructions to make those means'. He added: 'The sentence should have been about a year less.' Arthur Gibson, for the Crown Prosecution Service, told the hearing in London that the evidence of McIntyre's offending 'was there for the defendant to accept or deny as he so wished'. He continued: 'There were guilty pleas entered, but subsequent to that, even, the applicant was not accepting his full responsibility. 'The learned judge was entitled to use his discretion in determining a reduction in sentence for pleas of guilty.' In the Court of Appeal's ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mrs Justice Yip and Sir Robin Spencer, said: 'The applicant incited violence and criminal damage by many people at different locations on multiple occasions. 'He thereby threatened public safety, promoted widespread damage to property and exposed police officers to serious injury. 'He boasted about the scale of disorder which disfigured Southport and other towns and cities. Throughout, his conduct was racially motivated. 'If the applicant wanted greater credit for his pleas, he could and should have entered those pleas at an earlier stage. 'He did not do so. Instead, he delayed until it suited him to enter them, and even then, he continued to contest aspects of the claims against him.' McIntyre, formerly of Rufford, near Ormskirk, watched proceedings by videolink from HMP Garth in Lancashire.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Daily Record
Head of Scots Foreign Office to make history swapping East Kilbride for Jamaica
Alicia Herbert will be the UK's first Head of Mission deployed to a Caribbean post to have been born in the Caribbean. Top diplomat Alicia Herbert has been given a warm send-off by Foreign Secretary David Lammy as she leaves Scotland to take up a historic posting as the UK's High Commissioner to Jamaica. Trinidad & Tobago-born Alicia is Caribbean bound after serving as head of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's joint HQ in East Kilbride since 2016. She met the Foreign Secretary to discuss making history as the UK's first Head of Mission deployed to a Caribbean post to have been born in the Caribbean. Alicia, 57, said: 'I feel like my life's gone full circle. There aren't many roles could have persuaded me to leave Scotland but having first come to the UK on a scholarship, I simply couldn't resist going back to the region of my birth to represent the UK as High Commissioner to Jamaica. 'It's been such a joy to work and live in Scotland. I will of course draw on Scotland and Jamaica's shared history. 'Living in Scotland has given me a comprehensive understanding of the issues that underpin that shared history, which will certainly help me as I work to strengthen the relationship between the UK and Jamaica, as we support the Caribbean on the 21st century challenges it faces - most notably climate change." She quipped: 'Lots of my colleagues have been joking that I'll miss the Scottish rain, but while Kingston's a lot sunnier than East Kilbride, I've not had to worry about hurricanes much working there. 'The Caribbean is a part of the world where the climate crisis is acute with the frequency and intensity of hurricanes increasing. A huge focus of my job will be how the UK partners with the Caribbean to address how climate change is affecting the region.' Alicia added that she was "proud" to be the first UK diplomat of Caribbean heritage to be announced as a Head of Mission to Caribbean post. 'It was lovely to have a send-off chat with the Foreign Secretary about this", she said. "I think it signals the huge strides that the FCDO and the UK has made on diversity. 'Joining the civil service as black, female immigrant back in 1999 was like landing on a different planet. Quite often I was the only woman in the room, and almost certainly, the only person of colour. Now 40 per cent of our Heads of Mission are female. 'While my appointment shows that things are heading in the right direction, there is still much to do. For example, black staff are still underrepresented at senior levels. We want people from all walks of life representing the UK internationally. 'No-one is resting on any laurels, but back when I joined the civil service, I could never have envisaged that I would be a High Commissioner having a chat with a black Foreign Secretary. 'My background has often proved an asset, helping me to develop rich and positive relationships with counterparts when working overseas. I have been claimed as Nigerian, Mozambican, Sudanese, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Colombian… the list goes on.' Alicia has overseen the work of almost 1,000 FCDO staff in Scotland at Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and also served as the UK's special envoy for gender equality. International development specialist Alicia's job has seen her face danger in war-torn Sudan, take on terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, and help combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Mozambique. She said: 'I think my dear mum when she was alive did worry and ask 'You're going WHERE?'. 'I have not come under direct threat, but that threat has been there. I lived in Sudan for three years from 2006 and there was always war. A US diplomat was assassinated not too far from my house on New Year's Eve. 'I was in Nigeria when Boko Haram was just seeding and by the time I left, they had become quite a force. Boko Haram literally means 'Western education is forbidden'. 'I had colleagues working in the UN compound where 13 people were killed in a Boko Haram bomb attack in Abuja in 2011. I remember frantically sending in drivers to get our people out when they attacked Kano the same year.' Alicia says her family have been thrilled by her new appointment as the UK's top diplomat in Jamaica. She went on: 'My parents are both sadly passed, but I have six siblings who are super excited and proud of what I have achieved. 'We are a typical Caribbean family so when we got to the age of 18 or 19, everybody left to go overseas to university, as I did. One of my brothers went back to Trinidad. 'A few years ago, when I went on an official visit to Trinidad, it was so interesting to invite him to a diplomatic reception at the High Commission for him to see me at work. 'It's funny because there is a fair amount of inter-island rivalry between Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica – similar to the sort of good-humoured banter you get between people from Scotland and England. 'So one of the first things my family said was 'Wait till Jamaicans find out that the new High Commissioner is really a Trini'. You get banter across all the Caribbean islands, but there's also a unity and a commonality.' Alicia described the move as an "exciting new challenge" but said she will really miss the "incredible spirit" of the people she has worked with in Scotland for over nine years at the joint HQ, Abercrombie House. She added: 'FCDO continues to have a sizeable footprint in Scotland with our staff in East Kilbride at the heart of shaping and delivering UK foreign policy as a force for good in the world.' *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook?
