
Papal conclave: cardinals begin voting to elect Francis's successor
In time-honoured tradition, the 133 cardinals were left alone to vote in the 16th-century chapel when an archbishop called out 'Extra omnes' — the Latin for 'Everyone out' — and ordered those not voting to leave the room.
The first session of voting got under way after a service held for the cardinals in the Vatican's Paoline Chapel. From there, the 'princes of the Church' filed into the Sistine Chapel chanting the Litany of the Saints prayer, a list of saints' names.
A holy mass was held in St Peter's basilica before the cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel
VATICAN MEDIA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
They then lined up to swear an oath of secrecy in Latin, placing a hand on the Bible before taking their seats beneath Michelangelo's frescoes, dominated by
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The Guardian
a day ago
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‘He is keeping his cards close to his chest': Pope Leo's first three months
A few days after his election as pope in May, Leo XIV stepped into a chauffeur-driven black Volkswagen minivan with tinted windows and made a surprise visit to the international headquarters of the Augustinian order in Rome. Not only was he the first American pope, the tiny religious order that Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, ran for 12 years had also just produced its first pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic church. Still somewhat bewildered by his election, he had a yearning to see his fellow Augustinian brothers. Over lunch, Leo spoke about the sudden change to his life and how he would need to renounce his pleasure of driving or freely going for a walk. 'He appeared very tense on TV so it was nice to see him more relaxed,' said Pasquale Cormio, the rector of the Basilica of St Augustine in central Rome's Campo Marzio, who met Leo during their priesthood training. 'He was aware of the weight of the role, but said: 'Look, I assure you, I will never give up being your brother'.' The new pope's first months – he marks three months as pontiff this week – have been relatively low-key despite hosting plenty of audiences, and the Augustinian emphasis on unity, listening widely, community and collaboration appear to have guided him. Leo's style starkly contrasts with his often divisive and hasty Jesuit predecessor, the late Pope Francis, even though they shared similar progressive political views. Francis, elected in 2013, snubbed the Vatican's traditional trappings by choosing to live in a room in a humble guesthouse rather than the Apostolic Palace, ditching its fancy cars for a modest Fiat and opting out of spending his summers in the papal palace in Castel Gandolfo, a hilltop town close to Rome. 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'He doesn't want to be like Francis who worked alone and who made decisions alone,' added Politi. Geopolitics aside, Leo's main initial task has been to foster unity in a church divided by some of Francis's policies. That said, his papacy is expected to more or less continue along the progressive path laid by his predecessor. 'We mustn't forget that during conclave, the ultra-conservatives wanted to put Francis's politics on trial,' said Politi. 'But they failed, and that's why Leo was chosen – to send a signal that the church is moving forward, not backward.'


BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
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