UPDATE (21:00 Vatican Time): Black Smoke. No Pope.
UPDATE (16:30 Vatican Time): So it begins...and now we wait in hopeful anticipation.
Meanwhile, club members have shared many interesting matches in the comments including: Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke of America, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Germany, Cardinal Péter Erdő of Hungary, Cardinal Désiré Tsarahazana of Madagascar, Cardinal Stanislaw Marian Rylko of Poland, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti of France, and Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Spain.
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This morning the Holy Mass "pro eligendo Romano Pontifice" took place. In his homily, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re noted:
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.
That's an understatement.
Certainly, the selection of the next head of the Holy See is of interest to Catholics and even non-Catholics given the influence a Pope can wield in non-church matters.
For my part, I would like to see more "Catholicism" and less "climate change".
At 10:30am ET/ 4:30pm in Vatican City, the Princes of the Church will enter conclave and Raymond Arroyo has the voting order. Papal contender Pietro Parolin is at the very top given his status as senior cardinal.
Former priest Jonathan Morris explains why some think this Italian is in "the pole position" and why he might be a controversial pick given his role in the deal with China that enables the politburo to name bishops.
Over at Spectator Australia, my former theology professor Matthew Ogilvie observes:
"...there is every chance that the shoes of the fisherman will be filled by a new Pope from Asia or Africa. A Pope from those regions will also have a new way of thinking and a new worldview that may be alien to people from the West. To give an example, most Catholics in the West would think about a progressive Pope as being in favour of both social justice and a liberal moral theology. But a Pope from Africa is likely to be socially progressive in terms of foreign aid and wealth redistribution, but harshly conservative towards marriage and family values. It is likely that a new Pope from outside Europe and North America will upend expectations even more than Francis..."
Interestingly, the Vatican just "rejuvenated" the birth records of two African priests - allowing them to vote. (Though only one will be able to participate due to health reasons).
Many conservatives will see this as a good thing:
African cardinals form a significant voting bloc in the conclave
They want "to select a pope who will stand against ideological colonization from the West with concepts like climate change, abortion and gender ideology"
The Africans wants to keep all this out of the Church pic.twitter.com/7vsPKa4miN
— Phil Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) April 26, 2025
As it happens, my match on "Which Cardinal Are You", was born to French parents in Africa (Morocco to be precise) and is now being touted as "an 11th hour candidate".
Take the quiz yourself and let's discuss your favorite and not so favorite candidates in the comments. Lino Rulli - "The Catholic Guy" - predicts a result on Friday. Do you agree?
Spoiler alert: it won't be a tranny from Kabul...
